Chef Pan Reviews

I needn't have worried about where to store it. It gets so much use it is rarely put away. A most versatile piece of equipment. Even heat, easy cleanup, perfect size for so many different tasks, as other reviewers agree. (More than you'd imagine until you actually start using it.) A pleasure to use every time, and a great value at the sale price. Beautiful to look at, it also makes a great gift.

I'm tired of those non-stick pans that eventually lose their coating and thought that I'll try stainless steel pan for almost everything but frying an egg. Boy did I pick the right pan to start with! This pan, besides being beautifully made, is the perfect size for almost everything I cook. It's very heavy, but the helper handle helps. It conducts heat very well, so I no longer use the high setting on my gas stove or the food would burn. Despite being made in China, the quality is excellent. I'm sure it will last decades. My only complaint is that sometimes I wish the stainless steel cover is made of glass so I can see through. But, I'll still give it 5 stars because I'm very very happy with the design and quality.

Awesome to cook in and clean up is a breeze. Remember to follow the instructions to keep the heat on Medium and close the lid. I have even cooked rice in this and it has come out great!! Highly recommend this pan.

This pan gets a real workout at our house. A bargain at twice the price!

I have this pan and it is the best and my favorite. I would like to purchase more for gifts.

I've had this piece for three years, and it still looks NEW! This is perfect for stews, chile, pot roasts, soups, sausage/potato/sauerkraut dinner, and a wonderful corned beef/cabbage/'tater/carrot meal. With the even-cooking-all round capabilities, you find each meal tasty and tender. So to save yourself time, dirty pots, easy cooking - I highly recommend this piece; you won't be sorry for the investment...gollleeee...the price is soooo *right*!!!

This pan is incredible -- it is always the one I reach for when I'm trying to decide WHAT and HOW I'm going to make dinner. It distributes the heat evenly and smoothly, even on my cranky stove. I've boiled, baked, braised, fried and done anything else you can imagine in this pan. It is very easy to clean BUT MAKE SURE YOU NEVER PUT IT IN THE DISHWASHER. It will ruin the anodized coating and void the warranty. It must be hand-washed. I've had another Calphalon product which was accidentally put in the dishwasher and the finish hasn't been the same. But don't worry -- this pan is NOT a problem to hand wash; the finish lets food come right up. A must buy!

This pan is by far the most useful and versatile I have ever had. You can cook rice in it and it does not stick. I have many pieces of Calphalon, both Commercial hard-anodized and Professional nonstick~ and this pan gets the most use and admiration. I have two of these, and many times I have wished I had just one more! The 4 quart capacity is a must. It is roomy enough to cook an entire package of spaghetti noodles without boiling over. If I could only have 1 pan- this would be the one.

I received this pan as a gift in 2000. I find it to be one of the most useful pans I have. I have an entire set of Calphalon pans and love the way they heat/cook evenly. I would compare them to an iron skillet, except Calphalon is easier to clean.

This piece of cookware is an excellent size to do all kinds of things. I have used it to roast a chicken, I make chili in it and it cleans up very easily.
I do alot of cooking from scratch... no pre-fab dinners... this is a true tool that should be in every kitchen!

You won't be sorry with this pan. Very heavy stainless. Heat conductivity and even temperatures are the norm. Get this one before it sells out. And what a bargain! I ordered more for presents.

This Cuisinart Chef's Classic saute pan has quickly become my favorite pan. It's huge - a full 12" across - which makes it very versatile. The pan conducts heat extremely well and is oven safe to 500 degrees. The handle is very sturdy, reasonably comfortable, and stays cool (outside of the oven, of course). The lid fits tightly. Both the interior and the exterior are very shiny and attractive. All this and it's easy to clean. Yet this pan sells for just a fraction of the sexier brands like All-Clad or Calphalon.

The chief reason for the great price is due to the construction. This is known as a "disk bottom" pan because it has a highly conductive aluminum disk embedded in its base. The really expensive brands feature "cladding", where a layer of conductive metal (usually aluminum) is embedded throughout the entire pan. Although the cookware industry loves to say that disk-bottom pans are inferior, test after test proves this claim is untrue. After all, we don't cook on the sides of a pan; we only cook on the bottom. See Cook's Illustrated magazine, May/June 2003, for a great discussion of this.

