If You're Replacing a Pan Set, What Would You Go with?

jollster101 on 11/08/2025 - 16:15

Hey all

We are about to start on some house renovations, of which one area will be the kitchen. With this we are thinking we will replace our current pan set with something new. A mate who was a chef, not Gordon Ramsey style, has said he uses Baccarat Rock and thinks they are decent enough. Not necessarily top end, but worthy in terms of real word use. Our current set that we have had for a few years has been Jamie Oliver Tefal all of which are induction capable as that is our cooktop.

The wife has since been looking at options in stainless steel pan sets, one of which was Baccarat id3 because of the Rock recommendation. Not all cookware is created equal and so I am trying to get recommendations for stainless steel sets that are decent, not necessarily top end, but reliable and do the job without costing the earth.

Cheers

Home & Garden Cookware Pan

Comments

  • CodeXD on 11/08/2025 - 16:16

    What is your budget? What size pans are you looking for? Frying pan + saucepan?

    • jollster101 on 11/08/2025 - 20:20

      Small frying pan, medium / large frying pan, 4 different sized saucepans, saute pan is largely what we have now so something similar I expect…….Maybe a wok as well.

      Ideally less than $1K if that is possible. Not vital to purchase immediately so able to look out for sales / deals that may pop up.

      • AnotherRedLight on 13/08/2025 - 11:16

        Ahh yes, Dr Phil, about as qualified to give financial advise as he is to run ICE raids.

        • JIMB0 on 15/08/2025 - 08:20
          +2

          Formally known by the very misleading name of HeWhoKnows.

          • 2027 on 15/08/2025 - 21:58
            +1

            @JIMB0: And before that, the equally misleading name AmazingOne

  • omguleh on 11/08/2025 - 16:18
    +13

    Solidteknics pots and pans

    • Evil-Elmo on 12/08/2025 - 23:42
      +2

      100%

    • bdubba on 13/08/2025 - 11:40
      +2

      250%. Get Noni if you want something low maintenance.

      • omguleh on 13/08/2025 - 13:42

        It’s quite heavy using the 3mm SS, they make a 2mm version which got good reviews as well.

      • CalmLemons on 14/08/2025 - 10:50

        The noni is hard to get. You can get the all clad but otherwise I got the amazon commecial stainless steel pans and they are just as good as the all cald for 1/5 the price. 30cm was like $50 vs $300 for the allclad and solidteknics.

        It's stainless steel - not like they're good non-stick.

        However, if you're supporting australia I would go with the solidteknics over lodge and all clad.

    • TurtleTrooper on 14/08/2025 - 10:16
      +1

      Seems extortionately expensive for what is just cast iron. I can buy good quality cast iron and season it myself for 20% of the price of these. Is there something I'm missing here?

      • omguleh on 14/08/2025 - 10:25
        -2

        The premium you pay for lower maintenance.

        • haemolysis on 14/08/2025 - 14:06
          +1

          Low maintenance and cast iron… yeah, right.

          • omguleh on 14/08/2025 - 17:48

            @haemolysis: Other way around. Cast iron is high maintained but cheap. Stainless steel costs more and less maintenance.

            Personally I prefer the looks of stainless steel and all moulded from a single sheet of material.

            • apsilon on 14/08/2025 - 18:58
              -2

              @omguleh: How is cast iron high maintenance? I've been using only cast iron fry pans for decades. I wash it after I'm done, as I'd need to with any pan, dry it, again as I would with any pan then wipe on a thin coat of oil. If you think taking 5 seconds to wipe on some oil is high maintenance then we have very different definitions of what constitutes high maintenance.

              • cannedhams on 15/08/2025 - 10:59

                @apsilon: people just like to pretend that having a cast iron pan is like Atlas carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. A lot of people don't have children these days and need some drama in their lives i guess

              • SydStrand on 15/08/2025 - 14:42
                -1

                @apsilon: That's already high maintenance. You need to season cast iron before use, and regularly oil it. It takes longer to get up to temp, and it's not even recommended to just air-dry due to potential for rust, so it's preferable to put it back on the stove at low heat to burn off any remaining water. And it's STILL possible to get rust, which is why there's a cottage industry of cast iron cleaners, chainmail scrubs, etc. I like my cast iron skillet, but you can't pretend it's low maintenance vs stainless or non-stock.

