Pampered Chef

[chefreit]

I have a friend, who is also in the industry, who swears by it.

Looks like a bunch of over priced crap to me! But he is a front of the house guy.

I have always been very industrial, in my approach to cookware.

Hence! Back of the house. I respect EG’s opinions.

HELP PLEASE!

[FistFullaRoux]

I think it is somewhat of a pyramid scheme, from my POV. The goal of holding one of the "parties" is to encourage one of the guests to have their own party, and so forth. The host gets to choose several items from the catalog for themselves and get a discount on other items, depending on how many people order something from their party. There are also other incentives for holding a party.

The company is now owned by Warren Buffet, probably the only single person in America rich enough to give Bill Gates a run. His politics are well known, and won't get mentioned here.

That being said, some of the stuff is of decent quality, though some are completely useless. I have a rather nice digital probe thermometer that was reasonably priced at about $25 (I think), and the pizza stones are nice. They have served me well. The rest of it is close to the same price you will find at a BB&B, Williams-Sonoma, etc. The only advantage this method has is the fact that it is delivered to your door.

It boils down to a personal choice.

[DeVeaux]

I got conned into going to one of these shindigs held by a neighbor once. Total waste of time and I did not buy anything.

Most of their customers are not cooks, and they buy all the "neat" stuff that most of us already have. You're much better off going to Williams-Sonoma.

Edited March 2, 2005 by DeVeaux (log)

[jgm]

I use some of their products. Their $8 offset spatula is a better deal than the one Williams-Sonoma wants $20 for. Perhaps the one at W-S is better made (I don't know) but I only use this tool a few times a year, and the PC product is plenty sturdy for me. This item cannot be found anywhere else in the city in which I live.

Many of the people on eGullet live in large cities, and those who live in large cities don't often have a clue as to what it's like to live in more sparsely populated areas. Pampered Chef brings products to people who otherwise would not have access to them. And they have a few products that aren't available anywhere else. The items in their catalog are of decent to excellent quality.

I don't know whether professionals in the food industry would be interested in Pampered Chef products or not. They are intended for home use. When a customer has a party, she or he is eligible for a certain dollar amount of free products, depending upon the total sales of the party. (Tupperware and many other companies work the same way.) For young people just establishing their kitchens it's a way to get fairly good-quality products at very low cost, and can be a godsend to people on a strict budget. Whether they live in New York City, San Francisco, or Inman, Kansas.

[jsolomon]

I've given a few of their wares as gifts. I like their can opener that doesn't leave a sharp edge. $17.95 last I purchased one. I don't own anything of theirs, but I've used it.

As was said uplist, it's BB&B or WS level of quality and requisite price. Not the best, but worse can certainly be purchased.

[patti]

I went to a party years ago (before I learned how to say NO to friends) and I bought my first pizza stone. I loved it until the day it died (my husband broke it). Now pizza stones are commonly seen in retail stores, but at the time, they were not.

Edited March 2, 2005 by patti (log)

[DeVeaux]

Give me a break. People in Inman can drive to Wichita in about an hour and go to the W-S on Rock Road.

Even here in Topeka we have cooking stores that sell professional quality stuff, or we can drive over to Kansas City.

Maybe if you lived in Hoxie it would be a valid excuse to buy this dreck.

[sparrowgrass]

I went to a Pampered Chef party once. The hostess passed all the tools for everyone to look at.

As she was doing this, she was preparing some sort of sandwich-y thing for all of us to eat. As she got ready to spread the mayonaisse on the bread, she said, "Where is my spatula?" and proceeded to use the spatula that everyone had handled to spread the mayo.

I came down with a sudden headache.

The stuff is higher quality than the junk available in Walmart or KMart, where lots of us country bumpkins shop.

(Yeah, I know I could drive 2 hours to St. Louis, Deveaux, but I live here so I don't have to fight traffic.)

[Lone Star]

I went to one of the parties years ago and bought the large "Batter bowl" which is made of a heavy glass, holds 2 quarts measurments in cups or oz. and has its own tight-fitting lid. I love it and use it frequently.

I would rather get invited to one of those parties than the horrible jewelry ones my SIL gives. The horrible games, fashion tips etc... too much to bear.