There are a few reasons why this pan might not be right for you. This pan's size makes it fairly heavy, so if you have arthritis or weak hands, you might want to opt for a smaller pan. Similarly, this pan might not fit on those tiny stovetops or ranges that you sometimes see in "galley" kitchens in apartments. But if you want a large, durable, high-quality saute pan at a fraction of the cost of the big-name brands, this is the pan for you.

I'm no cookware snob or gourmet chef, I just enjoy cooking, and I'm in the process of replacing some of my cookware, piece by piece.

I thought I would try this pan, because of the size, and because "everyone" says that you should have at least one fry pan that isn't non-stick. Mind you, 85% of my pots and pans are non-stick, so this is an adjustment for me! This was also my first piece of All-Clad.

I was surprised at the versatility of this pan, its quality, and the relatively easy clean-up -- this from a person who gets stuff stuck on the bottom all the time. But when it's really bad, I just soak it briefly in soapy water and everything comes right up! I love the feel of it and the even heating. In the short time I've owned it, this is quickly becoming my favorite pan (and my husband's, too!) -- although I haven't yet worked up the nerve to actually flambé anything!

A really good choice!

The All-Clad line is worth every penny it costs. They heat evenly, the handles stay cool and they are beautiful to look at. the non-stick surfaces are reliable, however, the regular pots and pans can be a challenge when a tough mess is made. Definitely recommended! Cook on!

Great heat distribution, great quality... if you need a sautoir to add to your collection this is a great item.

This is my choice pan when I am cooking on the stove, lots of room in it to avoid making a mess. The Calphalon commercial and professional pots and pans are deffinately not "non-stick" and since they are what make up my collection of my pots and pans they are a bit hard to clean up if you dont take extra care, so that is why I always use this casserole for everything putting it in a place all by itself. I belief you can get this pan in non-stick, but I prefer mine just the way it is, as if it gets really messy I use a brillo pad and doesn't look any worse for wear. As far as cooking I use it for lots of frozen bags of veggies over the stove, reducing, meats, ect.

I love the look of this pot! It is a workhorse, big enough to roast a small chicken or loin of pork. I first used it to braise a pork loin with rosemary and sage which was supposed to take two hours, because of the even heat and the high conductivity of the anodized aluminum, the loin was done in about 2/3 the time. Then I browned the roast in the pan with garlic and olive oil till it stuck to the pan. I figured clean up was going to be a nightmare! I de-glazed the pan with a mouthful of red wine then soaked it while we ate the most delicious pork we have ever had, tender and succulent. After dinner, the pan cleaned up with soap and hot water and just a minimum scrub with Bon Ami. All the Calphalon lids seem to be interchangeable. Now that I have a drawer full of lids, I have trouble remembering which is which..this dome shaped lid can be substituted on the other pans with flat lids and vice versa. I'm a firm believer in this product. My wife now says I only cook so I can use these pans... Do you think two people really NEED a 12 qt. stock pot??? I do!
Update: Herself wanted "comfort food" one night. I made a quick chicken pot pie using leftovers and a from the grocery store pie crust, put it in this pan and popped it in the oven. Best we've ever had. Because of the shortening in the pie crust, no sticking at all, rinsed the pan with warm water and put it away. ( I know, I know, next time I'll use some soap)

This is the most versatile and useful item in the set. I have two and it is rare that I will cook a meal with out using one or both.
They can be used as a smaller stock-pot, a sauce pan, or a great alternative to a wok. I use mine to make soups, stir-frys, saute's, and just about anything else. The cooking surface is great, easy to clean, and heats evenly.
They are not "non-stick"in the way teflon coated pans are, but its a small concession since you'll never have to worry about the surface "peeling" like teflon.

I have this pan and love it so much I just ordered the 4-1/2 quart version. I use my Calphalon Tri-Ply pots and pans daily and love them as much if not more than my All Clad stainless. The lids fit snugly and that is terribly important when I make rice and steam veggies. My All Clad can't make the same claim and they cost a bunch more as we all know. They don't stick and clean up in a cinch, their weight, balance and design is superb as well.
Give this line a try, start with one of their "try me" collector's pans, you won't regret it!

