Commercial cookware is in a different league from the cookware that you find at the standard department store. The price is too, but if once the cookware is examined closely, one can understand and justify the cost. Have you ever followed a recipe closely, did everything that you thought was correct, only to end up with disappointing results? It's not just an excuse to say that it must have been the cookware and not the chef.
Chefs demand quality cookware for the simple reason that they know it cooks better. A chef's career rest on his reputation and they are not going to tarnish that by using inferior products. Cheap cookware does not disperse heat evenly. Uneven heat can ruin the precise requirement that many dishes require. Cheap cookware also is difficult to clean and less efficient. It takes long to heat up, cools down quicker, and if you ruin a dish, you lose the cost of the ingredients and the time of the chef.
Some of the most important properties of quality commercial cookware are the materials used for the construction. No one material is best for all jobs, but some come close. The chef must consider what is being cooked. Some foods like lemon and tomatoes are very acidic and the acid can mix with the metal and give the food a metallic taste. Some non-stick materials like Teflon are reported to be a health hazard, even killing birds from the fumes if overheated! Copper and aluminum are great conductors of heat, but they are reactive. Reactive metals must be considered when cooking acidic foods.
Stainless steel is the most universal and commonly used type of chef cookware. The reason is durability. Stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat and any scour spots from improper cleaning or over-heating from burned dishes will result in a permanent "hot spot" that will over heat. The department store cookware is notorious for being all stainless steel and that is why it's cheap. Commercial cookware is rarely all stainless steel. Sandwiched between the stainless steel is an aluminum or copper core that spreads the heat evenly while the outside stainless layers provide easier cleaning and durability.
There are specialty commercial applications too. Cast iron is an example. When cared for and seasoned by a properly trained grill cook, cast iron is the choice for frying! Cast iron cooking has the distinctive "griddle" taste. Care is the key though. If not cared for it will rust. If washed with dish soap, the food can take on a soap taste. Sometimes copper is preferred for tea kettles because of the taste. When a chefs' recipe calls for specific cookware there is a reason.
As more home chefs put more effort into their home cooking, there finding that their current cookware is not working. Poor tastes from the metal and even unsafe conditions happen once they start putting the department store cookware to the test. Loose rivets from the expansion and contraction of heating and cooling make for a piece that is an accident waiting to happen. Be like the professionals and demand the best and by commercial cookware that will last a lifetime.