Edited March 2, 2005 by Lone Star (log)

[FabulousFoodBabe]

For a while, when I was teaching cooking classes, there was always someone from Pampered Chef who would be in the audience or in a work-group. At least five times a night, they'd pop up and say, "Pampered Chef has [insert gadgety name here] that will handle such a task!" It drove me nuts, and I had to ban one woman from any classes in the future. When I donate cooking classes to fundraisers, I now have to add a disclaimer that I don't do these in conjunction with anyone else, for any reason.

It got to the point that I would say, "yanno, Pampered Chef has something that you can buy for $24.95 to do this, but if you just dampen a kitchen towel and wrap it around the base of your bowl, you can put the extra dough in your Jaguar fund. Or mine."

[jariggs]

I second the recommendation for the batter bowl. A former roomate of mine had one and I missed it after I moved out. One of my co-workers passed around the catalog after she hosted a party at her house and I jumped at the chance to buy one. That being said, it was one of the only items I liked in the catalog that I didn't already own. I'm glad I didn't have to attend the party for a variety of reasons.

I went to one of the parties years ago and bought the large "Batter bowl" which is made of a heavy glass, holds 2 quarts measurments in cups or oz. and has its own tight-fitting lid.  I love it and use it frequently.

←

[Dana]

My mom got me a high heat spatula and it's great. I've had it a long time and use it frequently. My first pizza stone came from PP as well. I'm on my third from various sources - they've all broken. Most of the other stuff I've seen/used at mom's has been useless.

DeVeaux - my daughter lives in Hill City - not far from Hoxie.

[DeVeaux]

Dana-

I have a Lodge Brother and good friend here in Topeka who is from Hoxie, as is his Wife.

[chromedome]

Mostly their stuff is passable, and the prices are not *too* outrageous. Seems to fall in quality somewhere between the entry-level Wal-Mart/Zellers stuff and the better retailers, though the pricing seems to lean more to the higher end than the product justifies (in my opinion).

I have been given several items, including a pizza stone (too small, and now broken), vegetable peeler (don't use it), a rather ordinary lightweight springform pan (at about twice the price of a comparable item at the mall), and so on.

Worst item? A utensil stand (spoonholder, sort of a thing) which is too small for anything larger than a tablespoon, and has a non-attached handle which means that it can't be conveniently moved. Fix the handle, make it big enough for a mixing spoon, and then we'll talk.

Best item? Yeah, the batter bowl.

[pam claughton]

I guess I'm just a total geek, but my friend Jen and I were actually excited to get invited to our neighborhood pampered chef party. Beats the heck out of overpriced candles or jewelry. plus there was food, and wine, and we were happy with what we got. Jen got a great meat thermometer, and I love my pizza stone.

[fiftydollars]

I have received some of this stuff as gifts and I have to say I'm not disappointed. I was given a couple of pieces of Family Traditions Stoneware and the stuff's not bad. I actually really like the large round baking dish a whole lot. It's heavy, solid, and roasts potatoes wonderfully. I also have the deep pie dish, which has a somewhat rough, unglazed interior. It works pretty well... although I suspect it's just a little too heavy for most of my applications, which makes for longer cooking times and less browning of the crust as compared to a pie baked in a pyrex dish.

I have also been given some spatulas, adjustable measuring things, and such... The quality varies considerably and I would probably never buy many of the items. A lot of their utensils and accessories are either too expensive or don't seem sturdy enough. Not to mention what is true of most any kitchen tool in general... you don't really need it.

[jgm]

One of my recent purchases is a rectangular server that contains a tray that has a gel inside it, and when put in the freezer for several hours and then reassembled into the server, will help keep food cold... or at least cool. One side is flat and the other has indentations for deviled eggs. There is a removable divider that would be useful for arranging fresh vegetables. This is not something one would use in a professional kitchen; it's designed for everyday home use, for picnics and potlucks. Although I haven't used it yet, everyone I know who has one is crazy about it. I'm looking forward to using it a lot over the summer as we attend the various functions we do. Much easier than working with ice packs and trays I already have.

