Great meals begin with quality ingredients, but the vessels you cook them in are no less important to a perfect outcome. The more time I spent working in other people’s homes as a private chef, the better I understood the value of high-end cookware. I’ve used scads of different quality cookware brands throughout the mansions I’ve cooked in, and when I set out to upgrade my own cookware from a decent-but-basic Cuisinart set to something more swanky years ago, I had no doubts: All-Clad was my favorite brand. After trying out their stainless steel cookware line, and that of so many others, All-Clad’s quick heating, lack of hot spots, snug-fitting lids, and ability to stand up to high searing temps had me sold.
I wanted a set that would be comprehensive enough to not leave me needing additional pots, pans, or lids, beyond the specialty pieces I was fine to purchase separately, like a nonstick egg pan and a ceramic …