The Dreo ChefMaker is a high-end air fryer that was originally crowdfunded on Kickstarter by the brand, which originally started making products like humidifiers and air conditioners. Dreo calls it a "Combi Fryer" and advertises it as an improvement to conventional air fryers because it has a water compartment that sprays mist into the cooking chamber. It also has a built-in food thermometer that lets the machine track your food's doneness. These features are mainly advertised as a way to make well-cooked meat and fish. The drawer has a window, and the cooking chamber has a light so you can easily see inside.
Our Verdict
The Dreo ChefMaker is a good air fryer. It produces good-quality air fried food, although it tends to overshoot the selected temperature, so you might want to use a lower setting to compensate. It's fast, but its fan speed doesn't vary that much for different modes, which can hurt its performance for non-air frying methods like baking and dehydrating. That said, its 'Chef Cook' mode uses a temperature probe and water misting feature, which is meant to get better results when cooking meat and fish.
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Makes good-quality fried food.
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Cooks quickly.
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Good amount of surface area for cooking.
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Runs hot.
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Small fan speed range.
The Dreo ChefMaker is good for large-batch cooking. As a 6-qt air fryer, it has enough capacity to cook for about four people. Its basket has a good amount of surface area, allowing you to spread more food out in a single layer for the best results. It's fast but not as versatile as some air fryers because of its limited fan speed range.
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Makes good-quality fried food.
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Cooks quickly.
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Good amount of surface area for cooking.
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6-qt capacity.
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Runs hot.
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Small fan speed range.
The Dreo ChefMaker has a good frying performance. Its basket has a good amount of surface area, so you can spread your food out in a single layer, and it makes good-quality fried food like vegetables or chicken wings. However, it runs hot and overcooks a larger proportion of your food than many other air fryers. As a result, you may want to reduce the temperature in recipes. Our results are based on the 'Classic Cook' mode and not 'Chef Mode,' which is for meat and fish and might produce different results.
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Makes good-quality fried food.
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Cooks quickly.
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Good amount of surface area for cooking.
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Runs hot.
The Dreo ChefMaker is a fast air fryer. It preheats and cooks food quickly.
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Cooks quickly.
The Dreo ChefMaker has a good capacity—large enough to cook for about four people. Its basket has a good amount of surface area, giving you more space to spread your food out in a single layer than other 6-qt air fryers.
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Good amount of surface area for cooking.
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6-qt capacity.
The Dreo ChefMaker is a somewhat bulky air fryer. Unlike most air fryers, it's equipped with a water tank, and it takes up more space than many 6-qt air fryers.
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Bulky design.
- 7.8 Air Frying
- 7.7 Large Batch Cooking
Performance Usages
- 7.7 Frying Performance
- 8.4 Cooking Speed
- 7.6 Cooking Capacity
- 6.9 Size
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Dreo ChefMaker comes in one color: 'Silver.' Here's the label for the unit we tested.
If you encounter another variant, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Air Fryers
The Dreo ChefMaker is a high-end air fryer with some unique features. Unlike other air fryers, it has a water misting feature and a built-in temperature probe that you can use with its 'Chef Mode' to have the machine automatically cook meat and fish. Like the Instant Vortex Plus 140-3088-01, its drawer has a window, and the cooking chamber has a light inside so you can see into it.
Otherwise, when using its 'Classic Cook' mode, it produces good-quality air-fried food like chicken wings, fries, or vegetables, although it tends to run hot, so it overcooks a bigger proportion compared to air fryers like the 6-qt COSORI TurboBlaze. It's also not quite as versatile since its fan speed doesn't vary that much for different modes like baking or dehydrating.
If you're looking for a recommendation, check out our list of the best air fryers.
Test Results
It has a good amount of cooking surface area for its capacity. Compared to some 6-qt models, like the BELLA 6qt Pro 90165, you have more room to spread your food out in one layer.
It's decently versatile and has a few features that set it apart from other air fryers. While its fan speed doesn't vary as much as the most versatile air fryers, it has a good temperature range for different recipes and uses.
Its main selling point is its 'Chef Mode,' which is meant for steak and other cuts of beef, poultry, and fish. You can choose your desired doneness for steak. Once you select what you're cooking, it'll tell you if you should use the cooking rack, temperature probe, or water misting feature. The probe monitors your food's internal temperature and the ambient temperature inside the air fryer to check doneness and crispiness. The water mist is meant to slow cooking to avoid drying out the meat or fish.
There's also a 'Classic Cook' mode if you want to use it like a conventional air fryer. 'Classic Cook' includes the usual modes like roast, dehydrate, and air fry. You can select the temperature and time for each of the settings. The fan speed doesn't vary between settings as much as some air fryers, making it less useful for methods like dehydrating and baking.
'Classic Cook' modes:
- Air Fry (Temperatures available: 200°F – 450°F)
- Defrost
- Reheat
- Broil
- Roast
- Toast (fastest fan speed)
- Bake
- Dehydrate
This air fryer connects with an app that offers firmware updates and the ability to send recipe information to the machine, so all you have to do on the air fryer itself is press start. You can also access 'Creative Mode,' which lets you create and save your own 'Chef Mode' presets. Here's a screen recording of the app in action.
It makes good quality fried food. When you air fry foods like fries, vegetables, or breaded meat, most of them come out well-cooked and golden brown. However, compared to other air fryers, more of your food will be overcooked and burnt by the time it's ready.
It has good temperature stability. It recovers its temperature quickly after you add food. However, it doesn't maintain that stable of a temperature during cooking. More significantly, it runs hot, so if you set it to 400°F, it behaves more like you set it to 450°F. This is why it overcooks more of your food than many air fryers, and you may want to set it to a lower temperature to compensate.