So, a friend of mine bought this beautiful Paula Deen cookware...

...@ a really great price at Walmart. She basically got the price match from the Kmart flyer just before Christmas...

Yup! It's the Paula Deen cookware, and the one's you see in the image above? Wanna know how they are?

Crap! Terrible, pieces of crap.

Well, this is according to my friend, who uses them. And often, but not every single day like you're supposed to use a pan..or be able to. I wonder if consumer affairs for Ms. Deen's cookware tell consumers this, IE, "You shouldn't use them EVERY single day..." Well, what in the name kind of bull is that? Ya gotta cook every day for the most part, esp. if you have a family, husband, S/O, etc... I mean, come on! Shouldn't there be some sort of disclaimer on the box of pans stating that "Not to be used every single day unless you're single and don't have a family to cook for?"

Whatever...

Now, according to my friend who is a personal experience consumer with these items....they don't conduct heat well at all, the saucepans burn everything and everything sticks in them, the copper coloring is gone after minimal use...IE, they're really ugly now despite the fact she has had them for ONLY a month and took really good care of them...

They are NOTHING like the Rachael Ray cookware.

She(IE, my friend) followed directions on how to "treat" them(IE, you're supposed to soak them in baking soda to get this protective shipping oil off and they're supposed to be marvelous). And from what I've seen, my friend takes very good care of them, doesn't use the EVERY single day...yet...

They are CRAP.

Such a disappointment for a $100 investment, especially one tied in w/the name of Ms Paula Deen, whom I ADORE. I wonder if she's aware of this info.

I found several blogs, posts, etc...regarding the cookware, and they're are NOT pretty. Loads of complaints about the same stuff, not being able to contact anyone from the consumer affairs of Ms. Deen's cookware, not able to get replacements, and/or having to foot the bill on replacement mailing charges.

Now, I don't want to see/read comments saying, "Well, she GOT them at Walmart! What do you expect?"

I buy Wrangler Jeans at Walmart, I buy DVDs and batteries; I've bought a blender, coffee maker, grinder, T-Fal pans, the "generic" and/or Walmart name brand baby soaps and powder and the "White Cloud" brand diapers and I've not had an issue with any of said products. Walmart has nothing to do with the product. It's the actual product, and the way it's manufactured. If you had a slight allergic reaction to an Avon product, would you totally ban the company just because it's AVON and not Chanel, Estee Lauder, or Lancome? Besides, my friend paid 100 bones for the pan set, NOT $39.99; she got the five or ten piece set @ $100, which was the "Black Friday" sales price match down from the "regular" sale price of $129.99. She also owns the Rachael Ray cookware and just ADORES her pans! She's had them between 3-5 years and I've seen them first hand..and they're still pretty. Well, pretty good shape for 3 yr. old pans.

Besides, about a year ago the home shopping giant QVC recalled the Paula Deen cast iron pans due to shattering as they were...uh...used. The link for that is HERE...so it's NOT a Walmart/Kmart issue. It's just bad product manufacturing, and very bad customer service.

FYI: Kohl's sells BOTH Rachael's and Paula's cookware.

The verdict? Do your research in regard to cookware. Old school T-Fal fails to disappoint, and I've heard nothing but praise from the Rachael Ray cookware. Plus, listening to first hand experience via friends, associates, etc...helps! Oh, and don't invest in this crap cookware. Especially if you're serious about cooking, which is sad as I know Paula is totally serious about her cooking, which is sad. I don't know what way or how the consumer affairs department for Ms. Deen's cookware are trained or what they're allowed to do for customers, which isn't much apparently and according to reviews, which you'll see HERE Not only are there complaints about the actual product, but complaints about the lack of customer service with this company as they tell the consumers to mail at their own expense the defective product to obtain a refund. Don't they realize how expensive it would be to mail a huge package like 5-10 pans via USPO? Even Huggies diapers sent me a SASE for a defective diaper I had. I had me a bad batch of Huggies and when I told them(IE, Huggies), they sent me the SASE and coupons for freebies. Very nice! And this is a little old diaper company. Well, granted, it was just a diaper, but having that option given to me at their expense made me appreciate and like the Kimberly-Clarke Corporation much more.

Anyway...what say you?


Thank you, and GO BLACKHAWKS! Score is 2/1 right now against the LA. Kings....