Breville Sous
Chef Food Processor Review
A consumer's opinion of the Breville Sous
Chef BFP800XL food processor including pictures, usage tips and recipes.
Breville BFP800XL 16 Cup |
25 Year Motor Warranty |
Sturdy Plastic Bowl |
My wife
and I have been wanting to purchase a food processor for the past
few years.
We have plenty of experience using food processors of varying ages (ancient to wedding registry brand new) and price points ($30 to a $1,000 commercial unit) at the homes or businesses of our family members and friends. After we each spent hours researching the extensive variety of food processors available on the market, we both agreed that the Breville Sous Chef seemed to be the absolute "best" one, even considering the very high cost. The more we read about the Sous Chef's features, the full set of accessories with a storage box, its wide diversity of capabilities, the twenty five year warranty on the motor and its sheer power, the more we were convinced that it was well worth the money. |
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Accessories In Storage Box |
Assortment of Blades & Tools |
Chopping & Dough Blades |
The box from Amazon
with our new food processor inside was huge and could have easily held our
80lb golden retriever with room to spare. The Breville Sous Chef weighs a whopping 26 pounds with most of that weight being the very hefty and solid feeling base that has a 1200 watt induction motor, die cast metal base and stainless steel exterior. It also comes in a very attractive red color or glossy black so you can match your other appliances. We had been buying the red version of our small appliances for a while but we're starting to switch over to a more silver metal look for everything to match our refrigerator. Since the base is so heavy and has rubber feet on the bottom, I knew it wouldn't be dancing or vibrating around the kitchen counter until it fell on the floor like we've seen happen with some of the inexpensive models at friends' houses. The accessory storage box and all of the accessories themselves definitely make you feel like you could tackle any complicated recipe with ease. It is made out of very thick plastic just like the processing bowl and I love how everything tucks away neatly. You can even store the storage box on its side so it will take up less space in your cabinets. |
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Mini Bowl Chopping Blade |
Thick Plastic Food Pusher |
Top of 16 Cup Bowl |
The accessories
included are as follows: mini chopping blade (for the small 2.5 cup mini
bowl), large processing blade, dough blade, adjustable 1mm-8mm slicing
blade, whisking or "emulsifying" disc, reversible shredder disc, julienne
disc, French fries disc, cleaning brush and a very handy spatula. A very smart safety switch feature on the Sous Chef is contained in the top lid of the bowl. The blades will only spin with the large food pusher at least partially inserted in to the feed chute. If the food pusher is not present, the motor will not turn on. I might be repeating myself, but I can't get over how nice and thick all of the plastic components feel. The lid and large 16 cup mixing bowl are especially sturdy. I wouldn't be surprised if they last for many years of constant use. To keep the plastic pieces in pristine condition, it is recommended that you hand wash them. I was a bit worried about this at first, but it is actually quite easy. There aren't any hard to reach surfaces on the lid, bowls or blades like we've encountered on other food processors. I remember one friend's food processor developed mold due to the lid having a recessed area that she complained couldn't be cleaned out easily and required soaking in vinegar or even bleach! |
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Mini Bowl & 16 Cup Bowl |
Adjustable Slicing Blade |
1mm To 8mm Thickness |
Another thing I
checked before we purchased the Sous Chef was how much replacement parts
cost. We have heard horror stories from friends about buying a cheap food
processor, needing to replace a simple part that broke prematurely to keep
it working and being absolutely gouged on the price for a thin plastic bowl
or a flimsy metal blade. For example, here are some of the replacement part costs for the Breville Sous Chef: Mini Processing Bowl $13.99, Large Food Pusher $4.99, Dough Blade $4.99, Reversible Shredder Disc $11.99, Large Processing Bowl Lid $16.99 and the Large Processing Bowl itself is only $34.99. I think those prices are very reasonable considering how heavy duty all of the accessories seem to be. If we ever need to buy a replacement part it will be because of a rare kitchen mishap such as dropping the mixing bowl full of liquid from chest height or if our dog decides to chew on the cleaning brush. One of the accessories that my wife was most excited about was the adjustable slicer disc. She often makes really hearty soups in the winter and is very particular about how I chop her vegetables. Some vegetables she likes to be paper thin such as celery and others she wants to be thick such as carrots. This slicer disc is going to save the two of us so much time and effort and carpal tunnel arthritis pain over the next few decades. |
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Keurig Size Comparison |
Vitamix Size Comparison |
Coffee, Breville & Blender |
I placed the Sous
Chef next to our Keurig coffee machine and an old Vitamix blender to give
you a size comparison if you are worried about having enough counter space
for this monster of a kitchen appliance.
