Breville BFP820BAL Sous Chef Peel and Dice 16 Cup Food Processor, Large, Brushed Stainless Steel

I've had a food processor since shortly after they were introduced in the US, and immediately fell in love with the ease and speed of all the tasks it could handle. I also found myself making things I had been avoiding because I wasn't very good at them (pastry dough, I'm looking at you). That basic food processor, then the one which replaced it on a recall by the manufacturer, have been with me for nearly half a century. Although it was far from perfect, I never found one which effectively addressed its faults, nor which added features I considered useful – until I allowed myself to look at this food processor after buying another Breville countertop appliance. Then, although I frankly didn't want to spend this much, I couldn't get it off my mind. I've been dehydrating many foods to reduce food waste, and also to take advantage of buying in season, with the result that I've been doing lots of slicing, dicing, shredding, and chopping. As a result, I was going through mandolins and safety gloves fast enough that I could see that wasn't a cost effective solution for me; plus, it takes more effort, and is considerably more time consuming.I am so very glad that I got this! It really does fix all the issues I had with my old, workhorse Cuisinart. For one, all the pieces either turn in the intuitive direction (righty tighty, lefty loosy), or simply drop into the right position on the spindle; and the handle and chute are logically placed front and center, so both right and left handed people may use this easily, the feed tube is most easily accessed, and it takes up less counter space. There is no hole in the center of the bowl through which liquids or semi-liquids will escape, and there's a gasket on the lid to further contain them, which, in addition to allowing for processing larger batches, makes this easier to clean, just by whizzing around water with a drop or two of liquid detergent. A single disc handles both fine and coarse shredding by being flipped over; and the slicing blade is adjustable and also has the measurements clearly marked (the gap can also be closed for storage, or if it needs to sit in a drain basket). The chopping blade is sharp enough that, combined with the powerful motor, even the hardest ingredients are chopped in very few seconds. It shreds, juliennes, and makes beautiful (though curvy) French fries perfectly. I have yet to give the dough blade much of a workout, but the pizza dough I've made with it has been great. The blades and discs stop instantaneously when the machine is turned off, the lid is unlocked, or the pusher is removed. I could wax poetic about the wonderfully large chute, and the three part pusher, the center of which may also be used to measures liquids, and to drizzle them into the bowl, which helps you keep control of the position of items being sliced. The pusher barely needs any pressure on it at all, even with hard foods.Having a mini prep bowl and blade meant that I was able to talk my husband into getting rid of the small processor he'd acquired because he'd talked himself into thinking the full sized one was too much trouble. Additionally, I have to say that the timer is genius – no more guessing – yet another way this food processor delivers reproducible results, whether because you can capture the information by counting up when developing a recipe, or by precisely timing when following one! I have not yet used the whisking disc, but have no doubt I'll be blown away by that too, considering every other part of this system is so well thought out.I wasn't sure how much I'd want to use the dicer, but I absolutely love it, even though I did manage to cut myself during a moment of inattention, so do try to stay well focused when you have that in your hands. The edges are extremely sharp, and I have yet to find anything which is too soft or too hard for it to manage. I like it so well that I bought the additional set of 8 and 16mm dicing kits for versatility, though mostly use the set provided. The peeler works quite well on all the hard round objects I've had which needed peeling since getting it (potatoes and beets). I actually enjoy peeling, as long as I don't have a lot of it to do, but there's less waste when I use this, as I always take notably more of the produce with the peel when I do it by hand. With arthritis in my hands, I'm sure I'll put both the peeler and dicer to use with increasingly frequently.As much food prep as I do just cooking with fresh ingredients, and dehydrating for our own needs, I'll get a lot of use out of this in short order, and it will soon have paid for itself. (Reasons to eat out or eat prepared foods diminish when it's so quick and easy to cook from scratch at home.)What are the downsides? The first one is that you need to throw away your expectations about when you need to use the spindle – yup, I'm one of those people who managed to forget the spindle straight out of the box, despite having read the instructions, because the builtin spindle in the center of the bowl didn't look wrong to me; as a result of which I managed to fuse the slicing disc to the bowl, and I had to replace both of them. The only other one I've found is the real estate the accessory cases take up, but I wouldn't give them up, as they have a (clearly marked) place for every part, and that helps me make sure that all the parts are back in secure storage, so they're not knocking around where they could cause injuries, or be at risk of being dulled, dented, or otherwise damaged, or going missing. It's definitely worth the space.If you like cooking from scratch; if you like cooking with fresh, wholesome ingredients; if you can, dehydrate, or freeze dry foods for your own use; or have physical limitations which affect your ability to prepare fresh ingredients, I think this is an investment well worth making. It is the top of the line, and you will not end up kicking yourself for deciding you could get by with a lesser machine. From my point of view, just the fact that we're eating better since getting this is justification enough, but I can also see that it will help us retain our independence longer, as we can age in place better, enjoying fresh, wholesome foods, and avoiding chemical additives.Thank you for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful.

