It’s slow melting the cheese. Also the shape of the mini pans is triangular which does not fit the size of the cheese slices well. Minor detail but coming from a swiss national, trust me it will get to you. Lastly, the scrapers are plastic. Not sure i don’t prefer wooden ones.
4 diners is the most you could possibly do as the top cannot accommodate any more than that. I would have thought the grill top would have charred the food more than it did, so that is my only disappointment. Does not come with tongs, so need to order those separately as they are definitely needed. Slice the meats thin and it works fine. I tried lamb chops once and it took forever to cook.
The stone top sees much more use than the grill top which is a bit thin but functional.
Key specs for West Bend 6130 Raclette (Discontinued by Manufacturer):
- Make sure this fits
by entering your model number. - 1200-Watts 8 person raclette grill includes 8 raclette dishes and 8 spatulas
- Ideal for grilling vegetables, meats or for keeping grilled foods warm
- Made of non-stock grill top and granite stone top
- Features adjustable temperature control for optimum control
- Safe to use in dishwasher; comes with 1 year warranty
Comments from buyers
“Amazing for Beginners
, Very happy find
, love it and the bonus granite top!
“
Overall the quality of the product seems quite good. The time for shipping was only 8 days. The seller does not mention in his add that he is selling a 110-120 volt appliance. When selling electrical equipment you would think the seller would be aware of the grid voltage for the countries he is supplying. I live in australia and we use 240 volt.
I am overall very satisfied with the raclette grill. I haven’t tried the grantite stone top yet but was happy about the other top. I haven’t noticed any warping of the top like others mentioned but i noticed that the temperature went down drastically but that was most likely due to us adjusting the temperature. I haven’t quite figured out yet at what temperature i have to set it to get the best results but the more i use it the better it will work. Will buy a few more for family. I am highly recommending buying this grill. It is much cheaper than most other raclette grills. Well worth every penny spent.
You turn it on a few minutes before you’ll be actually using it, specially if using the marble stone. That way when ready, it will be already hot. Good home appliances don’t need to be the more expensive.
Being new to the raclette scene, my husband and i bought this to see what all the fuss was about. Needless to say, we use it at least twice a week now, usually more. The granite top is the only one we’ve used as we like the idea of being ‘cave people’ and cooking on a rock. It works great, though it takes a while to pre-heat. Instructions included advise that you rub oil on it before heating so as to ensure non-stickage. For the most part the stone is easily clean-able, though food does get cooked on. Soap and water and a little elbow grease does the trick. We love the stone so much we haven’t even touched the grill part as i read some other reviews about it getting warped. The non-stick pans and spatulas are also really great. They can be easily wiped clean with a paper towel while ‘raclette-ing’ for quick replacement of cheese or veggies. The heating element is solid, and for the price, i can’t imagine why anyone would need to buy a more ‘high-end’ one. Definitely going to buy one of these as wedding presents for everyone i know and then some. If you’ve never used a raclette and are nervous about shelling out $100 bucks or more for a high-end one, try this one first.
I bought this to use with my husband for our in home date nights. We love to try different cheeses and make our own charcuterie plates. I am so glad we bought this grill.
If you really like to do raclette, kick in some more money. Pans just do not get as hot as some of the nice ones i have used. The grill top with granite stone however works perfectly. For the occational use, it works.
Lived in france the last 3 years, before that in germany and hungary. I had quality european raclette grills. This one doesnt really make the top 10 for me. The real problem is the heating element that is much to weak. It takes a looong time to heat up and to get any color on your cheese is very very time consuming. Aside of this, good price, the stone is a nice extraall in all a little bit more power would have made this a good product. Like this, i would call it not the best buy i did this year.
Great for dinner with family and friends. Efficient and warms up quickly.
We have always loved doing raclette and this set is great. The food cooks up great and fast when hot, and melting cheese below is the bestclean up is pretty easy, and i have thrown the shovels and scrapers in the dishwasher with no problem. The top has gotten scratched already and is somewhat flimsy, but for the price, i think we will get many good uses out of it before its done.