                • cannedhams on 15/08/2025 - 19:53

                  @SydStrand: I do absolutely none of the above. I wash it and shove it in the cupboard. Usually it dries without any rust. Sometimes it does and I dont care, I just wipe it off, its only surface rust. Its a sufficiently bulky piece of iron that it would take years to rust through even if you left it sitting in your duck pond.

                  Your grandmammy used cast iron all her life without ever using chainmail scrubs or whatever other modern tosh they try and flog these days.

                  • SydStrand on 15/08/2025 - 23:01

                    @cannedhams: I don't know why people are rushing to defend the honour of cast iron… I use my Lodge skillet all the time, but I also have a set of All-clad stainless, enamel, and even a non-stick for when I just want a couple of eggs. Everything has its role, but you can't pretend cast iron is foolproof. If people weren't rusting their skillets, those products wouldn't exist.

                    If someone only used a Tefal, you tell them there's this great pan, but they need to season first, it can't go in the dishwasher, oh, and they can't even pop it in the sink to soak overnight otherwise it rusts, and they need to periodically oil it. That's additional friction to cooking, we just don't find it particularly onerous. Call it laziness or whatever you wish, but a good chunk of the population is time-poor hobbyists, very casual cooks, or literally live off UberEats.

                • apsilon on 15/08/2025 - 20:59

                  @SydStrand: I don't know what to tell you. As I said I've been using these pans for decades. The main pan I've seasoned once but that's because I forgot about it on the fire one time and it go so hot the seasoning itself caught fire and burnt off right back to bare metal. I don't put it back on the heat after washing it, I just dry it and have never had a spot of rust. Literally the only thing I do different between my cast iron fry pan and stainless saucepans is the cast iron gets wiped over with oil once I've dried it. Takes an extra 5 seconds tops.

                  • SydStrand on 15/08/2025 - 23:11

                    @apsilon: I'm not disagreeing. I use my cast iron skillet for proteins all the time, but it undeniably has more steps. I know people for whom 'dishwasher safe' is a deal-breaker, and they aren't just lazy. One is a better amateur cook than me and follows ATK religiously, but is time-poor, and batch cooks and cleans; if it's not dishwasher safe, she won't consider it because the sink is for washing and prepping. Good luck getting her to stove-dry and oil after each use.

      • Viper18 on 14/08/2025 - 12:59

        Made in Australia with Australian iron.

        Also they're one piece. No handle screws or rivets.

        Love mine.

        • cannedhams on 15/08/2025 - 10:55
          +1

          well we dig 900 million tons of ore out of the pilbara each year so the chances of any cast iron being australian is right up there.

      • cannedhams on 15/08/2025 - 10:53

        Christ only knows. I use exclusively cast iron purchased from Aldi and am entirely mystified as to what this crushing maintenance burden entails or why one slab of pig iron is better than another.

      • gleamnite on 15/08/2025 - 23:05

        They're wrought iron, not cast iron, for one.

      • Pertuan on 16/08/2025 - 07:35

        They are expensive. I agree. I got 4 fry pans during their Kickstarter campaigns for around 300. That's about the limit of what I'm willing to spend. I do like that they are light due to the fact they are wrought iron. Most of my cast iron is heavy.

  • brendanm on 11/08/2025 - 16:23
    +8

    Baccarat sucks.

    • apsilon on 13/08/2025 - 09:09

      Can you elaborate? Several comments along this line all with up votes but no details and my curiosity has gotten the better of me. On paper at least their warranty is better than 90% of brands so what's the issues?

      • brendanm on 13/08/2025 - 09:45
        +3

        The coating falls off. The price is also generally insanely inflated until house has one of their "closing down" sales. House owns baccarat.

        • apsilon on 13/08/2025 - 12:31
          +1

          Coating falls off all non stick cookware regardless of brand so I don't see that as an issue specific to that brand, not that I would buy non stick cookware anyway. As for price, they're all over inflated but always on sale somewhere, usually for 50% off. I didn't know House owned them but I guess all brands are owned by someone so not sure what the issue is there either.

