Why Chefs Love Cooking on Stainless Steel

Stainless steel cookware is experiencing a cultural renaissance. This isn’t to say that the genre of cookware ever disappeared, but, once upon a lockdown, it felt like an ad from a nonstick cookware brand was always a scroll away. Now that the dust has settled from the post-pandemic online shopping boom, the tides are shifting, and consumers investing in cookware sets want to be sure that what they buy will last both in terms of function and looking good year after year. For many folks, and especially those working in professional kitchens, that’s where the craftsmanship of great stainless steel pulls its weight.

So, why is virtually every commercial kitchen stocked with stainless steel cookware? Eater spoke with Carlye Lester, the sous chef at HAGS, a queer fine dining restaurant in New York City, about why she loves to reach for it at her restaurant, and so many other chefs and cooks do at theirs. The main benefit? Reliability. “I love that it gets super hot and heats evenly; it is [easy] to get a good sear on whatever you are making,” Lester says, explaining that she’s using stainless steel pans to sear and crisp a mustard marinaded-cod at HAGS. “[And] I love that stainless steel can be more reliable than a nonstick if you’re using the correct methods.”

That’s one of the greatest misconceptions about stainless steel cookware: that it is not nonstick. In actuality, if you heat up stainless steel cookware to the right temperature (around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or once a few water droplets in the pan start beading instead of evaporating), and add a bit of oil, it creates a nonstick effect due to something called the Leidenfrost effect.

As for pan aftercare: Make sure you let your pan cool before washing, and dry it with a microfiber cloth afterwards to prevent water spots. Other than that, quality stainless steel (at least 3-ply, but 5-ply is recommended for oven use and high heat) is ideal for commercial kitchens because it’s nonporous, and the material won’t react with acidic ingredients like tomatoes or wine. You can also whisk away to your heart’s content in a stainless steel saucepan and use metal spatulas and tools because there’s no nonstick coating to scratch. (Unsurprisingly, that ability to withstand wear and tear is also part of why Eater chose to create a 5-ply stainless steel cookware line when we collaborated with Heritage Steel; we would only put our name on a cookware line that’s chef-approved, hardy enough for all kinds of use, and built to last.)

If you let it, Lester says, stainless steel cookware can actually become a great cooking teacher in and of itself. “I think people think it is hard to use,” Lester says about the hesitation new cooks might have around stainless steel, “But there are countless YouTube videos/TikToks/Reels [out there], and if you’re friends with a chef, we are always happy to pick up the phone and walk you through [it].”

As for the consumer shift back towards stainless steel, Lester sees it as natural after the initial selling points of nonstick pans have been compromised; many home cooks complain that they eventually lose the efficacy of their slippery coating, and thus their main point of appeal. “I think we are entering a new era of cooking,” she told Eater, “where people are less interested in the shortcuts.” In that context, she explains, the appeal of steel is not just that it looks great, but that it has the potential to last for decades when cared for correctly.

Even the Instagrammy cookware companies that were once staunch slingers of ceramic nonstick have started offering titanium and stainless steel collections that promise both style and enduring craftsmanship. Stainless steel never really went out of style in commercial kitchens, but, as the cost of living skyrockets, its enduring appeal becomes pretty enticing.

“It is a pan that asks for your attention and intuition,” says Lester, “but that is always my favorite way to cook.”