Any Experience w/Royal Prestige Cookware?

[FDWxMan]

So after getting sucked into the Bridal Fair crap with the financee last weekend, we "won" a package of stuff from one of the vendors. It happened to be Royal Prestige and we had to go sit through their pitch Thurs night to get the little package of stuff.

So we sat through the talk about how all of our pots and pans are killing us and that overheating the Teflon will kill your pet bird...so on and so forth.

Long story short, she now wants the crazy expensive "9-ply" set, or wants to get some Grandparent consortium to buy it for us for a wedding gift. She wants the pots more for the supposed durability/warranty than the fact that we will drop dead if we keep eating off non-stick stuff for another week.

Any experiences with this "surgical-grade stainless steel, Waterless-greaseless cookware" out there, good or bad?

I am thinking its probably a rip off and doesn't work anything like the demo meal they made for us.

 

[ISUAgronomist]

Scare tactic sales pitches are usually red flags in my book for BS.

 

[jsmith86]

So after getting sucked into the Bridal Fair crap with the financee last weekend, we "won" a package of stuff from one of the vendors. It happened to be Royal Prestige and we had to go sit through their pitch Thurs night to get the little package of stuff.

So we sat through the talk about how all of our pots and pans are killing us and that overheating the Teflon will kill your pet bird...so on and so forth.

Long story short, she now wants the crazy expensive "9-ply" set, or wants to get some Grandparent consortium to buy it for us for a wedding gift. She wants the pots more for the supposed durability/warranty than the fact that we will drop dead if we keep eating off non-stick stuff for another week.

Any experiences with this "surgical-grade stainless steel, Waterless-greaseless cookware" out there, good or bad?

I am thinking its probably a rip off and doesn't work anything like the demo meal they made for us.

If she wants something for durability, buy a nice set of thick stainless steel pots with thick copper bottoms.

 

[ISUcy08]

We did that crap a couple years ago.... there was only one other couple there, so it was kind of creepy. I don't know why. The guy sounded kind of ****** when neither of us bought the thousand dollar set. We went for the free coupon book crap, and we never even used it. I'm sure they are great, but I would just recommend buying them at the State Fair at the Varied Industries Building instead of sitting through that awkward demo...

 

[FDWxMan]

If she wants something for durability, buy a nice set of thick stainless steel pots with thick copper bottoms.

Yeah, that's what these are basically. With a "50 year warranty"

Lots of stainless steel with copper cores. 9 layers of metal!

Really expensive stainless steel pots, but I am highly skeptical. Just wondering if anyone has ever actually used them or if they're worth even half of what they want ($1700).

 

[djcubby]

From what I have heard, stay away. I had a friend that 'won' the same thing for their wedding a while back. They decided not to buy and were basically hounded by the salesmen for quite a while afterwards. Don't know a lot of the details though.

 

[FDWxMan]

We did that crap a couple years ago.... there was only one other couple there, so it was kind of creepy. I don't know why. The guy sounded kind of ****** when neither of us bought the thousand dollar set. We went for the free coupon book crap, and we never even used it. I'm sure they are great, but I would just recommend buying them at the State Fair at the Varied Industries Building instead of sitting through that awkward demo...

Pretty much the same here. 4 couples total.

 

[brentblum]

So after getting sucked into the Bridal Fair crap with the financee last weekend, we "won" a package of stuff from one of the vendors. It happened to be Royal Prestige and we had to go sit through their pitch Thurs night to get the little package of stuff.

So we sat through the talk about how all of our pots and pans are killing us and that overheating the Teflon will kill your pet bird...so on and so forth.

Long story short, she now wants the crazy expensive "9-ply" set, or wants to get some Grandparent consortium to buy it for us for a wedding gift. She wants the pots more for the supposed durability/warranty than the fact that we will drop dead if we keep eating off non-stick stuff for another week.

Any experiences with this "surgical-grade stainless steel, Waterless-greaseless cookware" out there, good or bad?

I am thinking its probably a rip off and doesn't work anything like the demo meal they made for us.

