- New model can also be controlled by smartphone and iPad apps
- PC users can turn on any of its three ovens using a special website
By David Wilkes
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For more than 80 years, the Aga cooker has been the heart of thousands of quintessentially British homes.
Permanently on and warming the kitchen, it has brought comfort and joy to those who swear by its traditional simplicity and old-style charm.
But now the Aga has been thrust into the digital age with the launch of a model which can be turned on and off with a text message.
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The new cooker contains a SIM card and can be activated via text message - with users receiving a confirmation saying 'Roasting Oven Activated'
On sale from this Friday, the AGA iTotal Control will set you back £10,090. It has three ovens â€" for roasting, baking and simmering â€" all of which can be operated remotely.
It is a development of the £9,895 AGA Total Control cooker, which was the first electric Aga that could be switched on and off as the user required. Traditional Agas â€" which are on all the time, guzzle up to 40 litres of oil a week and pump carbon dioxide into the air â€" have been criticised for being environmentally unfriendly.
Modern Agas are programmable and reach cooking temperature only when you need them.
The new model receives commands via a standard mobile phone SIM card inserted into a small box, similar to a broadband router, which is connected to the cooker by a cable.
Cyber-stove: PC users can also log in to a dedicated website to turn on any of the three ovens from afar - the oven connects to your home wi-fi network, so you don't need to run wiring through the kitchen
Once the cooker is installed, you save its unique phone number into your mobile and when you wish to operate it remotely you text one of the following commands: roasting oven on; baking oven on; simmering oven on; all ovens on; all zones off.
Once the text has been sent you receive a reply saying, for example, ‘roasting oven on activated’.
The Aga can also be operated via an app which can be downloaded to smartphones from Apple’s app store or the Android Marketplace.
Owners can also register on a dedicated website which allows them to control the oven from a laptop.
The makers yesterday hailed it as their response to ‘things getting decidedly more techie in the kitchen’ these days.
‘You can ensure the cooker is warm and supper will be cooked at exactly the time you need it â€" wherever you are in the world,’ said a spokesman.
But not all Aga lovers are simmering with excitement at the new model.
Best-selling author Jilly Cooper, 75, speaking from her home in Gloucestershire, said: ‘I don’t believe it â€" it’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. I love my Aga to bits, but I can’t even text on the phone.
‘Oh bless it, will I have to learn to text now? Maybe something like this will drag me into the 21st century at last.’
Miss Cooper, who is writing her latest novel about flat-racing, added: ‘Agas are heaven. The wonderful thing about mine is that it’s always on and I can leave it on overnight and slow-cook stews for my dogs for the morning.’
The new model has a built-in SIM card but can also be controlled via apps on iPads and smartphones
VIDEO: See the AGA Total Control working here...
A demo for the new iTotal Control is coming soon!
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That's not an AGA ! It is just another cooker.All my AGAs were a place of warmth for the family to gather for breakfast on a cold winter's morning.
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They are never going to beat the original Wood and Solid Fuel burner, so I don't know why they keep trying. Not that I can afford one of those either, presuming anyone would be daft enough to sell theirs. PS. I thought Melinda's Comment was hysterically funny. Peasants indeed.
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"I recently replaced our old Aga with a new model. My biggest mistake ever! The colour did not match after numerous replacements the front and doors where replaced only now to have the following problems i.e. the colour on the doors are fading. On making complaints to the agent I sent Recorded Delivery letters of complaint to Customer Services No Reply! I also sent emails and filled in the Website complaints and believe it or not again No Replies again. Now the agent has stated that the fading is my fault How? We where so pleased with the old Aga no problemts why did we ever change it. The new Aga's are not built to the same standard. It is a pity that Customer Services do not reply to Customers Complaints - Niall B Kelly, Holywood, Co Down, 29/5/2012 21:25" Oh the horror! You poor dear, however did you cope..
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I moved to the UK 5 years ago and was flummoxed as to what people were talking about when they mentioned these. I still don't get why this is any different from an oven?
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I think it's cool! I've had an Aga all my life, it's an "oldy" from 1950 and it served me well during all the months of the year. Then my mother became a pillock and turned it into a gas aga, FAIL! So now we have a Raeburn. My mother kicks up a fuss because it's wood and if the wood is wet she complains. I don't have 10k, but I do think it's cool and I may like to own one, one day when the UK isn't in as much debt as it is.
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We had a Rayburn in Caithness -It was marvelous cooking and piping hot water all together-brilliant.
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A lot of jealous commentators here, I don't have one I have a modern range but would love an aga instead.
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Oh yah, could not possibly manage without my remote control Aga. Supa dupa for cooking the peasants Melinda Fortisque Smythe,, To the Manor born, 29/5/2012 18:46.......... so you prefer dining on peasants rather than the toffs? Do toffs not taste as good as your peasants?
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Oh yah, could not possibly manage without my remote control Aga. Supa dupa for cooking the peasants which are left hanging in the barn for a few months. When crawling with maggots (those little wrigglers add to the flavour), pluck. stuff and bang them in the oven. Delicious, but you must use an Aga peasants simply do not taste the same otherwise....hmmmm suppose you could chuck them on a barbie at a push!!
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We have one of these, but an older model. From a half mile away about 12.30 I can see a communication smoke signal that tells me Mother has just thrown another log on and dinner is nearly ready...
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