The most recent of my Hostess Parties, Pampered Chef, was probably my favourite to date.  I guess mostly because Melissa (my consultant) fed my friends and I, that always helps!

Let’s start with the negative…

The Bad?

Something I didn’t know in the beginning was, it costs $15 to host a Pampered Chef party, this money goes towards the cost of ingredients for the demonstration, which, in all reality, could have been $15 I could have spent on product.  I’ve never before been asked to ‘pay’ for a hostess party, and, given how much was spent at the party, I think Pampered Chef could afford to pay the $15 cover charge for parties.  It definitely caught me off guard and put me off a little, especially given how generous they are with their rewards.

The good?

The product

Find a good consultant and the rest is easy.  I met Melissa at a ‘Just Between Friends’ sale in Katy, she doesn’t live overly locally, but she was really nice and since the JBF sale was a bust, I wanted to do her a solid.

I’d no experience with Pampered Chef products before.  I had only seen one product at my friend Amber’s house, so this party was the first I’d held that I had zero prior knowledge of the product.  It was educational.

Melissa explained the products as she went, she answered questions and she had a plethora of things with her, to show us a wide selection of items.  We could then use the products ourselves to see how they worked, the practical, hands on element was definitely helpful in making decisions about what to buy.

The rewards

I’d say out of all of my parties, the rewards for Pampered Chef are the best – in terms of accumulation and bang for your buck.  It wasn’t my best party by way of people spending money and sales amounts, but it was the most rewarding for me as a hostess.  I would, without hesitation, hold another party in the future, and, beyond that, it’s one of the companies I intend to be a repeat customer of.  It’s that good!

Free shipping

The hostess gets free shipping – always.  This is EXCELLENT! Many of these companies tend to charge quite a hefty shipping fee, I know a few of my friends pitched in together to avoid having to pay individual shipping (it bothers me when the shipping is as expensive as something I’d like to buy).  I liked this perk – a lot!

The food

Melissa made two different dishes, one savoury (18 minutes in the oven) and one sweet (10 minutes in the microwave).  They were quick to cook, easy to make and when they were done, they tasted delicious (especially the microwave chocolate cake!)  They definitely contributed to the atmosphere and helped us see, the real life applications of some of the products that Pampered Chef offer.

Fast shipping

We placed our order on the evening of Monday 17th December and I had the packages delivered to my front door on Friday 21st.  Super quick, every item present and accounted for!

Favourite products?

I’ll admit, I picked up a bunch of stuff, I always get carried away when it comes to kitchen stuff and I fell for this stuff immediately.  Let me tell you about some of my favourite stuff (Pampered Chef did NOT pay me to write any of this or share any of my experiences with their products).

Trifle Bowl $40.00

Great for salads, desserts and centerpieces! Straight glass walls show off your recipes elegantly. A unique, removable stem helps you easily and conveniently transport, refrigerate and store the bowl. Unlike most trifle bowls, ours has a flat bottom that keeps layers from sinking in the center. The generous 15-cup capacity provides extra room to leave decorative borders and toppings untouched when you use the plastic lid. Dishwasher-safe.

I got this item as a present for Col for Christmas.  He loves making trifles, but it’s always in a bowl and it always ends in disaster, once you take a scoop from a bowl, the entire trifle caves.  This bowl has a flat bottom that is fab – Col was strangely impressed and pleased with this gift.  It was a shot in the dark for me, but he’s used it already and with no trifle-fails to date!

Basic Nylon Tool Set  $19.50

Includes Spoon, Slotted Spoon, Slotted Turner and Small Turner. Heat-resistant to 428°F. Dishwasher-safe.

I’ve got a bunch of these kinds of things, mostly from the dollar store – and boy, can I tell the difference.  The quality is good, the tools are solid and they don’t flex or melt when I use them.  This is on my wish list for a repeat-purchase, I greatly appreciate good quality in things I use regularly in the kitchen and these are something I use all the time.