          • brendanm on 13/08/2025 - 17:36

            @apsilon: I've used numerous different brands, baccarat is by far the worst. Mece the comment that they suck. Failed within months while I've had others for years with no issues. Hard pass.

            If you want to buy them, go for your life.

          • SydStrand on 15/08/2025 - 14:54
            +1

            @apsilon: Home-brands are not all bad, but House is crap. Fine for when you first move out and need to cheaply fit out a kitchen (although Ikea 365 is probably a better bet at this price point), but in the OP's case, it's like 'splurging' by decking out their house in Anko appliances. Used a Baccarat knife set and nonstick in a share house, and it was flimsy junk. The rivets were loose after a year. Personally, I wouldn't touch House with a ten foot pole. Their retail practices are borderline fraud. If you're running (up to) 80% store-wide sales 80% of the time, you're either a rug seller or just tricking people with visual merchandising. I want to know what the OP did to their 'chef' friend for them to recommend a Baccarat set.

            • Mikeer on 16/08/2025 - 08:07

              @SydStrand: Back in 2006 I bought a prepackaged kitchen starter kit from IKEA for $120. The set included a couple of pots, knives, a pan, measuring cups, bowls, strainer, spatulas, various utensils. I still have and use most of those things - even the chef's knife is still my go-to.

    • OldSchoolHarry on 13/08/2025 - 22:33

      I have had Baccarat Stainless Steel pots and pans for 5+ years and they have performed wonderfully. The handles on iD3 pans are really comfortable to hold.

    • CalmLemons on 14/08/2025 - 10:50

      The non-stick yes, not the stainless steel it's fine.,

      • brendanm on 14/08/2025 - 12:13

        Possibly, after my dealing with their non stick, and just their crap business practices, I'll pass on them.

        • CalmLemons on 15/08/2025 - 00:21

          non stick from everyone sucks. everything seems to degrade after 6 months.

          best just to avoid the non stock despite all pfas claims.

          cast iron and stainless steel ftw, just like our caveman ancestors….the iron anyway.

          • brendanm on 15/08/2025 - 08:46

            @CalmLemons: I have plenty of non stick stuff that has lasted for a long time despite being treated the same as the baccarat stuff.

            • CalmLemons on 15/08/2025 - 12:29

              @brendanm: Oh i agree with you the baccarat non stickwill be crap 100%. just for the general market and stores in shopping centres to push price and maintain margin

  • iDroid on 11/08/2025 - 16:31
    +39

    IMO all non-stick is utter garbage.

    2 types minimum are needed to cover most bases. 1) Cast iron - that's your workhorse. 2) stainless steel, for the things you don't use your cast iron for.

    They'll effectively last forever.

      • iDroid on 12/08/2025 - 13:08
        +3

        its almost always user error

        Then lists off the 4 largest flaws:

        using utensils too hard, too high heat, etc. Even certain foods like uncooked rice or frozen food dumped straight into or stirred around a non-stick pan can damage the coating.

        I could use a paper plate too if I used it right.

        • mrvaluepack on 12/08/2025 - 15:21
          -4

          Nope paper plate would burn and can't be cleaned.

          I wouldn't consider them flaws, just cons and precautions. Same shit with other cookware, a number of cons as well:

          Cast iron - can't cook acidic foods, hard to clean, have to wipe dry after every wash, etc.

          Stainless steel - have to use shitloads of oil or will stick, heavy to hold, takes longer to heat up, etc.

          • stjep on 12/08/2025 - 16:33
            +2

            @mrvaluepack: Cast iron - can cook acidic it is fine; not hard to clean at all, pour water into the pan on the stove and it cleans itself. You don't wipe stuff down after cleaning?

            • mrvaluepack on 12/08/2025 - 17:25
              -2

              @stjep: You must love the metallic taste with your pasta sauce when cooking with cast iron.

              pour water into the pan on the stove and it cleans itself

              If thats all you really do to clean your pan, seriously ewwww..

