"jt august" <wrote in message
> In article <> "Bertie Doe" wrote:
>
>> It's funny, when you see celeb tv cooks being interviewed in their
>> workplace, they mostly use stainless pans. Hardly a non-stick surface in
>> sight and there has to be a reason for this.
>
> There is. Most non-sticks are made for the low volume use of a home
> kitchen. A cheap T-Fal wouldn't last a week in a real restaurant.
>
> But as to what is mostly used, stainless is some, but a hard anodized
> aqluminum seams to be more common because its dark pigmentation infused
> during the HA process helps hide the discoloration that occurs in heavy
> use. A high end non-stick on HA is also common in some situations.
> There is a restaurant at Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL that
> has an excellent buffet every year during the Way of Lights
> (mid-November to the first week of January). At this buffet, they have
> a made-to-order pasta station. The pans they use are a commercial grade
> HA with a non-stick surface. They do use metal utensils in these pans,
> so they go through a set of ten pans twice during the run, but these ten
> pans get used up to 16 times per hour, 5 hours a day, 7 days a week,
> with two cooks and as needed a busser in there to help wash each pan
> between each use. Those $8.95 Farberware pans won't cut it. But they
> need the non-stick to allow things to keep moving fast, including
> clean-up.
>
> The reason the celeb TV cooks have stainless is that it looks much nicer
> on camera. But look at those pans in the background. Many of those
> pans never get actually used, but are only there for show, particularly
> on Food Network. Even stainless can lose its gleam under the industrial
> grade use of a busy restaurant.
>
> And shiny stainless costs more to produce than HA aluminum.
>
> jt

One of the largest manufacturers is Meyer, who do at least 3 ranges -
Analon, Circulon and Professional, the Pro being s/steel. I've learnt quite
a lot in the last 4 days and I've come to the conclusion, if you need a
surface to stay non-stick, you have to avoid high temperatures.

The way the handle is fixed to the pan is important. The cheaper ones, use a
1/4" screw, which goes rusty after a couple of years use in a dishwasher.
The trick is not to rush into purchase and keep an eye on Amazon and Ebay,
for discounts on new pans.