I have an "everyday" pan from this line and like it very much. So I ordered this and it is bigger and better than I expected. Bigger is the operative word. It seems much bigger than a straight sided 3qt sauce pan. It heats up wonderfully and stays hot with medium heat. Is easy to clean, comes with directions and says can clean with "Bon Ami" or "Bar Keepers Friend" if food sticks. I really like the rim too, it is smooth and easy to pour from it. I will keep my straight sided sauce pan for fixing malt-o-meal as the bubbling up tends to splatter up out of the sides. All in all a great bargain.

Compared with the prices of other pieces in the collection, this pot is a steal! It cooks evenly,and cleans easily. What more can you ask for? I traded in my old Revere copper bottom set for Tri-ply and love it. Even the more expensive pieces are definately worth the price.

Yes, this pot has a solid feel. However, in design and manufacturing standards, it's not on par with All-Clad, or those Cuisinart and Caphalon products that are made in the USA.

The weight of this utensil (5 lbs empty, about 11 lbs when filled with 3 quarts of water) paired with the relatively short handle make it slightly awkward in some situations. For example, its size make it ideal for cooking pasta for one or two people, but in that case I would have preferred that the pot have a second ("helper") handle or at least a longer single handle.

As others have noted, both interior and exterior finish are brushed, rather than mirror finish, making it slightly more difficult to clean. However, I disagree that all other finishes look the same after several months. Mirror finishes remain so if a good quality paste copper cleaner is used.

On the plus side: The lid of this pot fits well, and the handle of the lid is convenient.

Overall, good value, but not 5 star quality.

I recently purchased this pan, and my kitchen is all the better for it. Its best feature is its weight, which keeps it from being tipped over even when it holds very light ingredients. The handle is also superb, staying cool even on a very hot burner over a long period of time, and being more than sturdy enough to handle the body's considerable weight no matter what it contains.
The price is also quite reasonable for a pan of this quality. (It was so good, in fact, that I had it shipped, indirectly, all the way to Japan so I could use it for cooking local dishes).
I certainly wouldn't hesitate to buy another product from the manufacturers.

We have a huge collection of Calphalon hard anodized, but when cooking tomato based dishes, they can discolor. Adding the copper with stainless interior makes it easier to clean up tomato sauce mess! I like the rounded bottom so my spoon can touch all the places with no "corner hiding". As always, the handle is what makes this Calphalon pan as well as the other commercial items stand out! I absolutely love the handle and it stays cool in all of my cooking... BUT remember if you use it in the oven it still gets HOT!!! The size is just right for small to medium families and we love it.

The pans seem of great quality (haven't actually used them yet), but I wanted to advise of the packaging. I ordered two sets, and planned to give one as a gift. I was less than thrilled to see the large lettering on the box: Our gift to you - free when you purchase $150 of Anolon cookware. Thus, be aware that if you want to give these pans as a gift, the giftee will think they were freebie! No one else has mentioned this-- maybe they are not all packaged the same.

I bought these on sell and I'm glad I did this cookware heats evenly and clean up is easy with the nonstick surface. Would buy again.

I just received the Analon 4 piece set for 19.99 a few days ago. The pans cook everything so evenly and tasty. I highly recommend this product. Great value for the money.

Great pan. It took me a while to figure out how to keep foods from sticking but now I love it. Add a little oil but make sure you don't overheat it, med-to-med hi is good. Put meat in, let it sear and don't touch it until it's completely seared. Then it releases and can be turned over without sticking. It's great for searing steaks or chicken breasts and then putting into oven to finish. Add a little broth, wine and butter to the drippings and you get a great sauce to go with it. Plus it's a great looking pan too.

I had ordered a set of Revere Ware pans from another web site for my daughter and was completely disappointed in the weight and quality of them, so they're on their way back. I just received one of the Cuisinart pans in the set that I ordered for her from Amazon.com today and WOW!!! I love it. So much so, in fact, that I have just ordered myself a set!!!!! She's getting her's tomorrow, the rest should be here by then, and I can't wait to get mine!!!!! I know that it won't be long because her's came within 5 days of the order being placed! Thanks Amazon for a great deal too.

We've had this about three months now and use it all the time. The nice, thick bottom helps to distribute heat evenly. It's easy to clean, as there's no place for food to get stuck where you can't get at it. Over all, its nice, solid construction suggests that it's built to last a lifetime. We usually just pick up pans and things like this at second-hand stores because we're cheap, but this is one of those items I'd buy brand new again if the price was right (we got it for ten bucks - a phenomenal deal through Amazon).