              You don't wipe stuff down after cleaning?

              Nope, waste of time. I let them dry on dish rack.

            • Jackson on 14/08/2025 - 00:48
              +1

              @stjep: Yep, cast iron all day every day, and don't even need to spend a lot of money, I have bought some camping disposal store stuff and some nme brand stuff and it's all good, plus it works on induction. Better non-stick than non-stick if seasoned correctly. Only thing you may need to get used to is the weight and the pans and the fact that if you crank it up the handle will get hot. Also will raise your iron intake a bit

      • Mikeer on 12/08/2025 - 17:18
        +4

        Good luck using minimal oil with stainless or cast iron

        That's what I do…

        • mrvaluepack on 12/08/2025 - 17:27
          -7

          I use no oil with non stick. So your "minimal" is considered x1000 times more.

          • steelchain on 15/08/2025 - 12:13
            +3

            @mrvaluepack: There is nothing wrong with oil, it's in almost every type of protein in some way. You are at a MUCH higher chance of getting bad side effects/outcomes from using non stick coated pans/pots.
            There is a very good reason professionals rarely use non stick pans.. they are a problem looking for a solution.

          • UncleRico on 14/09/2025 - 20:31
            -1

            @mrvaluepack: Then you’re using your “frying” pan wrong…

      • TEER3X on 13/08/2025 - 18:18
        +4

        All non stick will degrade over time.

        I use minimal oil all the time in stainless and even less in cast iron. There is a learning curve, but it's really not that difficult.

        • Canberralad92 on 13/08/2025 - 19:00
          +1

          Lol I've just about thrown away my stainless steel pan, pain in the ass to clean, pain in the ass to cook things like eggs. Just give me that sweet cancer non stick goodness

          • steelchain on 15/08/2025 - 12:14

            @Canberralad92: That is a shame.. once you get the hang of it they are much easier to cook with and last a life time. You also never have to worry about cleaning them as you will always via some method be able to return them to almost new.

            • mrvaluepack on 15/08/2025 - 13:32
              -1

              @steelchain: Last a lifetime - yes.

              Much easier to cook with - no, unless use a decent amount of oil/fat every time.

              • steelchain on 21/08/2025 - 10:54

                @mrvaluepack: If you learn how to do it correctly then the amount of oil require is less than 2 teaspoons…Which if you then factor in how much would then transfer onto the food and be eaten, that would be even less. This idea that Oils and fats are bad for you and need to be avoided at all costs has also been completely disproven. There is zero issue using a normal cooking oil that you can get at any supermarket to cook with daily. Just don't deep fry everything!

          • mrvaluepack on 15/08/2025 - 13:31

            @Canberralad92: Agreed, to get that smooth sliding motion you need to add so much oil to SS pans.

      • Muppet Detector on 16/08/2025 - 15:20

        Good luck using minimal oil with stainless or cast iron.

        Put sheet of baking paper on base of pot/pan. Heck, put directly on top of any flat cooktop.

        Good to go with no oil at all.

  • Caped Baldy on 11/08/2025 - 16:42

    I have some baccarat and they're pretty good. I've got a stainless steel pan but I'm too unskilled to get it to be non-stick consistently and much prefer to use my carbon steel pan.

    • randombrick on 11/08/2025 - 17:33
      +8

      I was the same with stainless steel. I have now learned to be super patient with both the preheating process and the cooking itself. Heat it up slow for 5+ minutes, drizzle oil, place the food in and leave it be. No stirring, no shaking the pan until time to flip the food over.

      I went from basically everything sticking to the pan to making even scrambled eggs in a stainless steel pan.

      • Westpac on 11/08/2025 - 22:18

        WHat about cleaning? or things sticking to the pan?

        • randombrick on 12/08/2025 - 08:06
          +2

          For the rare times when something sticks - At the end of the cook, I heat the pan up, pour a tiny bit of hot water and let the steam do its magic.

        • Benno007 on 12/08/2025 - 08:20
          +1

          Or just leave it to soak. Sometimes things like butter burn in and need to be heated up to loose again.

