Customer Reviews

All-Clad Copper Core 8-Quart Stockpot

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I received this stockpot for christmas - Given the price tag of this item ($450) one would expect this to be perfect craftsmanship. Not so, the cover didn't fit quite right. It snugged down into the pan and wobbled, unlike the Copper-Core sauce pan I already owned where the cover sits on top. I called Williams-Sonoma, the place of purchase. They had no idea what I was talking about but said they would gladly refund. So the pan was returned and I ordered another from Chefs Catalog hoping I just got a bad pan. Same problem - I then called All-Clad directly. Customer service had no idea what I was talking about, they were under the impression the cover was the same as their sauce pans. They promised to check this out and get back to me. They never did. I sent an email to customer service, but never got a reply. I called Chefs catalog, they said they would investigate this, but it would take a week. I never heard from them again. I called All-Clad again - and was told to trace the cover and the pot to see if it was out of round... I did this but it was very difficult to tell given that the tolerance for out of round would be so slight. I called All-Clad again, explained my frustration and they told me they would check into this. They did call me back the same day this time, and told me the wobbling of the pan cover was normal. So I lived with this...

After a couple of months I called All-Clad again, it just didn't make sense to me that the cover should fit this way. Customer service told me that there was a bad batch of pans that were out of round. They told me to send it back. They also told me to put the mailing receipt in the box and they would reimburse for shipping. I received a new pan yesterday. The cover fits perfectly - it's exactly the same as the sauce pan. I did not get reimbursed for the shipping -

Overall this is a great pan - but the lack of customer support is appalling, both from the sellers of this product and the manufacturer. You would think that when buying top of the line products you would get better service - I doubt I'll buy another All-Clad product - There's too many other good quality products out there -

This is my favorite stockpot.

The copper makes it the most even heating stock pot I have ever used. It holds heat well, so it doesn't loose heat as fast as an aluminum or aluminum core pot does -- which can have trouble when frying because the aluminum cools quickly.

It works great for deep frying, oven roasting, making all types of soups, stews, stocks, etc.

It is pricey, but really does work better for me than the less expensive aluminum core models.

This pot was purchased as a replacement for a 25-year-old Calphalon classic anodized aluminum stock pot of the same size that had always performed satisfactorily (it had just gotten ratty-looking and, frankly, I wanted to treat myself). I cook a lot of soups, stews, and one pot meals and so I use a pot of this size regularly. I am thoroughly impressed at its superior performance characteristics. It heats very evenly and I can saute vegetables much longer before I have a problem with them burning. The pot is easy to clean and I have been putting it in the dishwasher will no ill effect. The only down side to this pot is the price, but I expect it to last for at least the 25 years that my Calphalon pot did, so it will pay for itself over time.

I am retired (finally) and love to cook and have a large collection of cooking utensils. I have always wanted a large stock pot that would allow me to perform such tasks such as carmeliaing a large quantity of onions without scorching, browning ground meat for various dishes such as pasta sauces and then completing the whole process in the same pot. I recently cooked a large quantity of French Onion Soup and the onions were perfect without those little scorched bits I used to get in a thinner bottomed pot. I would highly recommend this stockpot.
PS - The French Onion Soup was the best ever.