I don't have a set; never have, never will.

I have artwork to grace my kitchen aesthetically.

I choose my cookware to execute specific tasks. I have one non-stick pan for eggs. I have several copper pieces (copper - not copper clad) for sauté and general cooking.

There is cast iron for skillet frying and one big deep cast iron pot for deep frying on the stove (as opposed to on the turkey fryer outside).

Le Crueset is glorious for braising and I have a grill pan also.

I have an All-Clad roasting pan that is superb as well as a stock pot with a pasta insert. They are great.

Whenever you pick a set of cookware, you must compromise functionality. I choose functionality over anything else for my cookware. I'll decorate my kitchen with decorative things.

Your mileage may vary. Best of luck to you.

B

I love All Clad and Emile Henry. They are both great!

I can feel the cookware bug coming on, too, saskatchenwan_girl. The lowdown I have from an elegant Aussie chef is Le Creuset. I must agree - it looks gorgeous too. According to the info on their web, it's suitable for all cooktops.

I love that it can go in the oven and under the broiler.
I see it for $800 for a 9-piece set but perhaps others have some sites for deeper discounts??

I also have a nice set of Lagostina. It was a gift from my wonderful DH, who never does anything in a cheap way. However, he doesn't cook...

I've recently come to the conclusion that sets are not the way to go. There are two covered pots plus a frypan in the above set which are next to useless for me. Those particular pots are too small for regular use, and so shallow, their contents boil over too easily on my POS cooktop (can't replace that soon enough!) And I can't imagine a use for a SS frypan. That leaves the stock pot, and a 2.5 litre covered pot with a steamer insert in regular use.

I recently found a sale at a kitchen boutique for open stock Henckels. I got 3.7L and 2L pans which I love. I think I may get another of each soon, as often I need multiple pots of the same size, as opposed to one each of a variety of sizes. Unfortunately, open stock pans aren't nearly as widely available as sets which limits choice.

Hi ~ Be sure to read your owner's manual. I have a GE smoothtop and there are some restrictions that I didn't know about until I wanted to cook on it the first time. As I recall, mine said no cast iron, no wok type bottoms, no grooved bottoms, etc. Ugghh...I was quite unhappy after reading that and haven't yet done a full replacement of my existing cookware, but I have gotten rid of a few items, like my favorite TurboCooker. :-(

Good Luck!

I'm really not much of a cook, so convenience, function & ease (cleaning & use) is what I'm after. I use the majority of my set.........not the little sauce pan & pot. But I do have a few large deep fryer from Costco that I use ALWAYS.
I never considered buying seperately : ) But it seems to be the majority here.
My stove is a Kenmore Elite electic smooth top, so I guess I'll read the manual to see what I shouldn't use.
Thanks for the tips, much appreciated.
sk_girl

Why replace something you are pleased with?

Other than that I would never recommend a set - rather buy just the pieces you need - or do what my mom did and buy a set, sell the pieces you don't want on eBay and use the money to fill in the pieces you still need.