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The choice was between an Aga and an Audi, jokes Pat McMahon. The Aga won. "But even toast tastes better on it", he says.

And Tanya confesses that although the Aga absorbed half of her kitchen budget she says it's perfect for the plain, homestyle cooking she prefers, using good quality ingredients from her prolific vegetable plot.

"The Aga also takes away the modern look of the kitchen in an older home".

The couple became Aga devotees while in Europe where Agas are popular not only for cooking but also for heating homes. However, in Parnell, this Aga is used mainly for cooking and it runs on gas, rather than solid fuel. It is always on and although it does emit some heat, it is inviting heat, says Tanya, especially in winter, and not a problem in summer.

Since the Aga was originally designed in the 1920's by a blind physicist and Noble Prize winner, the basic design has hardly changed. After a science experiment left Dr Gustav Dalen blind, he turned his attention to the problems his wife was having in the kitchen cooking on a stove. Each cast iron model is still individually forged and hand assembled on site, as was the case with the McMahon's. Rather than having a complex facade of gadgetry and gauges, the Aga has no sharp edges, and temperatures in the ovens are constant. With this model, the four ovens range in heat from a roasting oven, baking oven, simmering oven down to a warming oven. On top are a boiling plate and a simmering plate. This means that rather than adjusting the settings of the burners or ovens to what's being cooked, food is moved to the appropriate hotplates or ovens.

Tanya says one of the best things about Agas is that they clean themselves. "And because it's always on, you're more inclined to use it. For example, with oven-dried tomatoes, I'll pop a tray of them in the oven overnight and they'll be dry by morning; or with soups and jams, it's so easy - and I enjoy making them.

"What's more, I don't have to worry if I've left the oven on when I go to work!"

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