Large Micro-cooker $10

Customized for microwave cooking — melt butter, heat soups or cook vegetables. Vented lid doubles as strainer. Includes built-in pour spouts. Dual handles; 2-quart capacity.

I bought this on the recommendation from a friend, I’ll admit, I was skeptical as I don’t like using my microwave to cook things if I can avoid it.  It doesn’t come with particularly great instructions, so I just had to wing-it.  I’ve cooked green beans and brussel sprouts in it so far, and I’ve done it in a fraction of the time it would take to boil them up on the hob.  To close the lid takes a knack, but I seem to be getting the hang of it, it’s light-weight, dishwasher safe (important for a lazy butt like myself) and the strainer lid is very handy too.  It’s also a great price, I think it’d make a good gift for someone.

Flexible cutting mats $16.50

Firstly, I wish I’d gotten the smaller version of these, the larger versions are just too big for me, next time I’ll get the small set.  That said, they are excellent quality cutting mats, they have been through my dishwasher a number of times already and they have held their shape and constitution as-new, against the heat.

Other things I like about these mats, are two of the points in the blurb on the website, ‘The material is thin and flexible so you can funnel ingredients right into recipes. Includes measure marks.’  I like that I can measure my food, and that I can bend it into a funnel shape so that stuff doesn’t fly all over my kitchen! LOL!

Classic batter bowl $16.00

Mix, store, reheat and even bake in this heavy-duty tempered glass bowl.  It features standard and metric measures, a convenient spout and handle. 2 qts. Bowl is dishwasher-, freezer-, microwave- and oven-safe to 350°F; lid is dishwasher-safe.

This was a ‘blind-purchase’, I saw Melissa with one while she was here and I figured it’s something I would be interested in.  I was right.  Aside from the fact I went with the classic size, instead of the smaller bowl (I’ll be investing in a smaller one in the future!) I have fallen in love with this bowl, I wasn’t sure to begin with, but I’ve used it a number of times and I really think I’d use the smaller one more (there’s only two of us, for things like omlettes etc I’d like a smaller bowl).  I even used it over Christmas eve/Christmas day and Boxing day – I cut up my carrots and squash and stored it, covered with the nifty lid, in the fridge in my batter bowl.

Melissa had the smaller bowl with her, she’d also dressed a few up as gifts, which were cool.  Put cake mix or a cookie mix in it, tie with a bow and bobs yer uncle! Excellent idea and perhaps something I’ll do in the future – just forget you read it here 😉

Measure-all cup $10.50

Measure liquids and solids up to 2 cups. A unique adjustable plunger design cleanly ejects solid ingredients. Includes standard and metric measures.  This is what Amber had in Iowa, and it’s one of my absolute FAVOURITE items that I got.

Things I’m not yet sure about

Food Chopper $32.00

I have only used this once and after it came through the dishwasher, it was still dirty, which didn’t do much for me at all.  It did the job though, so the jury is still out!

Mix’n’Chop $11.50

I haven’t used this yet, but it was recommended to me by no less than three individual people (who don’t even know each other), so I imagine once I start to use this thingymajigger, I’ll never look back!

Mix’n’Scraper $15.00

I’m not yet sure what this spatula has that others don’t, but I’ll soon find out if I prefer it to a similar one made by Le Creuset that I have two of in my arsenal!

Grill basket $28.50

This was a semi-present to Col, we love to grill and I love to cook veggies and potatoes on the grill at the same time, as we’re cooking the meat, but it’s a pain and it can get messy if you just use tin foil, the ‘shuggling’ gets complicated too.  I’m excited to dust off our grill and break out this basket!

Things I want to try:

Rice Cooker plus $26.50

I’ve heard excellent things about this and loose grain rice is so much cheaper than the boil in the bag stuff.  I have a feeling this product would be a great investment!

Nylon ladle $6.50

My ladle is for a right handed person, I really would like to have one that works for lefties and righties alike, it’d save me a lot of mess!

Scoop and drain $11.00

Flour shaker $7.00 (cause I’m a big baker!)

BBQ Flexible basket $31.50