Chef Branded Cookware ?

[rotuts]

on a different thread 

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/162774-emerils-pizza-grillany-experience-with-it/?tab=comments#comment-2303016

 

a new , and quite small  Pizza

 

oven , Emeril Branded  for

 

$ 39.99 !!!  what a deal !  Oooops    3 payments !

 

any way  my question :

 

have you tried or use Chef Branded equipment ?

 

how do you rate it 

 

compared to ' other ' similar choices ?

 

Raymond Blanc  has a set of mid-priced anodizes aluminum w a steel base

 

for induction etc

 

Thomas Keller has a set :

 

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/all-clad-tk-7-piece-fry-pan-and-sauce-pan-set/

 

and I wonder if its not doing well at all , N.B. : the deep discount.

 

personally , Ive not found much ' added '  from TheChef 

 

and generally more expensive.

 

except of course for the small pan , a loss-leader

 

to get you hooked.

 

P.S.:  Tk's line @ WS  has traditional 

 

french restaurant ' lids ' for the pots.

 

very cool .   I has a set of these w my Dehlerings cooper ware.

 

they are practical for a restaurant , as you can grab  the next size up

 

from your pan , and it works , daily well

 

at home , the designs demerits come out.

 

steam condenses on the lid .  it drains to the edge of the lid

 

as these are not air tight nor drip proof 

 

and drips on your stove.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eatmywords]

Isn't the general rule the more famous the chef (or tv personality who can boil pasta) the shittier the quality?

[MokaPot]

I have a 1-quart pot (red, non-stick), Martha Stewart / Macy's brand. A friend gave it to me a long time ago. I think she bought a set and broke up the set.

 

Anyway, it's surprisingly useful just for ramen and soup. The nonstick coating is in good condition after all this time.

 

 

[Anna N]

Probably not a chef of the fame of Emeril but both @Kerry Bealand I had cookware with Marcel Biro’s name on it. In fact, most of the cookware that we used in Manitoulin was this brand and it was very satisfactory. 

[AlaMoi]

2 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

Isn't the general rule the more famous the chef (or tv personality who can boil pasta) the shittier the quality?

 

not necessarily.

but the celebrity price far exceeds that of similar quality in the open market.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

When we bought our house, along with a lot of furniture I inherited a full set of Emeril cookwear. Sturdy, heavy as hell, with a thick copper pad sandwiched between the stainless base and the pan body, and entirely satisfactory. My husband prefers non-stick cookwear so he can scrub away to his heart's content, but I think he's remembering the bad old days of nonstick pans. In any case I'm not going to replace the Emerils, even though the high-sided saute pan (I guess you could call it a chicken fryer) is almost too heavy for me to pick up one-handed. Depends on which hand, of course. I also still have some of the old Revereware but I usually don't use them. The only one I use is a tall saucepan that works well for popcorn.

 

And then there's cast iron. Three skillets, a wok (don't ask), a dutch oven, and a comal (griddle) that I use constantly. It lives on the stove. 

[weinoo]

4 hours ago, MokaPot said:

I have a 1-quart pot (red, non-stick), Martha Stewart / Macy's brand. A friend gave it to me a long time ago. I think she bought a set and broke up the set.

 

Years, well decades ago (like 40 years) I bought some Tools of the Trade Macy's cookware. it lasted a really, really long time; I might still have one or two pieces, with the others having been donated.

 

Most of the reviews I've read above the Emeril branded All-Clad, have been less than stellar.

[Kerry Beal]

28 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Years, well decades ago (like 40 years) I bought some Tools of the Trade Macy's cookware. it lasted a really, really long time; I might still have one or two pieces, with the others having been donated.

 

Most of the reviews I've read above the Emeril branded All-Clad, have been less than stellar.

I have a fair number of All-Clad pieces - all picked up cheaply - the first 3 were found at Rosehill Liquidation - someone had managed to scrub the black anodized coating off and they had been returned to the store where they were purchased - 3 pieces for $10 a piece. They work just fine!

 

 

 

This 8 quart has been doing yeoman service for quite a number of years. 

 

 

The one Emeril piece I have is a tiny saucier pan which is adequate - but no where near as nice as another I found for a couple of bucks later. But I do prefer the pour spout on it over the other which doesn't have one. And I still have a number of the Biro pans that we picked up at a liquidation place in Sudbury - can't recall what we paid but it wasn't more than $100 for an 8 piece collection. 

 

 

 

 

 

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

I have a fair number of All-Clad pieces - all picked up cheaply - the first 3 were found at Rosehill Liquidation - someone had managed to scrub the black anodized coating off and they had been returned to the store where they were purchased - 3 pieces for $10 a piece. They work just fine!

 

 

 

This 8 quart has been doing yeoman service for quite a number of years. 

