Actually, the Tefal Rk302e15 8-in-1 Cooker - Slow Cooker (RK) is way more than a rice cooker, although it prepares all types of rice extremely well, if that is all you want to do. It cooks perfect one pot meals. Using the steamer tray you can make all types of meat, vegetables, fish dishes, at the same time you are making a bowl of tasty rice. Everything is ready at the same time and clean up is easy with the metal non-stick pot. Have not tried it for breakfast porridge yet, or cakes, but this is an extremely versatile cooking appliance, which offers a lot of value, if you spend some time learning to use it to best advantage by studying the manual and the included small recipe booklet.All the parts exposed to food are washable and dishwasher safe, including the inner top and rubber seal, pressure valve, plastic steamer tray, and cooking pot. This is a well built appliance. The cord is removable, so you can obtain, for example, European plugsets or replacement cords, if damaged in use. The RK has an excellent delay function, up to 15 hours, as well as extended keep warm feature. The only rice function it lacks is congee, which only a few rice cookers sold in Europe have available.The unit is very quiet. It emits no steam and very little odor while in use, as it has a removable condensation cup and good rubber seal. The condensation cup is somewhat inconveniently located in the back of the unit, since it needs to be removed for cleaning, after the unit is used. The RK comes with a plastic spatula and holder, which clips onto the device, when set up, which is a nice feature.The RK is very flexible. I have tried making both rice in the pot and steamed chicken breasts and vegetables in the included plastic steamer tray, which fits on top of the rice pot, and the results were excellent, if slow (90 minute automatic cycle for brown rice). But it gave a perfect meal result, even for a single person portion. Very tasty! I will probably will use the RK delay function in the future and set it all up in the morning :) . Will try the porridge cycle soon.So why have I given it 4-stars instead of 5? I consider 5 stars should be if the entire package is perfect. While performance is excellent, Tefal should make some packaging improvements, so users can immediately get best results as soon as possible. The device is not currently designed to be used intuitively like most microwaves or electric coffee makers, because of the extremely opaque display, and somewhat poorly designed instruction manual. Who would guess a 'b' on the screen means the dish is done? No one, unless you carefully read the tiny, small type manual a few times, with its two pages filled with many very small numbered illustrations at the front of the instruction manual, inconveniently keyed to the text, rather than inserted where they would be most easy to follow. Instead you have to keep flipping back and forth between the illustration pages and the text section you are studying. There is no color in the manual to highlight material, just cheap black and white. A quick start plastic guide card, which could be kept near the unit for reference would be most helpful.Since some Tefal manuals do use color, Tefal could clearly do better here. The water markings on the rice pot are shallowly stamped on the inside of the pot and are virtually unreadable, even when the pot is new. Similarly, the lock markings on the pressure release valve, which requires disassembly into two parts to clean, to secure it back in place are very hard to see - some contrasting color, would be most desirable.The separate color recipe book is rather thin, but at least it gives you some examples of the great range of features for this cooker. As another review has pointed out, a small DVD walking purchasers through this appliance set-up, disassembly, cleaning, and use by demonstrating its many features would be extremely useful, and make this rice cooker quickly accessible to a broad range of cooks from novices to culinary artists. A DVD would assist users to quickly understand and appreciate this appliance's outstanding performance and range.==================== 2 1/2+ YEAR UPDATE ======================================I have used this rice cooker virtually every day for over 2 1/2 years (or its successor — see below). It still makes excellent rice, as well as many other types of steamed and slow cooked dishes. I have used it to prepare three course meals for parties, layering the various dishes and everything came out perfectly. I am not as adventurous as some, check out some Japanese videos where many courses, including soup is made simultaneously with a cooker just like this with careful layout and packaging of food. The food timer is very useful for preparing dinner in advance and having it ready and kept ready with the warming function.The stainless steel finish holds up very well and the no stick pot is very sturdy and easy to clean. I have found that a Pumie brand pumice (Sold by Amazo/) stone will remove the black stain that forms on the heating ring at the bottom of the cooker without scratching it. Otherwise the cooker is very low maintenance. Just soak the rice pot and steamer basket after using, empty the reservoir in back periodically, clean the steam release at the top, and wipe down with a wet cloth to keep it looking shiny.I did get a flat 20cm strainer insert for the steamer basket. The holes in the basket are rather large, and vegetables like peas will fall through to the pot, making extracting them a little messy. The strainer will solve that problem.The issue of longevity is a concern. Although I purchased this from Amazon UK, after 1 year, 10 mos., while I was in NL the cooker failed. Fortunately, Tefal NL gives its products two years, so the cooker was replaced including posting and packing without charge by the manufacturer. It took a month, but all ended happily. The electronic brain had failed (error E0 on the display), which means complete microprocessor failure, so the device would not do anything. I could not even boil water.This brings up a couple of other points. The lid closure lock is made of plastic, not metal, so you cannot be rough with it. If you break it the cooker lid will not stay closed. Also over time the Teflon rice pot starts showing serious wear, so if you are planning to keep the cooker for a long time, obtaining an extra pot, while they are available is a good idea.However, over all, this is an extremely useful, cost effective appliance. With a little practice, it will be in use constantly whether you are single or a large family.===================================== 5 year update ======================================Well, I am on my third Tefal rice cooker of this model. I find, as some others have pointed out in Amazon reviews here, that these rice cookers last about 2 years with everyday use, before they fail. The electronics always give out. The display starts flashing and you know the unit has died. These appliances do not last long term. I have found that to be true with other Tefal appliances such as toasters as well. After two to three years of regular use the electronics fail rendering the appliance completely non-functionalIt is really a shame because the units mechanically are really well built, out of solid stainless steel that looks great over the long term and make them easy to clean and keep shiny. However the electronics just are not well engineered.Nevertheless, if you can get these units at reasonable cost from Amazon, these rice cookers do a great job of cooking rice and even full meals. They are easy to clean, and setup. Food comes out perfectly. Just remember, if you are a daily user, that these rice cookers have a limited service life and budget accordingly.