Tools Of The Trade Grand Prix 18 Piece Set By Candida Eittreim on Jul 12, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

After looking at several different product lines, I decided to give Tools of the Trade cookware a try. I liked the Grand Prix set, because it offered quite a few necessary pieces for the price.

I've been using it for a year this month. I love it! They cook well and evenly, clean beautifully and have maintained their good looks with very hard use. The one piece I am unhappy with is the 12 inch saute pan. Food sticks to the bottom and it doesn't measure up to the rest of the cookware. It even feels slightly different-less heft.

The saucepans hold heat evenly and allow me to work with low heat simmer, without fear of scorching. The stockpots are great, I do a lot of cooking from scratch-stocks, soups and sauces. The large stockpot is big enough to handle most of these cooking needs, and the smaller one is great for potatoes, rice and beans. The lids are tight-fitting, and all the pieces are fairly easy to handle.

This is a good cookware investment for the cook who cooks a lot of home made meals. It is very easy to clean, requires minimum upkeep, and compared against other, more expensive brands, a very good deal.

It has held up very well over the course of the year I've had it, and continues, with heavy use to handle almost all my cooking needs. I would rate this an excellent product. I highly recommend it both for value and performance. With one caveat: the 12 inch saute. If you can purchase this without the saute pan, I would recommend doing so.