 

 

The one Emeril piece I have is a tiny saucier pan which is adequate - but no where near as nice as another I found for a couple of bucks later. But I do prefer the pour spout on it over the other which doesn't have one. And I still have a number of the Biro pans that we picked up at a liquidation place in Sudbury - can't recall what we paid but it wasn't more than $100 for an 8 piece collection. 

 

 

 

 

 

Holy crap!  How does one take off the anodized aluminum?  It's not a coating, you'd actually have to sand off the plating!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

19 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Holy crap!  How does one take off the anodized aluminum?  It's not a coating, you'd actually have to sand off the plating!

I have several flea market All-Clad pieces bought for pennies on the dollar which have been abused beyond any of our comprehension.    Dishwashers do extraordinary damage to anodized aluminum, Calphalon as well as All-Clad.    I am a master at resurrecting these pieces.   Seldom back to factory condition, but quite satisfactory.   

As a garage sale and flea market maven, I have a skeptical opinion of middle class American consumerism.   How do people buy with such abandon and consume with such little respect for product?

[weinoo]

9 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Dishwashers do extraordinary damage to anodized aluminum, Calphalon as well as All-Clad.    I am a master at resurrecting these pieces.  

 

Probably more the soaps and rinse aids than the actual dishwasher.

 

9 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

How do people buy with such abandon and consume with such little respect for product?

 

Oh - let me count the ways in which Americans have been led into parting with their hard-earned dough.

[Maison Rustique]

I fell into the celebrity chef trap and bought a set of cookware by Wolfgang Puck that was on sale at Costco. It is horrible. Nothing is airtight. The lids are not airtight. Definitely was not worth the price, even though it was cheap. Never again.

[ElsieD]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Probably more the soaps and rinse aids than the actual dishwasher.

 

 

Oh - let me count the ways in which Americans have been led into parting with their hard-earned dough.

 

And Canadians.  (Hangs head in shame.)

[jimb0]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Probably more the soaps and rinse aids than the actual dishwasher.

 

 

Oh - let me count the ways in which Americans have been led into parting with their hard-earned dough.

 

agree, i haven't looked up the chemistry but i'd wager that the increased alkalinity of dishwasher detergent plus extended exposure to pretty high heat does a number on the anodic coatings. then once that was screwed up i bet they tried their darnedest to scour the discoloration

Edited June 19, 2021 by jimb0 (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

17 minutes ago, jimb0 said:

 

agree, i haven't looked up the chemistry but i'd wager that the increased alkalinity of dishwasher detergent plus extended exposure to pretty high heat does a number on the anodic coatings. then once that was screwed up i bet they tried their darnedest to scour the discoloration

On Calphalon, at least, I have found that it is indeed a chemical deposit rather than reaction, as I have been able to remove it successfully with feather-touch scouring.   An anodized exterior Al-Clad, however, is irreparably defaced.    It looks as if someone tried to remove the anodized finish.  They only partially succeeded!

Again, the interior is primo and at a couple of dollars it is just fine.

[kayb]

On 6/19/2021 at 7:57 AM, Maison Rustique said:

I fell into the celebrity chef trap and bought a set of cookware by Wolfgang Puck that was on sale at Costco. It is horrible. Nothing is airtight. The lids are not airtight. Definitely was not worth the price, even though it was cheap. Never again.

 

Interesting. I have a Wolfgang Puck stainless skillet, 12 x maybe 3 1/2 inch, with lid, that I'm quite satisfied with. Don't use it a lot because it's not often I need something that big, but it's always been serviceable when I've needed it.

 

My cookware is a mixed bag. I have the Tramontina set @Kerry Beal purchased on my behalf from Canadian Tire when they were closing it out two or three years ago, and I've been quite happy with that. I have a couple of non-stick Calphalon saute pans that are workhorses for me; I've replaced the smaller one once because the nonstick coating got scratched and I feared it was about to start flaking. And I have my beloved Lodge iron skillets, and a couple of Darto pans. 

 

 

 

[&roid]

My mum had a set of the Raymond blanc pans. Truly awful. I was never a fan of the design but on top of that they barely lasted a couple of years. 
 

baffles me how chefs who have made a career out of minute attention to detail could put their name to tat like this. Pays the tax bill I guess…

[Eatmywords]

Guessing the older chef stamped stuff was made a bit better.  Mass production, cheaper materials, wasn't as easy as today.  

 

Who wouldn't want this lavender set?  Plus matching spatula and slotted spoon?  Damn, you pretty!

 

[palo]

The only chef-branded cookware that I ever bought was her oval saucepan.

 

I got it especially for cooking spaghetti/linguine/fettucine etc.. No need to break to fit or baby it as it "melts to fit in pot. Also could use way less water for a quicker boil.

 

Then I went full-on induction and my nephew ended up with it. 😰

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Rachael-Ray-Anodized-Nonstick-Dishwasher/dp/B005C3XN5E/ref=asc_df_B005C3XN5E/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292864557039&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7625523514045616567&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1002400&hvtargid=pla-387705372435&psc=1

 

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