My pro-Aga rant on The Guardian's "Word of Mouth"

Earlier today, Oliver Thring wrote something for Word of Mouth at The Guardian about Agas and all that's wrong with them.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/mar/15/aga-cooking 

I was pretty incensed so quickly knocked-up the following as a "reply" in the comments section below his article.

So read on.......

My Guardian AGA rant

What twaddle! You don't need one of those silly tennis racquet thingys to make Aga toast!

I run a busy bed & breakfast business and since installing my Aga I've turned off three radiators, don't use an electric kettle, toaster, bread maker, microwave or use other heat source for drying clothes. I'm very capable of cooking souffles, stir-fries and charring the best steaks on a griddle to perfect "blueness". Anything can "grilled" in the oven from comforting cheese on toast to rosy-pink lamb cutlets. The crackling from our own home-reared pork is the stuff of (culinary) dreams and amazing Yorkshire puddings are perfectly possible! There is nothing it can't cook. It's ready to go all the time and can turn out a five course dinner for 25 in two hours. Anytime! Oh and I rarely do stews! A properly running Aga does NOT take ages to heat up & doesn't cool down at the drop of a hat. Breakfasts are the best!

My Aga is like the Olympic flame: it never goes out. On its six-monthly service days I leave home, allowing my husband to tinker with its bits & I won't return until it's up to speed again! Sadly (luckily for me!) any hot summers we may have never permeate my kitchen enough to consider turning it off. Anyway it's my work-horse from which I earn my living. I also run Cook Days & Demonstrations from around my Aga specialising in cooking with local seasonal food from small-scale artisan producers.

There are no cooking smells, grease, condensation and steaming up to contend with. It's clean, cosy and comforting.

Never mind the stereotypical reasons for Aga ownership to dry boots & dogs, hatch eggs & keep tiddly lambs alive and just be a glorified meringue-maker! The Aga is truly my necessity and is absolutely not an extension some ego-centric-country-dwelling dream! (Although I do dry boots, make meringues and live in the country!).

I'm sitting beside it right now, laptop on knees, tea on the side and scones in oven, waiting for guests to arrive......

Come and experience my Aga in action! Stay at http://www.lowerbuckton.co.uk or follow me on http://www.twitter.com/agaqueen