Our Place is a brand that is going from strength-to-strength, continually finding ways to innovate and transforming the lives of home cooks. From their iconic Always Pan through to more recent releases such as the Wonder Oven, Our Place has managed to carve a nice with cookware that looks classic, while removing all of the harmful PFAs that are present in many mainstream brands. Not content with cornering the market when it comes to multi-functional cookware, Our Place has now released its Essentials Collection.
The Essentials Collection is available in four configurations – 8-piece, 11-piece, 17-piece and 21-piece – and this review is based on the 21-piece set. The first thing to note when the set arrived was just how heavy it was. The box is absolutely huge and inside it, is all of the fantastic pieces of cookware that are destined to become my go-tos in the kitchen. So what is included in the 21-piece collection I hear you ask? Well, I’m glad you asked.
With this new range, Our Place is looking to cover all bases and this 21-piece collection does that with ease. The Essentials Collection contains – a 20cm Fry Pan, a 27cm Fry Pan, a 31cm Fry Pan with lid, a 2L Saucepan with lid, a 2.8L Saucepan with a lid, a 3.8L Saute Pan with a lid, a 6.6L Stock Pot with a lid, a Nesting Stainless Steel Strainer Basket, an Essentials Griddle Pan, an Essentials Mini Griddle Pan, a Large Oven Mat, a Mini Oven Mat and a 4-piece storage system. Phew! Where to start…
All of the items in the Essentials Collection are compatible with both gas and induction hobs. You can also use them all in the oven, giving you plenty of options. For example you might start making a stew by shallow frying it in the Stock Pot, before popping in the rest of the ingredients, putting the lid on and slow cooking it in the oven for a few hours. The range of sizes on offer here really is a bonus. If you’re cooking for one, you can use the 20cm Fry Pan or the 2L Saucepan, which are perfect for small meals. Need to feed the whole family? The 31cm Fry Pan and the 6.6L Stock Pot will give you plenty of room to make some delicious foods.
The inclusion of the griddle pans in the 21-piece collection takes things to the next level. I like to use the large griddle on the stove top to make a full breakfast (you can do bacon, sausages and eggs all in the same griddle). The smaller one is great for small batch baking (the mini oven mat keeps your cookies nice and crisp), or even for making oven chips. The non-stick surface heats lovely with a splash of oil and the end result is an impressively crunchy chip.
The Nesting Stainless Steel Strainer Basket has become my new favourite item. It nests in the Stock Pot when you’re not using it, and it has a huge 6.6L capacity making it absolutely perfect for draining vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, and pasta. You can use it to wash salad too, and it’s impressively lightweight. I should also pot out that the lids for the saucepans have strainers built in too.
One of the things I really love about the Essentials Collection is the storage system. Made from recycled plastic, the system is really easy to put together. It enables you to neatly stack all of your cookware without taking up a ton of space. The biggest advantage is that by stacking them with the handles facing out, it makes the cookware easily accessible from your cupboard without having to take everything out to find the cookware item you need.
As with all Our Place items, the Essentials Collection is an absolute dream to clean. There’s no need to scrub any of the cookware items; just soak them in hot soapy water and wipe clean. The non-stick surfaces make it hard for anything to really mark the cookware and after every wash, mine looked just like new.
Our Place has done it again. They are easily my favourite brand when it comes to cookware (and bakeware) and they keep raising the bar with every new release. While the Essentials Collection may come with a hefty price tag of £952, you can currently grab it for a bargain at £465 in the Black Friday Sale. This collection will last you for years and honestly, I think it’s fantastic value for money. Make the investment, and enhance your cooking experience – you won’t regret it.
Released by: Our Place Buy ‘Essentials Cookware + Bakeware Set’ now
