im about to buy town craft cookware!any comments on it?

im about to buy it.its expensive but ive only heard wonderful things about it.tell me what you guys think of it.am i making a wise choice by getting it?is it really all they say it is?i ahve severla family members that have pieces of it and they say they wouldnt trade it for nothing they love it.

HOW TO BUY

Townecraft products are sold only through in-home demonstration. Townecraft even does cooking demonstrations in your home - at no cost to you; we provide all the food. This is a great way to learn more about cooking delicious, healthy meals with the convenience of the Townecraft Minimum Moisture Method. Contact us today to arrange a demo in your home, and we'll even tell you how to earn beautiful gifts like a Chef's Ware Omelet Pan or Griddle.

Please contact our Customer Service Department directly by email at customerservice@townecraft.com for more information.

http://www.townecraft.net/howtobuy.php

I just looked at the Towncraft link, I had never heard of this before although someone does demos at fairs and home shows with waterless cooking, this might be it, They never give a price. What is the price of the 42 piece set shown on the site? 

Loolie,

Towncraft is just about the same as "Saldmaster". It is good cookware but OH THE PRICE.

Anything only sold through demos almost half goes to the people who sell it a/o do the demonstrations.

I did have a sladmaster pan I bought at a yard sale for 50 cents. What I did not like were  the plastic handles, On a more shallow pan they do get very close to the heat source and do dry out and crack.  I like the cookware that has a triple bottom. Saladmaster has a thin layer of oil enclosed on the bottom of the pans, that is suppoed to be the secret to keep things from burning and make theird also waterless.

Good cookware is expensive but this is just about like buyng a set of solid copper with stainless lining or even more.

If they sold it factory direct without the high commissions tacked on it would be something to think about, at my age I don't need any new cookware, what I have will  last a lot longer than I will.

I bought my Towncraft pots back in 1975 - i still have them, they are grrrrrreat !!!!  Lifetime replacement is true - i had burnt the handles off two pots - they replaced a handle on one and sent a new pot for the other.  Completely worth the $$$.  They still look and work beautifully !   Good luck!

If you Google you'll find pages full of customer complaints about this cookware as a huge ripoff, so unless you have money to burn, I'd be very cautious about buying that overpriced ($2,100; yikes... is that right?) "waterless" cookware. 

Besides, no one needs that many pieces of cookware. I can tell you from professional experience that most cooks only use about a half-dozen pieces for their day to day use. Good cookware is intended to be used, not displayed, so there is no reason that anything needs to match. Dollar for dollar, you'll get the most bang for your buck by selecting just the pieces you will use most often from good quality, SS, clad-type, open stock cookware. 

Trust me, in the 50 some years that I've been cooking, I can tell you that expensive pans will not make you a good cook, they won't make you healthy, beautiful or popular, but they will leave your wallet empty. By example, this is the "set" that works for me:

8" inherited cast icon skillet
6" cheap nonstick skillet just for eggs
10" and 14" SS "Allclad" skillets
4 and 6 quart SS "Martha Stewart" sauce pans
10 quart SS "Kirkland" Dutch oven
plus a few pressure cookers

They don't match; and except for the nonstick, they've been used hard for more years than I can remember, and will undoubtedly outlive me. If you're going to spend an outrageous sum of money for kitchen equipment, then buy the best set of knives you can afford because you will use them more often than anything else.

 Don't do it! Don't even go to your friend's party! My husband's friend and his wife had one of those parties. We went to it and the salesman cooked a fantastic meal all on one burner! He had the pots stacked up on top of each other. He even cooked a chocolate cake with frosting in one of the pans. Then we were talked into buying a set of the overly expensive pots and pans. We paid $1600, which was several years ago. They finance it for you so you can make monthly installment payments. Then we were talked into hosting our own party and sucking some more people into buying those over priced pans. That cooking without water is a complete mystery to me. I burned up a whole bag of potatoes trying to cook them without water. I have to use water in everything I cook or else it burns up. It's hard to get that burnt food off those pans. You will need to use Bar Keeper's Friend to get them clean. My advice to you is get some T-Fal pots and pans or something else. Leave TownCraft alone.

I highly recommend Cooks Essentials pots and pans sold exclusively through QVC. I use mine every day and after 5 years they still are attractive enough to hang on the kitchen wall.

They have several different styles and they all have a lifetime warranty that they stand behind behind with no questions asked.

I, personally have the 18/10 stainless steel with DuPont non stick interior that is metal utensil friendly. The stainless steel is also available without the non stick finish, depending on each persons choice.

In addition to having the lifetime warranty, they are VERY AFFORDABLE.

There's also additional pieces you can get to add to the set you choose.

Check them out.