I bought this after getting back from france where we enjoyed a raclette party with a similar grill. We’ve used it twice in less than a month, and it’s been great fun for us and our guests. This is perfect for a small party as there are 8 little pans. Everyone liked making their own combinations of cheese, meats, & vegetables, and then cooking them on the grill. Large eggs take a while to cook, but i couldn’t find any small eggs, so i separated most of the white and just cooked the yolk, it was much faster.
It was perfect for the holidays since there are eight of us. And versatile because of the grill top included.
The black grill plate is really thin. I am used to these machines fromeurope and the ones that i used to use where much heavier and grilled warmer. However having said all that, the machine works and is alot of fun to us. Especially with friends and family. So all in all satisfied since it works and works well.
Love it have had many a great evening around my raclette.
For us this works, but one time after i used it, the stone looks permanently stained from some chicken. I hope i can find some cleaning product that will get it off because simply washing it doesn’t work. The metal top is like everyone said, thinner than what they expected and doesn’t sit right on there and you have to mess with it. If you really will use this more than a few times a year invest in the more expensive versions.
My step-daughters boyfriend is from the netherlands where this is a common appliance. We gave him one for christmas and he loves it.
I had to be so careful carrying the stone platter which is the grill part as i was flying to the caribbean with it. I have not used it yet but looks as advertised.
It was the most inexpensive product we found and had good reviews. We have only used it once, but were happy with it. Took a little while to heat up and you will probably need an extension cord, but our company loved it and we had a great dinner.
Raclette is a variety of cheese. It’s a very earthy, very intensely flavored swiss-style cheese from france that is so favored for its depth that it inspired a whole style of food preparation and service, and lent its name to the device used for such. In a nutshell, raclette (and any other varieties of cheese you favor) is shredded and served with vegetables, meats, fruits, breads, and other dip-able, top-able, bite-sized foods. We also make buttered noodles, seasoned rice, and raw pizza or biscuit dough because that’s the way we roll here. And all these things — raw, and par-cooked alike — are served as one would serve fondue: in great abundance and ready for customizing. Thinking ‘fondue’ is a good idea as raclette is rather like deconstructed fondue. The process is simple: guests take the accouterments, grill and sauce and season them atop the griddle, and on personal handled pans, melt their choice or mix of cheeses under the broiler beneath the grilling surface. So what you wind up with is savory tidbits you then top with melted cheese, and enjoy as-is or atop fresh bread or some other starchy staple. We generally serve three or four cheeses (and if you have dairy-avoidance issues to consider, since the pans and prep are all ‘every man for himself’ you can also offer vegan and lactose-free cheeses that won’t be interfered with by other offerings) which we shred for quicker melting.
It was over 16 years since we first experienced raclette in germany. I was very excited to find that i could purchase one that is fitted for 110 (us electric). Raclette is a very communal way to have a meal. Everyone has their own skillet where they grill their ingredients which are mixed with cheese. It takes time and lots of conversation to do it properly, which makes it a great party meal. It’s a great way to spend a winter’s evening. This raclette grill comes with two tops, one is metal and the other stone. We have not used the metal yet because the stone works great for our purposes. The only problem i have is the length of the cord–it’s too short. You will have to use an extension cord, so order a heavy duty one made for heating appliances.
Definitely a very cool machine. Great customer service from the manufacturer. Lost a raclette dish and the people at westbend sent us another, at no charge. The granite slab is an added bonus. Can be used to grill food on top, (which is it’s purpose but i never do, i’m in it solely for the cheese. ) or i use it as a cheese board. Just like the ones i had in europe but it plugs into an american wall socket. Just what i was looking for. Consider going to a real cheese store and buy some good raclette and have them cut it for you or be sure to cut good thick enough slices of whatever raclette or other (not recommended) cheese you use.
Not sure how it could be better, or why you would need to spend more than this. The stone is very nice and heated up very well. We cooked all kinds of meas and cheeses on this with no issues. The plated underneath are non st ik so the cheese just slide right out with out using the scrapers. My family loved this for our christmas eve dinner and may become a holiday tradition.