Every line, whether it's Le Creuset, Tupperware, Oxo, or All Clad, has pieces that are well-designed and pieces that are not. PC has pieces I'd never use; one of my friends bought a food chopper, similar to one I owned years ago. Although it does chop onions, nuts, etc., well, these things are a pain in the butt to clean. But this woman is elderly, not interested in developing her knife skills, and has arthritis. It will probably be a very useful tool for her. And to me, that seems to be the bottom line. I may not need it, and you may not need it, but it's a godsend to her.

[Toliver]

I bought their Measure-All measuring cup and I am thrilled with it. At the time I bought it, you couldn't find it in any store. Now I think, if you're lucky, you might find something similar in the nearest BB&Beyond store.

And, hey! To go slightly off topic, Alton Brown uses something similar on his show and sells a set of them.

[designchick88]

I have some Pampered Chef stuff, not a lot. Some of the little gadgety-type things are less expensive through Pampered Chef than they would be at Williams-Sonoma. The PC chopper thing that everyone swears is a godsend is useless and ungodly expensive - I've been to a couple of PC parties and it always amazes me how many people get suckered into buying that. But I have some pastry tools that from PC that were a good value. I also like the batter bowl with the lid and use it a lot. I have one of the pizza stones but that was given to me as a gift. The recipes they make at the parties and that are in the booklets are godawful - it's all about refrigerator crescent rolls and mayonnaise, from what I've seen. But if you're choosy and shop around before buying the PC stuff, you can get some nice-quality items for a reasonable cost.

Could you find the stuff cheaper elsewhere if you wanted to? Probably. A lot of home cooks don't have the motivation to do that, or they feel intimidated trying to go into a Williams-Sonoma or other cooking store because of the array of choice, because they aren't overwhelmingly informed, or because cooking snobs are in there sneering at them for not understanding the difference between a chef's knife and a santoku. For some people, I'm sure it's safer and easier to buy from someone you know at a PC party. And, as was mentioned above, not everyone lives in a big city and people who have families, jobs and obligations can't always take time out of their schedule to drive an hour or two to get to a big city and buy kitchen equipment from a cooking snob-approved vendor.

[nixienox]

I have a couple of items, given to me as gifts by one of my sisters. She loves their products and owns loads of it. Most of the gadgety things I have no use for, but I like the pizza stone. And I baked a crunch cake in one of the stone baking pans and it came out lovely. This same sister doesn't cook. She uses her oven and stovetop for storage, for the hundreds of dollars of things she's bought at parties. If I use something while I'm visiting, it's usually the first time it's been used. She just likes parties I guess, and buying things at parties.

[Angela Alaimo]

I was dragged to one of these parties by my sister-in-law, and to tell the truth, I liked the stuff better than the other party attendees. I truly believe they were there merely to spend money, and it could have been a rusty hub cap party, as long as they could get some more stuff to add to their pile. I felt as if I were the only one there who really liked to cook, because I like to eat, not because that means I can buy lots of gadgets.

SIL has bought tons of their items, and pretty much never uses any of it. I wanted a cookie press and so bought it from PC, as I was tryingto be a good party girl. It didn't work, was crap, really, and so I gave it to SIL to add to her pile of un used PC stuff.

So I reckon if I could get the stuff without having to go to the party, I would be more amenable. Of course, everyone's mileage may vary, as it would depend upon whom you are partying with!

Angela

[Bacchusrogue]

Hmm Id love to go to one as I keep looking at their catalog and drooling, though here in toronto I can pretty much find everything similar here somewhere.

Prefere it to a candle or tupperware party though and far better than Amway *barf*

Hmm Lodge brother DeVeaux??? I was just at my Lodge last night for a meeting

[chefreit]

Thank you all, so much!

Please keep them coming.

[DeVeaux]

Actually, Brother Bacchus, it's W:. DeVeaux, PM.

[LynDel]

I did enjoy going to a PC party moreso than any other kind of home product party. When I was first invited, I browsed their website and made my initial wish list. Then I compared those products with BB&B, Williams-Sonoma and Crate n' Barrel. Sounds tedious but I have a wonderful DSL connection with my work computer

I didn't order a lot, as neither my husband or I want a tiny kitchen apartment filled with one function gadgets, but my wish list decreased as I discovered better prices or better products at the other two places.

Though I know two friends who love their batter bowls

And I did order a couple of the pantry mix items but I haven't been able to try them yet. I'm still waiting for my order to arrive...