The Sous Chef is thinner than an old Keurig coffee maker but about the same width as a Vitamix. You'll need cabinets that are at least about 18" above the counter top to have enough room to slide the Sous Chef under the cabinets. Since the base is so heavy, you probably won't want to have to move it from your cabinet or pantry closet every time you want to use it. We plan on keeping the base and bowl on the counter at all times and just placing the storage box in to the pantry or in a cabinet when not in use. |
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3 Buttons & Timer |
Twist To Lock Bowl |
Easy To Assemble |
A positive thing about the heavy base is that you can easily twist open the lid or twist off the entire 16 cup bowl with just one hand with out having to hold the base down to the counter with your other hand. | ||
Insert S-Processing Blade |
Halved Onion |
3 Onion Halves |
Our first meal that
we tackled with the help of the Sous Chef was a large pot of homemade
chicken vegetable soup.
We use our largest pot and tons of vegetables and chicken to make a large batch of this soup. About half of the soup will be ladled in to Tupperware containers and placed in the freezer for enjoying later. I peeled off the outer layer of some onions, sliced them in half and tossed them in the large 16 cup bowl with the "S" processing blade installed. The lid twists on easily and solidly. The larger pusher has to be inserted in to the food chute in order for the processor to turn on. |
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Minced & Chopped |
Done In Seconds !!! |
Celery Chopped 1mm Thin |
I pressed the power
button and tapped the pulse button a few times. The onions were finely
minced in just seconds. It would have taken me at least a few minutes to
accomplish the same thing with lots more effort on my part. Next up, we used the adjustable slicer blade to slice some celery stalks. My wife wanted the celery slices to be paper thin, so I moved the dial to the smallest 1mm setting. The Sous Chef sliced up those celery stalks in to hundreds of even little pieces. I was impressed by how quickly the machine worked and yet it wasn't obnoxiously loud like some of the food processors we have used in the past. There are no odd rattles, vibrations or hopping around on the counter. All dozen or so of the celery stalks were in 1mm slices within about 15 seconds. |
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Garlic Cloves |
Minced In An Instant |
Rotate Dial - Adjust Blade |
Since my wife isn't
too fond of dishes with too much garlic flavor, we only had to mince about 9
garlic cloves for the huge pot of soup. I inserted the small 2.5 cup mini bowl and the mini chopping blade. I pulsed the garlic a few times and it was minced perfectly. All of the garlic pieces were contained within the mini bowl with a few pieces stuck to the lid. The strong yet flexible spatula that was included with the accessory kit has a long blade edge that makes it really easy to get all of your ingredients out of the mixing bowls. |
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8mm Thickness |
Slicer Blade On Disc Spindle |
Hard Carrots Sliced Easily |
The next
ingredients on the chopping block were the large bunch of fresh organic
carrots. They were very firm and would have been quite a chore to chop up
even with a recently sharpened chef's knife. We adjusted the slicing blade to the maximum thickness of 8mm. The powerful 1200 watt induction motor really displayed its power when we jammed in 3 or 4 carrots at a time in to the feeder chute. We couldn't even hear the motor slow down at all as it chopped perfectly even discs. |
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Large Cabbage Quarters |
Chicken Vegetable Soup |
Mince Browned Chicked |
A large head of
cabbage was our last vegetable ingredient.
