Cooking for lots of people can be stressful, especially if you don't have the right equipment.

New ovens now come with a range of features to make life easier. The Mercury Range Cooker, pictured, has enough space to cook the whole Christmas dinner for a large party, all at once.

Other ovens utilise steam technology and have steam cookers built into the actual oven. Steam cooking is a great way to keep vegetables crisp and to maintain their vitamins. Miele make a range of steam cookers that can also defrost, re-heat, blanch and stew food.

One of the latest kitchen technologies around is induction heating. It works by creating a magnetic field below the ceramic surface. When an iron or iron-based pan is placed on the hob heat is drawn to it and a water can be boiled in 30 seconds.

The cooking zones are so accurate that it's possible to create a constant low temperature for long periods of time without food burning onto the pan.

It is also very safe as it is the pan itself that heats up, so it's easy to clean the surface if there are any spillages and it won't burn your hand if you accidentally reach across the hob.

Ovens with these new technologies can be purchased from domestic appliance specialists Homemaker who have showrooms in Warminster and Bath. Call (01985) 219200 for details.