          I used to hate stainless steel too but so far my baccarat SS pan has been good. I had one from target before and it was good, but the handles were tiny rivets that snapped cos the pan was so heavy.

          The one I have now 28cm is pretty light in comparison

          I got so over heavy non stick pans that just get scratches and become sticky!

        • I like GoodDeals on 13/08/2025 - 02:11
          +1

          Bar Keepers Friend

      • kiitos on 12/08/2025 - 08:14

        What's your technique for scrambled eggs in SS? Are they hard? Do they leave residue in the pan to clean up?

        I like very soft scrambled eggs and find I get residue on any pan I try. Leaving it longer undisturbed leads to an omelette instead for me.

    • meong on 12/08/2025 - 12:58

      i love my carbon steel pan but they warp too easily… whats the best way to prevent it from warping?

  • apsilon on 11/08/2025 - 17:03
    +2

    What don't you like about your current set? The Tefal stuff is OK but I'm guessing you have the non stick stuff and it's worn out?

    • Some Human on 11/08/2025 - 17:05
      -7

      Nah, it's probably jUSt nOt NEw eNouGh

    • jollster101 on 11/08/2025 - 20:14

      Pretty much they have done their dash. They are about 9 years old, extensively scuffed and been teenage children'd over the past 3 or 4 years.

      • apsilon on 11/08/2025 - 20:26
        +2

        9 years from non stick is actually great life. Personally I don't like the stuff and the likely health risks associated. I just have cast iron fry pans and stainless saucepans. Don't know the brand of any of them as they're all decades old hand me downs from my grandmother to my mum to me. I have thought about replacing the saucepans as they don't work with induction but it's not a big enough deal for me to have actually looked into it at all yet.

        Anyway, Tefal do have a stainless range if you've been happy with their non stick.

        • jollster101 on 11/08/2025 - 20:32

          I will have a look. Are they made in the way that sets some stainless sets aside from others do you know?

          • apsilon on 12/08/2025 - 07:10

            @jollster101: No idea, never looked at them, just know they exist. I imagine they're made similar to the ones you have now just in stainless.

  • greenslade on 11/08/2025 - 18:17
    -1

    Non stick is bad for your health. Stainless steel is best. All Clad steel frying pans are the premium, v exxy. I found them too heavy for my use, as I like a large fry pan. I prefer Baccarat for the lighter stainless steel frying pans. For other daily use pans for veggies, pasta, etc Bacarrat will do you fine.
    I'm picky about lids and handles - I don't want anything that gets too hot to touch, or that will rust, or collect grim you can't clean.

  • Downvoter on 11/08/2025 - 19:23
    +2

    What sort of cook top

  • AngoraFish on 11/08/2025 - 21:47
    +5

    I do all the cooking in my house. 2-3 of these get used every day. I will never buy anything else and the ones I have bought have never failed.

    https://www.harrisscarfe.com.au/kitchen-dining/cookware/cook…

    Seriously, get stainless steel, no non-stick crap. If you burn something in the pan, a bit of scrubbing with stainless steel wool and these are good as new.

    This one is the real work horse. https://www.harrisscarfe.com.au/kitchen-dining/cookware/cook… I have two, which alternate mostly depending on how committed I feel about cleaning up.

  • LurkingLurker on 11/08/2025 - 21:58

    I would suggest checking out some commercial kitchenware websites, if the stuff can handle busy commercial kitchen abuse, chances are they'll be good for the home kitchen, prices on most things are very reasonable, too.

    I bought this stainless wok to use as a general purpose/pasta pan after browsing through some of the catalogues.

  • joshash on 12/08/2025 - 07:49
    +7

    Solidteknics, aussie made. I've got two pans that are 10 years old now, one wrought iron and one of the original cast iron date stamped pans. They work great on induction.
    For saucepans, I use stainless steel induction sets from kmart. They are just as good as expensive stainless steel sets.

    • Subere on 12/08/2025 - 11:45
      +1

      I upgraded last year with 2 of their stainless steel (noni) and one of their Aus-ion. The Aus-ion was basically non stick out of the box and my eggs/omelettes have never been better. Can even make awesome fluffy ones for the kids in my small noni pan.

