We tested the raclette without odor: like a scent of disappointment

A winter essential, raclette warms you up as much with its conviviality as with its electrical resistance. Someone still has to be willing to welcome him within their walls. Because beyond its calorific benefits, this cheese specialty releases scents which can bother the most sensitive peninsulas, during and after the Sunday meal. Raclette and its scent perfume the house like the textiles and it can be difficult to guess the cinnamon-raspberry-makeup remover scent of mother-in-law. What if it was finally possible to make raclette without odors? In any case, this is Severin's promise with his new Sevento device.

A raclette-grill combo with integrated hood

Launched at the recommended retail price of €179, it claims to be able to neutralize odors by sucking them up using a small hood integrated in the center, with activated carbon filters. A metal grid is also provided to retain grease, exactly like in a kitchen hood. As for the raclette, the device is equipped with a 1900 W resistance and comes with eight pans, while a metal plate placed on the resistance can act as a grill to vary the accompaniments and change the traditional charcuterie.

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With such a promise, we obviously wanted to test this new device supposed to revolutionize raclette, and we didn't have to look long to find guinea pigs. Rarely does the writing of Digital she showed such team spirit and mutual support. We even had to leave a few editors behind, with gurgling bellies and crestfallen faces. Sorry, it's a minimum of one pan per person, there's no question of passing them around and waiting too long between two slices of melted cheese…

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So here we are, eight of us gathered around a well-stocked table: cheese, cold meats, sliced ​​mushrooms and onions and, of course, the famous Sevento in the center. The appliance is plugged in and ready to heat. All that remains is to turn it on and hope for Laure that the hood and its three filters (one metal, two activated carbon) will do their job. Our very dear head of the mobility department has actually washed her splendid mane (she's a chef, eh…) and doesn't intend to come home with the ends that smell of cheese, Savoyard though she is. We also had the “good” idea of ​​locking ourselves in what was originally a meeting room that was not particularly spacious, without ventilation. The risk is therefore maximum.

Discreet ventilation, but not very effective

A small touchscreen control panel allows you to start heating and ventilation independently, with three levels to choose from for the first and two for the second. A good point. No need for the hood during preheating. It doesn't make much noise (51 dB (A) at 30 cm), but we're better off without it, so we might as well do without it for as long as possible. After 6 minutes, the device indicates that it is hot and that it is therefore time to start ventilation. The most Gargantua throw their pan loaded with cheese under the resistance, while others put the mushrooms and onions to grill above.

Very quickly, a light smoke forms on the grill, and you can see some of it escape directly into the hood in the center. Another part will fly away, but we won't end up smoked. On the other hand, the smell of cheese will eventually fill the room, and even leave it. Colleagues passing three doors further will confirm this to us as they leave the table, their eyes black and their bellies still gurgling…

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With a cover to place on the hood inlet, the suction is concentrated on the sides and works quite well on the grill, but it is certainly not powerful enough to capture the cheese smells escaping from the sides. and on the other side of the large grill measuring 30 cm on each side. Perhaps it would have been better to create openings directly in the center column, below the grill level, to suck out the cheese smells. As it stands, the hood doesn't seem to do much for the latter.

Everything comes in time to those who wait

And if it disappoints with its hood, the Sevento unfortunately doesn't stop there. We noticed during the meal that he regularly turned off his resistance, and this for several minutes each time. Perhaps this is a way to limit odors… There is therefore no risk of burning your slice of cheese, even on maximum power. Alas, this also means that it melts very slowly and you have to leave it under the resistance for 5 minutes on average before you can let it flow onto the potatoes. It’s way too slow — and we’re way too hungry! Some will say that this allows us not to “glut ourselves” too much, but let's admit that we are the type to double the slices of cheese, at the risk of further prolonging the wait (if not our life expectancy).

That said, we appreciate the locations provided to keep the pans protected from resistance when they are not in use. This is far from being a first on the market, but still appreciable. You never really know what to do with your pan after the last cheese. Stored in this way, the pans do not risk damaging the table when they are hot or cluttering the plates, and the remains of cheese do not end up charred and stuck. We did not encounter any particular problem when cleaning, but we must not forget to dismantle the hood.

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To do this, simply lift the cover and extract the metal casing just below. By turning it over, the filters are removed one after the other, ending with the metal grid which has retained a little grease. If the hood is far from having fulfilled its promise, we must recognize that it worked well, even if the carbon filters did not appear too dirty at the end of our meal. All filters are hand washable.

The pans and the grill plate can be put in the dishwasher, but the second one takes up a little space. In any case, they came out of our dishwasher without a trace or almost; their non-stick coating did its job well.

If we appreciate the easy cleaning of the Sevento – we will ignore the time spent scraping the cheese drippings which are normally easy to avoid with square pans adapted to slices of cheese -, this does not erase the smells that still waft through our offices after we finish. If you were waiting to be able to make an odorless raclette to entertain your friends for dinner, you can keep the invitations warm for now.