OK, I worked in mostly high-end restaurants for around 30 years or so. I know a lot about food processors. What they can and can't do as what they do well and what they don't do well. For a home food processor at the price I paid, I am completely satisfied with my purchase. Breville's customer service had been outstanding even during COVID. I do plan on getting the other two dicers, as well as the one that came with it, which is beyond compare. I worked both the front and back of the house and performed every job that there is to do in a restaurant. I have been a Chef, a Bartender, a Waiter, a manager a sommelier, and so on. I can sharpen and use knives and have a set of Dick Steel knives that are as good as you can buy. I can dice onions much faster than a food processor, as long as there is only a small number, this is where people seem to have a disconnect with exactly what a food processor is for. Getting out a food processor to dice one onion is like using a bulldozer to clear a 5 ft sidewalk of snow. It is absurd. I can probably have the onion diced and the board and knife cleaned before you could get your food processor out and set up. Food processors also can not do what a good, especially a good vacuum blender, can do. My point is that a food processor, no matter how expensive or what kind will do what a food processor is meant to do and nothing else. It is best if you have used one before buying what is in my opinion the best home food-processor available today. No, they don't cut french fries... Remember the old Vegamatic? They cut fries, or a good mandolin, even better a wall-mounted, lever-actuated french fry cutter, with a big industrial potato peeler next to it and the water hose for the peeler and a big worktable. You can cut 100 Lbs. of raw fries in 15 minutes or less if you know what you are doing, then you need a deep frier to blanch the fries and a deep frier to cook them, you can use the same one, but have to use different temps. I hope I have made my point.What is a food processor good for? Making a small amount (1 loaf) of bread or pizza dough in about 3 or 4 minutes. Many other things as well. One thing the Breville excels at is dicing small Spanish onions, you know, the strong ones that are 2 maybe 3 inches across and make you cry. They fit in the shoot and are diced in no time and will dice 5 lbs in a matter of a few minutes with no tears. Nothing on earth is better at making mayonnaise than a food processor. They also will puree things quite well as long as you don't need them super fine, like a food mill would render, and you don't need connective tissues removed like a food mill does when making things like forcemeat or very fine sausage stuffing, or don't need the cells of what your pureeing crushed like a 40,000 RPM flat-bladed Vacuum blender(i.e. - smoothies). They slice, dice, puree, make emulsion sauces, and much more. If you are cooking for 2 people, get a tiny food processor if you have to have one. This one is best used when you are cooking for 4 to maybe 30 people or processing a lot of things as in canning. Shredding cheese! Another strong point of a food processor, remember you want to shred cheese that is very cold and fairly hard, or partially freeze it first, otherwise, you end up with a mess. The cheese MUSt be cut to fit in the shute I would like Breville to come out with a cheese grating plate, you know, the side of your stand up shredder that has little star-shaped things punched in it, the side that grates lemon, lime, and orange rinds into powdery stuff, are very hard cheese into powder. Food processors shred, not grate for the most part. I tested the peeler and it works on small potatoes quite well, but I usually leave the skins on those as they are tender, and the carrot peeler is, well, interesting, but takes longer than a good ceramic peeler or a coarse brass or stainless steel vegetable brush to get the skins off, I keep mine for stock anyway. It excels at mincing garlic or anything for that matter. The motor is the best I have used other than a 240-volt Industrial Robocoupe ($they can cost $10,000) and Hobart makes a buffalo-chopper that will chop 500 lbs of onions in no time, but who does that kind of thing at home. All I am saying is know what a food processor is actually capable of and also what it will save you time at. If you know those 2 things, then your way beyond most people, and there is no better 16 cup food processor anywhere near the price than a Breville.Lastly, a comment on the motor. A 1200-watt induction motor is a very powerful, high torque motor. no brushes! Just a control unit that turns Ac to DC and uses MOSFETS to make it a spin. Just think of the Tesla car, same thing. A tesla has 4 motors, not sure of the wattage, but it can go from 0-60 mph faster than almost ANY supercar and it's a 4-door sedan. That is because it uses a variable speed DC-induction motor like the Breville Food Processor. No, they are not the SAME motors, just the same type. There are no gears needed, it all depends on the power supply and the motor driver. That is why a Breville can run at the same speed whether it is empty or has food in it, as long as there isn't too much food in it, lol. It is beyond the scope of this review, suffice it to say, it has an outstanding motor. There is gear driven RPM reducer for certain set-ups. I am not sure why Breville chose to do it with gears and not electronically, probably due to the cost of using a high amperage, low voltage power supply, but hay, it works like a charm.I thought of one last comment, I haven't tried the Cream Whipper, but don't try to whip egg whites for meringue in it, won't work. You cant whip egg whites in plastic or anything that has a trace of oil in it. Copper bowl, inside and out is best, like when cooking sugar for jams or Real Buttercream Frosting where softball cooked sugar is needed. Same for caramel. I am not sure why egg whites don't whip in plastic, or if there is any fat in the bowl, including egg yolk in your whites.I HIGHLY recommend this machine for any cook who had experience with food processors.Happy cooking,Brian Burke Jr.P.S. - That's My Fredrick Dick honing steel hanging to the left, they also make the best steel knives you can buy, in my humble opinion. (I didn't rate "Thickness" ??? Don't have a clue why it is part of the rating. If your blades ever get dull, get new ones, they are not the kind you can sharpen really. New they are razor sharp, so be carefull.