I cut the cabbage in to four quarters and tossed in two at a time in to the processing bowl with the large "S" blade. Just a few pulses of the motor was all it took to turn the cabbage in little shreds. We finished browning the chicken thighs and emptied the pan in to the processing bowl. Once again, a few pulses of the motor tore apart the chicken in to perfect tiny bits for the soup. I could definitely see us using the Sous Chef in the future for making our own meat balls, ground beef, sausage fillings, meatloaf or mixing up some raw bacon and chuck steak for hybrid pork and beef hamburger patties. We have a vegan and some vegetarians in our circle of friends, so I have plans to also try making homemade hummus, spinach and artichoke dip, black bean burger patties, sweet potato fries and lentil or nut based "power" snack balls |
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Chicken In Soup |
Minced Mushrooms |
Ingredients For Nut Butter |
Since we didn't
want to end the fun with our new "toy", we quickly minced some mushrooms as
another ingredient for the ever expanding pot of chicken soup.
While the soup simmered, I quickly hand washed all of the bowls and blades. The blade and bowl that had touched the mostly cooked chicken was washed twice to avoid cross contamination and food poisoning. I thought I might be annoyed by having to hand wash the bowls but they were very easy to clean with the included brush, dish soap and some hot water. I've read that you could place the bowls and blades in the dishwasher, but only on the top shelf and avoid using the "heated drying" setting. |
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Nuts. Seeds, Flax |
Honey & Coconut Oil |
Mixing Tasty Nut Butter |
Although I tried to
resist, we ended up trying another recipe with our new food processor.
We tossed some almonds, peanuts, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, honey and coconut oil in to the mini processing bowl to make some fresh nut butter. I had read that the motor has a built in overload protection system that keeps it from becoming overheated, but I still wanted to avoid running the motor for too long while grinding these thick and sticky ingredients. We used the handy, very bright and easy to read digital LCD display timer to mix the nut butter for about 30 seconds and then let the food processor rest for a minute. This process was repeated for about 15 minutes while I cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher. At the end, we had a very smooth and tasty nut butter perfectly tailored to our exact specifications with no added preservatives or extra salt. I'm really looking forward to making some bread dough for pizza, bagels or just a loaf of hearty wheat bread. We have some experience making dough for bread and bagels by hand when we were younger and it can definitely be a labor of love that takes a lot of effort. I do intend to give the motor plenty of breaks while kneading the dough to prevent from heating it up too much or heating up the dough blade and causing it to melt. The plastic might be high quality and very thick, but it can still melt if abused. Tomorrow morning, I plan on whipping up some light and fluffy eggs with cream and the whisking blade for a tasty omelet filled with bell pepper slices and sautéed minced onions. If we get some blocks of hard cheese like Italian parmigiano reggiano, I'm sure I can easily shred them with the shredder disc for my beloved cheesy scrambled eggs. My wife has requested that I learn how to make hollandaise sauce with the food processor for her favorite breakfast of eggs benedict. After having lived with the Breville Sous Chef for the past few weeks and using it at least every other day, I can wholeheartedly say that it is by far the best kitchen appliance we have ever used or owned. Perhaps the commercial grade $1,000+ food processor at our friend's family owned restaurant was more powerful, but it would be major overkill for our needs and not fit nicely in to our small kitchen. If we had to make our purchase again and decided to go for a lower price point, there were some clear winners in the tiers of high end, middle ground and basic low end food processors. For the around $150 to $200 range, I would choose the Cuisinart DLC-8SBCY Pro Custom 11 cup processor. It has the best and most reviews for that price range and includes the basic accessories for most food processing tasks. If you want a larger capacity unit, go for the bigger sibling in the family which is the Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY 14 cup processor. For the under $50 price point that would have appealed to me when I was a thrifty college student on a shoestring budget, I would have chosen one of the two very well reviewed Hamilton Beach models. The larger
Hamilton Beach 70730 10 cup food
processor or the slightly cheaper 8 cup
Hamilton Beach 70740 are both excellent choices for the simple
chopping and shredding of taco Tuesday ingredients such as a block of
cheddar, lettuce or mixing up refried beans or fresh guacamole. |
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