I left my beautiful Tower Slo-Cooker behind when we went on holiday. Oh how I have wept since. This cooker did not do the same wonderful job - at all. Yes, this is a cooker, but it isn't a slow cooker. A slow cooker is a pot that you fill at the start of the day, and then can come back to in the evening and remove tender, delicious food. This cooker doesn't do that. It works at too high a temperature. If you put it on at the start of the day, you will come back to ruined food burned to a dry skin round the sides of the pot. Absolutely hopeless. On the other hand, if you are aware that it is a ridiculously fast cooker, and are prepared to treat it more like an electric pan, rather than a slow cooker, it is a fairly good cooker. You will get a decent meal out of it in less than three hours. But this is no good to the person wanting an all-day cooker. Its only positive point, as far as I am concerned, is that you can use the pot straight on your hob, too, to get the veg and meat browned, and get it all started. Utterly disappointing machine, especially considering the brand and the price. Alternative? The Russell Hobbs is a slightly inconvenient dual pot (so you couldn't get a whole piece of meat or chicken in), but it is a proper slow cooker and gives excellent results. Have tried almost all the other brands and found them too hot, too. If you read all the reviews you will see it is a common problem with modern slow cookers. What has happened to slow cooking? Come back Tower. We need you!