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Bakers & Chefs is a brand of cookware that is aimed at the professional kitchen, but is readily available to the public through club stores and some discount stores.
In my overall assessment in this review, I’ve found that the quality of Bakers & Chefs products is moderate. It is about the same quality of good quality professional gear that you might find at a restaurant supply, such as Vollrath, and the construction techniques are solid and the pans are resistant to the dishwasher.
Bakers & Chefs pans come in natural aluminum or with a nonstick finish. Given that even the best nonstick pans are, essentially, disposable, these are a great bargain, especially in the club store multi-packs.
These nonstick models come in sizes ranging from the 8″ egg pan up to a huge 14″ model that is too big for most household stoves. The size reviewed here is the versatile 10″ model, suitable for eggs or omelets or for a couple of pieces of delicate fish – which is exactly what I’m using it for.
I normally go for my tin lined copper or cast iron but sometimes there is really no getting around the need for one or two coated products.
Bakers & Chefs 10″ Nonstick Restaurant Fry Pan
Heating Characteristics
This pan looks and feels like aluminum, but the labeling states that it is an aluminum alloy. Nonetheless, it has the quick heating and cooling characteristics of aluminum, making it a perfect pan for delicacies such as eggs or fish or anything where precision is essential.
Handle
The handle on the 10″ skillet is a rough cast stainless steel, finished in a bright polish. It comes with a silicone handle protector that limits the amount of heat transferred from the stove top to the cook. The handle is solidly affixed to the pan by means of three low-profile rivets that, through four years of steady use, remain stiff. There is no perceptible wobble to the pan despite daily use. As is true of most professional grade cookware, the handle is fixed at a fairly flat angle, giving the cook a strong position from which to sauté or to handle the pan in general.
Nonstick Finish
As is true of most modern nonstick finishes, the nonstick lining of the skillets is tough and resistant to metal tools, though to maximize its longevity it is wise to stick to silicone or wood tools. I did have one of these pans show a scar across the bottom of the pan coming out of the sink, but otherwise, with minimal care, the finish has been rock solid and resistant to any damage with regular use.
Pro-style Pans
The outer finishes of these pans are not made for beauty. They are plain, un-treated aluminum alloy in a brushed finish. They tend to stain and darken with use. This is part of the character of the pans, and part of the reason that they are so modestly priced, but many people find that the brownish finish that they take on looks permanently “dirty”. This is the nature of unfinished aluminum.
Bakers & Chefs 10 in Restaurant Fry Pan Non-Coated
A Few Clad Stainless Models Are Available
The brand does offer a couple of clad stainless models; I haven’t gotten the chance to try these out as I really have had no need for a new stainless model as I already have individual All-Clad Pieces. Therefore, I can’t really attest to the quality of the clad line although a reviewer on Amazon seemed to like the 10″ Tri-Ply model really well.
Bakers & Chefs 10″ Tri-Ply Clad Stainless Steel Fry Pan
Overall Impressions
In this review and testing (of the 10″ nonstick), I’ve found that theBakers & Chefs nonstick skillets are solid and reliable pans in the household kitchen. They are not decorative, but they do the work that is necessary well. Every kitchen needs a nonstick skillet, but spending the money on a premium brand may not be in your best interests because nonstick finishes, even the best of them, have a limited lifespan. Bakers & Chefs products are inexpensive and they fulfill the need for nonstick perfectly.
About Lynne Jaques
Lynne is a stay-at-home mother of two boys. As a former US military officer and the spouse of an active duty US military member, Lynne enjoys traveling the world (although not the moving part!) and finding new cuisine and methods of preparing food. She also has the habit of using parenthesis way too much!
I prefer a good non stick and multi purpose pan rather than a pan set where I only use the odd one. This one is more functional for frying, stir fries and omelets. Also for a single person it is a better size and also takes up less room. Those of us in small apartments don’t have room for pan sets.
Good for a Spanish tortilla too or for an all in one breakfast brunch. I have a Le Creuset which is too heavy and too big to clean, so I tend not to use it.
Preach unto the choir Bella…accumulating a lot of cookware into my already crammed up apartment wouldn’t do me good…so when it comes to making choices in this arena, one ought to make complete perfect and right choices…a non-stick pan for me any day will do ;)…thanks for the advice within the article 🙂
I am in complete agreement bella ! I live in a small apartment si I don’t have the space to give up for 10 pots and pans of which I would only use 2 maybe. If in the future I have a huge kitchen and space to display pots and pans for whatever reason then it would be good to buy a set of sorts!
I need a good nonstick pan for my cooking. Whenever I try to make shredded hashbrowns, most of them end up sticking to the bottom of the pan, and the ones that don’t never really cook. This goes for most things that I cook that end up being thin. I’ll probably check out the pans you listed and order one when I get the extra cash.
The only one I have any personal experience with on here is the Bakers & Chefs 10″ Tri-Ply Clad Stainless Steel Fry Pan. It was actually the only pan I owned when I was dirt poor. I liked it but the size didn’t suit my needs at the time sadly. Ended up gifting it to someone else.
A long time ago I bought a non-stick skillet and a non-stick baking dish. I swear by these two dishes. I remember the first time I made scrambled eggs and lasagna. The clean up was so easy and manageable. Also everyone got a while piece of lasagna including the bottom which was great. It sucks seeing all that food go to waste when your food sticks to the bottom. It was a great investment.
This is perfect for me. I’ve been trying to figure out a good non stick pan to use but I also need a set of them. I’ll be checking these ones out online soon. That’s the worst part of cooking, is when things stick to the pan and it ruins the whole thing.
Thank you for this! I am just now in the market for some non-stick cookware, but I have never run across this brand before. how is that possible? Just one or two pieces of my set need to be replaced, so this might be the perfect affordable option.
Is the non stick fry pan Teflon?
These nonstick pans are coated with Eclipse, a proprietary triple-coating of resins, fluoropolymers, and hard materials. It’s similar to Teflon but it has a slightly different chemical makeup and application process than PTFE.
I love bakers n chefs pans and i was looking to see if i could get a complete set but no luck. Im bummed! I have the 8” and 10” fry pans and would LOVE a whole set stockpot saucepans etc
Are your pans made in the USA?