      There was a learning curve (but they have plenty of info on their website) but will never go back to Teflon now. There's no need. These will last a lifetime and more. When I get a bigger kitchen I'll get a larger Aus-ion so can get more steaks on there at once.

      • joshash on 13/08/2025 - 12:43
        +2

        100%… people don't get it until they've used them. Once you've used Solidteknics you'll never buy anything else, but ironically you won't need to because they last decades, if not centuries.
        It's quite funny seeing people recommend 'expensive' European brands, that are actually made in china and just as crap as everything else.
        Never again dude.

    • onesandtwos on 14/08/2025 - 16:20

      Do you use it on induction? My partner has one and the heat distribution seems to be horrible, there is effectively one centre hotspot so most things seem to cook unevenly.

      • apsilon on 14/08/2025 - 17:19
        +1

        That's down to the size of the coil on the cooktop.

  • thrillhouse on 12/08/2025 - 08:11
    +2

    If money was no object: Mauviel 1830, All-Clad, or Demeyere for stainless. Le Creuset for enamelled cast-iron.

  • ColtNoir on 12/08/2025 - 08:27
    -1

    I’ve had a few nonstick and the best has been
    Chasseur Cinq Étoiles sauté pan. I’ve been using this for basically every meal for 5-6 years and it’s still great. Can definitely get a full set for under $1k.

    Scanpans suck balls.

    https://www.victoriasbasement.com.au/p/chasseur-cinq-etoile-…

    • SpainKing on 12/08/2025 - 10:21
      +2

      Scanpan's stainless steel is fine, what's been your experience with them that makes you say they're trash?

      • ShortyX on 12/08/2025 - 13:16
        +1

        Our Scanpan stainless steel set from Amazon has been fine.

      • ColtNoir on 12/08/2025 - 21:54

        Sorry, I put a nonstick as the recommendation and assumed others might know the range. My bad.

        Correction - the nonstick scanpan suck balls.

        I’ve never used the stainless steel ones.

        • GabrielB on 14/08/2025 - 20:28

          Had my Scanpan stainless 10 years, no issues. Cook daily.

  • Lastchancetosee on 12/08/2025 - 08:32

    Tefal ingenius are great. The handles are removable so the pans are stackable and take up less space. I've had them for seven years daily cooking and they are still not scratched inside. The stick-free coating is safe and very effective for the life of the pan.

    • MND on 12/08/2025 - 22:35
      +1

      they are great! no more grease where the handle joins the pan and the removable handle makes it that much easier to clean.

  • 82norm on 12/08/2025 - 08:58
    +5

    Esteel or All-clad, not cheap, but you pay for quality and long warranty.

    • Wac on 12/08/2025 - 09:33

      Agree Estelle are great quality. Had a set that were 20 years old and looked like new and I cook a lot. Replaced with baccarat when I installed induction cook top. Baccarat didn’t last, since been replaced

    • jollster101 on 12/08/2025 - 10:25

      @82norm adn @Wac - Looking at the Estelle website, they have Eternita, Per Vita, Per Amore and Per Sempre, all have a lifetime warranty and are premium, more premium and even more premium again.

      Either of you have any experience with these sets?

      • ArciArt on 12/08/2025 - 15:29

        I’ve got this set :
        https://www.essteele.com.au/products/essteele-per-vita-coppe…

        Very good quality, very quick to heat up!
        Just a bit of a learning curve to reach the “non stick” temps!

        • jollster101 on 12/08/2025 - 16:56

          Is the base bonded to the pan? I can't quite make it out from the images.

        • ribze1 on 12/08/2025 - 21:28

          My parents have these Esteele pots, would be 20 years old.

      • 82norm on 13/08/2025 - 11:08

        It was a few years back, checked one of the pans, but doesn’t say which model. Per Amore sounds familiar. Really good quality. David Jones have some sales on at the moment, maybe worth checking out 👍

  • naomieve on 12/08/2025 - 09:27
    +2

    If the weight of cast iron is an issue, have a look at carbon steel. Similar requirements for care, lighter weight. I buy Merten & Storck brand on Amazon.

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