Why Do Restaurants Use Cheap Looking Pans?

[-Cp]

I don’t know CP but maybe it is like everyone else has said and that is because in a restaurant they cook 40 or 50 dishes a night while at home you only cook 1. And when you cook that one you have all the time in the world while the restaurant has a few minutes and aluminum is fast to heat up. My grandpa was a cook on a ship and he swore by aluminum for searing and sautes but I hate trying to clean it. I guess he never taught me that secret?

The secret is called "Barkeepers Friend" that stuff cleans great..

 

[GB]

Restaurants would go out of business if they had to stock their kitchen with All Clad or other expensive cookware and it would work no better then the stuff they use now.

When you bring your All Clad or other home kitchen cookware home you will notice that they say in the literature that comes with it that this is not for professional use and the warranty will not cover commercial use. That and what it looks like are a big part of why you buy those brands.

I do not completely agree with the people who say that buying high quality cookware will not help improve the average home cook. High quality cookware is usually clad and will have less hot spots then lower quality stuff. If you do not know what you are doing then these things become ever more important. A good chef will know how to play with the heat and the pan and get the result they want out of inferior tools (I am NOT saying that the stuff used in restaurants is inferior).

The same goes for the photography comment. I am a semi-pro photographer and I understand the frustration with the comment about you must have a great camera to have gotten that shot. A good photographer can get an award winning shot from a camera phone, however for an average photographer (or less) a better camera WILL get you a better picture. If you have a camera that focuses better, had more accurate color reproduction, truer white balance, etc. then you will have a better shot then if you had a camera that does not do those things as well.

 

[GotGarlic]

I do not completely agree with the people who say that buying high quality cookware will not help improve the average home cook. High quality cookware is usually clad and will have less hot spots then lower quality stuff. If you do not know what you are doing then these things become ever more important. A good chef will know how to play with the heat and the pan and get the result they want out of inferior tools (I am NOT saying that the stuff used in restaurants is inferior).

I agree, GB. I used the same inexpensive pans for 15 years, since I was first married. Then I bought an All-Clad saute pan about 5 years ago and was amazed at the difference it made in my cooking. I don't remember now what impressed me so much - I think it did have to do with more even heating - but I use it for much of my cooking now, except for things that do better in cast iron.

 

[-Cp]

Restaurants would go out of business if they had to stock their kitchen with All Clad or other expensive cookware and it would work no better then the stuff they use now.

When you bring your All Clad or other home kitchen cookware home you will notice that they say in the literature that comes with it that this is not for professional use and the warranty will not cover commercial use. That and what it looks like are a big part of why you buy those brands.

I do not completely agree with the people who say that buying high quality cookware will not help improve the average home cook. High quality cookware is usually clad and will have less hot spots then lower quality stuff. If you do not know what you are doing then these things become ever more important. A good chef will know how to play with the heat and the pan and get the result they want out of inferior tools (I am NOT saying that the stuff used in restaurants is inferior).

The same goes for the photography comment. I am a semi-pro photographer and I understand the frustration with the comment about you must have a great camera to have gotten that shot. A good photographer can get an award winning shot from a camera phone, however for an average photographer (or less) a better camera WILL get you a better picture. If you have a camera that focuses better, had more accurate color reproduction, truer white balance, etc. then you will have a better shot then if you had a camera that does not do those things as well.

To your point, the camera phone may take a good shot in terms of composition, but a Canon Digital SLR in that same shot would capture far superior detail, lighting etc....

It's true that the gear doesn't make the cook, but the cook can sure have an easier time creating his "art" with the best gear available.

Additionally, our Calphalon Tri-ply set came with no such notice... It still has a lifetime warranty no matter where it's used...

 

[GB]

To your point, the camera phone may take a good shot in terms of composition, but a Canon Digital SLR in that same shot would capture far superior detail, lighting etc....

It all depends on the type of photo you are after though. If you are looking to get a shot with a lot of grain and maybe some blur or something then the SLR may not be superior. Different tools for different jobs,

 

[ChefJune]

Oh its slang? LOL. Well I feel dumb now. Why does ghetto mean rundown? Did the Jews live in rundown places? I remember in history class about the Jews being forced to live on the outskirts of town and in concentration camps during the war but I do not remember it being called a ghetto. Forgive me but hostory was never my strong point. I am pretty good with cars and grilling though!

In the times of WWII, Jews went from the ghettos TO the Concentration Camps, thanks to the SS.....

The more modern (but no less denigrating) use of the term "ghetto" has been to refer to neighborhoods occupied primarily by African Americans.

But to get to the REAL question, no matter what pans restaurants use, they get to looking ratty pretty quickly because of the abuse they get. Expensive equipment gets knocked around the same as the restaurant supply stuff, and to tell you the truth, the restaurant supply equipment is more durable than the expensive stuff most consumers buy for their home use.

The bottom line at restaurants is so tenuous that most can't afford expensive cookware and the ones who do have it, it was probably donated by the cookware company in exchange for promotional considerations.

 

[Constance]

And, of course, you can put cheap aluminium pans on your head to keep aliens from reading your thoughts and stealing your recipes. That won't work with stainless.

Hehehe! You keep on guarding those recipes, man!