YEs they are expensive but it is the only set of pots and pans I have ever bought. Mine are around 31-32 years old. We had been married only a year or two when we had a cooking party at our home. They have been though four kids and working our way through cooking for 11 grandkids. We farm and big meals are part of our life....I don't know what I would do without my Towncraft cookware.  diana

My parents purchased a set of Townecraft cookware for me back in the early 1970s... I was only a few years old... and I was given the set upon getting married in the mid '80s, more than 22 years ago.  This cookware I cannot say enough positive things about!  It certainly has been wonderful to me and my family.  A few years ago, we built a new house which contained an electric, smooth cooktop in the kitchen.  My old Townecraft had rounded bottoms, and I needed to purchase some flat-bottomed pots and pans to accommodate the new appliance.  Well, I bought some very expensive, highly-recommended stainless with the intent to replace the Townecraft, but in the end I'm still using the Townecraft while my new stainless sits in the cabinet.  The new stuff I dislike intensely... it is too heavy, the handles get hot enough to require potholders, and food sticks to the bottom and around the rivets holding the pan together.  All I can say is, Townecraft may not be right for everyone but it's definitely been right for me.  I recommend a few pieces of it, namely saucepans and a Dutch oven, for everyday cooking and then supplement it with a few nonstick frying pans, etc.  To me, different materials are better for different tasks and you should customize your kitchen with a variety of tools that allow you to do your brand of cooking best.  Buying a large set of cookware of the same material and with items that you may never use would probably be a mistake, or so it seems to me.  Just my two cents worth...  :)

SaladMaster does not have a layer of oil in the pans.....only the electric skillet.  Good cookware is not cheap.  I have lived long enough to know that if it is cheap it is not good and if it is good it is not cheap.  You get what you pay for.

Pie1man

 We have owned our set of Towncraft cookware for 12 years. I would pay twice the price for it. I really do use it the way they demonstrate it. It really is waterless; I can really fry meat without any oil. Yes, I really do remove all the chicken skin and fry my chicken in a dry hot pan and it comes out crisp and delicious. In fact, I take my cookware camping: I use it to cook over a fire. I have used my electric skillet to cook plugged into an outlet at a roadside rest stop on a trip. I have a number of family and friends who have also had the cookware for years and wouldn't part with it. I still fix cakes and brownies in the electric skillet. And yes, you can really stack up the pans on one burner and cook an entire meal on a dorm room hot plate. The electric skillet is just like Saladmaster's, but the pans themselves are definetely better than Saladmaster--heavier and more truly waterless.

Hopefully, someone can guide me.  I have been trying to purchase this cookware for my daughter.  I have called Glen Rock, NJ and have e-mailed them a number of times to get in- formation on the cookware. I have had it for 35 years and it has always performed well which is why I would like to buy it for my daughter.  My problem is getitng someone to get in touch with me.  I was told the salesman for my area had some problems and he would be in touch with me.  After no response from the representative and  two more emails they finally sent me the number of a representative in NY.  I have called but have only been able to get an answering machine.  It appears that if it is this difficult to reach someone to make a purchase, I would never be able to reach them should a problem occur.

After reading some blogs on the internet, I am not so sure this business is what it was years.  I am interested in knowing what state your purchase was made in.  Perhaps there is someone there who could give me the information and pricing I need.

 Thank you.

I am unable to get a representative to call me back. I have called Glen Ridge, NJ and was told by Mr. Di Pietro that the representative for my area was having problems but someone would be in touch with me. After subsequent e-mails to him, him finally gave me a rep in NY. I have called her but only get an answering machine.  Does anyone know a representative in another state that sells this cookware????

Thank you

i sent my miss electra skillet and cover alone with the cord back to the company ,around the last of july.stating that the oil leaks out of the botton from where the screw hold the legs on, and just ask if they could repair  the problem,now i have had this set for years.i got aletter back today form an A .HARRISON(AH: cg) form the towmcraft inc.one de boer drive,glen rock,new jersey 07452 with the phone # for the n.j office 201-445-9700-n.y. #212-564-1758..the letter states dear mrs adcock,we are in receipt of your miss electra skillet and cover and would like very much to be of service to you.since your skillet is well over the ten year warranty period,we would like to make a special one time offer to replace this skillet for 100.00.we could not find a problem with the cover,however we will replace the handles for you -no charge.please send your check for this amount to my personal attention so that this matter can be taken care of for you without any futher delays.we will hold this special offer for you for 60 days from the date on this letter(which is september 9,2009)if we do not hear from you by the 1st od december ,we will discard your merchandise and close out this file,very truly yours,A .Harrison.(what happened to my lifetime warranty )IF SOMETHING HAS A LIFE TIME WARRANTY WHY CHARGE ME 100.00 FOR A SEAL GOING BAD.AFTER THIS I WILL NOT BE BUYING MY 3 SONS A SET WHEN THEY START HOUSE KEEPING.VERY DISSAPOINTED HERE.