Cobb CB220 Premier Kitchen-In-A-Bag

This travel cooker is great for many different types of cooking. We have done bread, steak, stir fry and more. We are happy with all of the features except the repacking. There are no clearly defined instructions for repacking. It took us several tries to get it back in correctly. Take note, we finally made a list, order of stacking each item. Overall we like this cooker and its efficiency you may need to add a few extra coals if you intend to use it for a long period of time i.e. the bread we cooked.

I purchased this item after seeing it in action on trip to England. On one occasion my son cooked a large chicken on the upright chicken stand with the dome extension ring (without which it would not fit, upright, under the dome) and the result was probably the most delicious chicken I'd ever tasted. I was sold!Upon my return to California I immediately ordered the Cobb CB220 Premier Kitchen-In-A-Bag, which explicitly includes the chicken stand and dome extension ring (both in the product image and the product description). I first ordered one from Amazon Warehouse Deals in "Used, like new" condition, to save about $20 on the new price. It arrived early and was indeed like new (I doubt it had even actually been used) but the dome extension ring and chicken rack were missing.In a chat with an Amazon customer service rep I was offered a refund and a credit towards a "New" Cobb CB220 Premier Kitchen-In-A-Bag, from Amazon (not Amazon Warehouse Deals) to make the price the same as the one I was returning, and free 2-day shipping, as I had planned to use it at the weekend. I ordered it, and it arrived on time, but the package contents were identical to the one I was returning: no dome extension ring and no chicken rack.( The missing components can be seen in this image from the product page: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81FzfRm8HPL._SL1500_.jpg )While these missing components are not expensive they were crucial in my decision to buy the "Cobb CB220 Premier Kitchen-In-A-Bag" kit rather than the (much cheaper) Cobb CB041 Premier (with no accessories) or the Cobb CB040 Premier (with some accessories, but fewer than the CB220)My 2-star rating is not for the product in general (which is amazing, when complete) but to draw attention to Amazon's seriously misleading product description (I did not receive the product as advertised), and for the expense and inconvenience of having to return two very large packages.I have since found the item at a different vendor (not through Amazon) at a slightly lower price and with free shipping. And I have the opportunity to talk on the phone with that vendor, before purchasing, to ensure I get all the accessories that are supposed to be included in the kit.EDIT : The other vendor contacted me to inform that they currently have the CB220 on back-order, but that the kit is assembled by Cobb, not by themselves (or by Amazon in the case of the products I purchased) so my 2-star rating stands for now, but now reflects a discrepancy on the part of Cobb, not Amazon, for providing a product that falls short of the product description.EDIT 2: I have since discovered, by browsing the UK Cobb website (not the US site - search "cobb uk sets" to find the page), that in addition to the basic Cobb Premiere Grill/Oven they assemble seven 'sets' each of which contains some permutation of accessories. At the bottom of the range the set contains only the grill/oven and a carry bag. At the top of the range is the Kitchen-in-a-Bag, containing all the accessories, as listed and pictured on Amazon. What Amazon delivered to me, twice, however was not the Kitchen-in-a-Bag, it was the Cobb Premier Combo++, which contains everything from the Kitchen-in-a-Bag except the dome extension and chicken rack. These kits are assembled (by Cobb, I believe) and packed in unmarked plain brown boxes, so there is no way to distinguish between them until the box is opened.

This will be a Bday gift. I had been planning on waiting until closer to the day to order but when I heard about Cobb not distributing in North America anymore I decided to buy while I could get it. I had read reviews where it was said that the extension ring was missing. They also said that the outside of the box wasn't clearly marked as to what it contained. This was not the case with my box.The box stated that it contained the extension ring along with the other items included with this set. I carefully opened the box and the case and it is indeed in there.Also have to praise Amazon Prime. I ordered this Wednesday evening and it was delivered Friday morning! Gotta love it.I'll update this review once the gift is given and used but I wanted to get the review up to let people know that the sets they are sending out now are complete.We've used the cobb grill and several of the included accessories and we love it! The compact size and fact that you need so little charcoal are pluses. We also love the fact that the base stays cool. We're really excited at the prospect of grilling on our porch all winter. (Deep snow usually closes our grilling window by Christmas.)My understanding is that this set is no longer available in North America but if you can get this grill I'd snap it up. It would be great for tailgating or camping.

Everything that was advertised as coming in the bag was accounted for. Although we haven't used this item to it's full extent yet, we LOVE it! I have never made ribs before and decided to once we got the COBB. They could have cooked a bit longer, but that was our fault as we started the grill a bit later in the day than we should have. They still came out well, just weren't "fall off the bone" ribs. We have grilled and we had fun attempting to bake canned cinnamon rolls. The rolls did bake (yet took twice the amount of time as the package states), and looked beautiful from the top, but the bottoms burned. Still, I would recommend this! I think you just have to learn what works and what doesn't. I'm excited to share it with others so they can oooh and ahhh! =) Cleaning is a bit tedious if you are picky about how clean you want it to be. It's unfortunate that the USA division has closed. I'm hoping that won't be an issue as long as take good care of our COBB. I look forward to trying all the different attachments to see what can be accomplished. YouTube also has some great videos of others using this grill to give ideas.

I love my Cobb-ecues. I have one that I use on my sailboat in Alaska and one in Maui. I find that they cook well and make the meat tender, but that I have to use more briquettes than they recommend to keep the heat up in the wind and to keep the cooking surface hot enough so it will brown the meat. I put fish in a aluminum foil boat on the cooking surface and add smoke chips to the fire pit...mmmmmmmmmm!Pros: Efficient-A bag of briquettes lasts 3 months cooking 4 times a week. The food is moist, with a wonderful flavor and yet no cinders from the fire.Cons: Cleaning the fire pit/drip chamber is a messy chore. I usually put it off for a couple of weeks. I keep the drip area coated with olive oil so it does not harden. On the second one I bought, about a square inch of the non stick cooking surface came off. It has stabilized (no more has come off) and still works well. If you like your meat charred, you will not like the Cobb.