 

[Constance]

Living just outside Hogansville Georgia with a whopping population of 2700, the internet has made things a lot bigger. Thanks!

Same here...West City, Il has a population of about 800.

 

[Robo410]

And, of course, you can put cheap aluminium pans on your head to keep aliens from reading your thoughts and stealing your recipes. That won't work with stainless.

DANG RIGHT TOOTING! No alien is gonna get my reciept for fricassee o' marsh rabbit fer dang sure!

 

[Robo410]

Do you think it may have something to do with the fact that commercial stoves generally put out much higher BTUs than residential stoves so the heat retaining properties of Calphalon and the like are kind of overkill? Probably the cheap aluminum pans heat up just as quickly on commercial stoves as pricey pans. So why pay for expensive cookware you just have to worry about disappearing, etc. if they don't perform any better in the restaurant? And as far as how they look, ours would probably look like that too if we cooked as many meals in them everyday as a restaurant does.

ALuminum's aluminum. 1/4 thick of either raw or anodized will heat much the same. THe gunk on the restaurant pan is the seasoning...burnt on oil and grease which is sealing the pores of the pan. It is doing the same thing the anodizing is doing for the calphalon...making it more or less stick free and non reactive.

But you need a thick pan to withstand the heat, whatever metal it is made from.

 

[AllenOK]

The country club I used to work at up in MI had some "home" pans in their inventory. These were T-Fal aluminum skillets with a non-stick finish. They were primarily used for saute action stations out in the dining room, and ocassionally back in the kitchen. These pans usually only lasted a year before they started loosing their non-stick coating, or the handle would start melting. It was mostly using these pans on the commercial range back in the kitchen that caused all this.

Most of you all are only thinking about the standard 10" saute pans that are used on the saute line. There are also 6", 8", 12", and even some 14 - 15" saute pans. The 6" and 8" pans, were I currently work, are all nonstick, but the nonstick is wearing off. We also have many larger pots, from "saucepans" that hold about 2 gallons, to stockpots that hold 60 qt, "roundeau" pans that cover two burners, and roasting pans that can hold a couple really LARGE turkeys, or three whole prime ribs. You just won't find pans that big available for home use.

I won't even get into the topic of tilt skillets, steam-jacket kettles, etc.

 

[Jeekinz]

I've seen a couple shows with the chef's using pans as you describe. A couple times I have seen the All Clad logo under the handle. They just don't polish them like us home cooks do.

 

[Caine]

They just don't polish them like us home cooks do.

They don't pay form them like home cooks do, either. All-Clad supplies them free fer nuthin. That is why YOU pay so much for the privledge of owning All-Clad, and why most restaurants buy cheap aluminium pots and pans from the restaurant supply store.

 

[-Cp]

I've seen a couple shows with the chef's using pans as you describe. A couple times I have seen the All Clad logo under the handle. They just don't polish them like us home cooks do.

True - companies are not dumb and they know that brand-placement by "pro's" (use that term loosely) on TV means better sales.

I know Bobby Flay uses Viking everything - even his pans are Viking..

Iron Chef America's Kitchen pans are All Clad.

etc..etc..

 

[black chef]

True - companies are not dumb and they know that brand-placement by "pro's" (use that term loosely) on TV means better sales.

I know Bobby Flay uses Viking everything - even his pans are Viking..

Iron Chef America's Kitchen pans are All Clad.

etc..etc..

I've seen a couple shows with the chef's using pans as you describe. A couple times I have seen the All Clad logo under the handle. They just don't polish them like us home cooks do.

advertisement techniques at their best... it's the american way.

those advertising dollars pay those salaries, etc.

 

[Andy M.]

Every time you see a brand name in a movie it's an indication someone paid for it. It's not a coincidence that the star is drinking a Coke or Starbucks or driving a Ford.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Every time you see a brand name in a movie it's an indication someone paid for it. It's not a coincidence that the star is drinking a Coke or Starbucks or driving a Ford.

Indeed!!

I always follow the money! It answers a lot of questions!!!

 

[llvllagical_llkook]

It's marketing. People see the iron chef shows and their amazing dishes. Naturally, viewers want to know how to make them, so there's no better time than to use that the chefs use ______. Restaurants can buy materials in bulk so they can get lower prices. They use aluminum pots and pans due to quick heat transfer, not so much for the looks. They have to worry about purchasing other supplies, other than spending a fortune on pots and pans. Bigger restaurants don't face that problem as much since they can afford more.

 

[-Cp]

It's marketing. People see the iron chef shows and their amazing dishes. Naturally, viewers want to know how to make them, so there's no better time than to use that the chefs use ______. Restaurants can buy materials in bulk so they can get lower prices. They use aluminum pots and pans due to quick heat transfer, not so much for the looks. They have to worry about purchasing other supplies, other than spending a fortune on pots and pans. Bigger restaurants don't face that problem as much since they can afford more.

I've used both restaurant pans and the nice Calphalon Tri-ply set we have (which has an aluminum core) and will tell you they heat up equally as fast...

 

[llvllagical_llkook]

As long as it works regardless of its appearence, I don't see why it should matter. If it's an old, 15 year old pan that looks rather dingy yet cooks amazing, why toss it out for something that cooks just as good but is shiny?