I actually am "a trained gourmet chef," which doesn't mean I know squat about cookware one way or the other.
However, what I do know is that the Emerilware that is not non-stick is very good value for the money. I'm not a fan of non-stick cookware at all, and while I won't go so far as to advise you to avoid it entirely -- Emerilware non-stick does not have a particularly good reputation.
As KY said, Emerilware is All Clad's lowest price line. It's fairly well made, should last a long time, and will perform about as well as any other stainless interior, multi-ply cookware else for the vast majority of cooking operations. The world's best, most expensive cookware won't make a you a better cook.
Stainless is not the best performer for many operations, and not the best bang for the buck for anything that doesn't require non-reactive cookware. A couple of skillets, or a skillet and a saute pan (aka chicken fryer -- it's the straight sided "frying pan"), and the three most usefual sauce pan sizes are really all you need in stainless. After that core set, there are better materials than stainless. So, in that sense, a fourteen piece set is probably too big. I'm guessing that the fourteen pieces break down as something like nine cooking pieces and five lids.
All in all it's a generous gift, and unless (a) you can break it down into a smaller set combined with some open stock; or (b) it's got more than a couple of pieces of non-stick; you might as well except gracefully and greatfully.
Tell your BIL from me, he's a heckuva guy.
BDL  |