I'm just amazed you are now using actual cookware to cook. I thought the only appliance you owned was the Pizza Presto Pizzazz. That thing was phenomenal.

 

[cdekovic]

I cook quite a bit at our house and am pretty fussy about the kind of cookware I use. What we have is expensive but it is a second set. The first was bought as wedding gifts and lasted about 25 years. I would expect the set we have now will be the last set of cookware we will purchase. We have Calphalon One. We spent about $550 on a base set. Spending any more than that is pretty ridiculous IMO.

 

[FDWxMan]

I'm just amazed you are now using actual cookware to cook. I thought the only appliance you owned was the Pizza Presto Pizzazz. That thing was phenomenal.

Hey, that damn thing is still going strong. If it was a stainless steel Pizzazz I'd buy one just for you!

 

[sweetiecy]

Pretty much the same here. 4 couples total.

My Mom got a set of cookware when she got married in 1960...very high end and expensive at the time...I think it was even sold in the same manner as Royal Prestige; only I highly doubt that the guys sat in on the demonstrations back then (and I guarantee you my Dad did not).

Anyway, a few years ago, I noticed that several of the handles on the pans and lids had broken. Mom mentioned that they had a lifetime warranty, but thought they surely wouldn't replace them. Called the company, sent them off, and they came back with new handles & all polished up!

Guess I'm just trying to say that quality will usually stand the test of time. I'm currently accumulating a set of All-Clad (one pan at a time).

 

[nocsiou]

As someone who actually sold cookware for a living in the past, pass on the $1700 set. If you really want very top end stainless cookware, walk into Bed Bath and Beyond and register for some All-Clad. Really any of the higher end Calphalon or Analon nonstick is pretty darn good. Most people today prefer non-stick but pretend chefs like to use stainless.

Any stainless should have a copper base or have aluminum or copper encapsulated. Avoid thin gauge aluminum or stainless. Thick gauge aluminum that is anodized black works well. Thin cookware warps easily and also does not cook food evenly. If you have a glass-top stove, avoid cookware with grooves or ridges on the bottom of the pan. These ridges trap pockets of hot air or steam, and the cookware can literally float off the burner.

These sets will last a very long time, however no nonstick will last forever. It is just fine to keep using nonstick even if the teflon coating wears away over time. Do not put nonstick cookware in the dishwasher as this will diminish its easy release properties. I do keep a cheap nonstick skillet around and replace it every year or 2 for around $20 and so don't fuss to much about using metal utensils with it. The higher end nonstick cookware is generally safe to put in the oven to at least 400 degrees and they feature handles that stay cool on the stove even though they are metal. I like glass lids so I can see the food. My recommendation would be Calphalon Advanced or Advanced nonstick.

Teflon is basically inert unless heated to very high temperatures. If you leave an empty teflon pan on the stove on high heat and melt the thing it does create vapors. If you leave anything on the stove under high heat is creates vapors. Put something in the pan and the problem is solved. Technically he is right about the bird, but practically speaking there is very little danger.

 

[twinCitiesClone]

Just got back from the same pitch, we also didn't buy any pans. As a college student there's no way I can afford those...I thought we get married so we can make other people buy us expensive stuff instead of buying it ourselves! But I must say he made some pretty good chicken so I enjoyed the free food at least. :smile:

 

[CP44]

Just got back from the same pitch, we also didn't buy any pans. As a college student there's no way I can afford those...I thought we get married so we can make other people buy us expensive stuff instead of buying it ourselves! But I must say he made some pretty good chicken so I enjoyed the free food at least. :smile:

We got married a couple weeks ago and leading up the wedding those people called us like 5 times trying to get us to go to that thing.

At first I tried to reason and send her since I worked on both nights they do that but they said no and that both of us had to be there. After that we just figured it was a waste of time.

 

[Jibs]

I also went to this thing with my wife before we gotten married. We sat through the whole thing and got our coupons or whatever it was and then left. I didn't give the salesman time to try to drag me in hook line and sinker. Just got the packet and said not interested and walked out.