All was well until I pulled it out of the dishwasher -- I was stunned to discover this was not dishwasher tolerant. Of course, the booklet points this out, but there should be a bright sticker on the bottom of the pan that warns people who are in a hurry to use their new pan! Into the trash it went, woe is me!

As I noted in my review of the Calphalon hard-anodized 12" Everyday Pan, much of the negative comments concerning the Calphalon anodized product stems from a lack of understanding that sticking or bonding of the food to the cooking surface is a desirable feature, enabling you to brown, carmelize and deglaze in a superior manner to a nonstick pan. In other words, this pan is not supposed to be nonstick, so don't fault it when food adheres to it!

Having said that, this 9" chef's skillet is only 6" at the base, making it somewhat smallish and not really suited to main dish preparation, at least in my kitchen. It is also far too small to be used as a wok, as others have suggested. It is also a poor choice for things like egg dishes or crepes, for which I prefer using my Circulon or Calphalon nonstick pans.

I use this pan for side dishes, vegetables and ingredient preparation for other dishes. It is great for carmelizing onions and similar tasks. Anoher reviewer noted that dimensionally, this pan is very close to sauciers from All-Clad and Cuisinart. Great point, and this pan fits the role of saucier to a "T." Heating is wonderfully even across the entire pan, with no hot spots to scorch your sauces. It is a superbly capable piece that will not disappoint the experienced cook.

Construction and finish are excellent. My pan was made in China. In a side by side comparison with a recent Toledo made 9" skillet, I note no difference in weight or any meaningful difference in finish. I'd take complaints about this pan's origins with the proverbial grain of salt.

If you love to cook, this pan is a steal at the Amazon price. Buy two!!!

I own a few pieces of Calphalon's professional hard-anodized cookware and I've been very happy with the brand. This piece is a good addition to my collection for the price. First-time owners of this type of cookware need to read the use and care instructions that come in the box. If you are used to using all of your cookware with very high heat settings and cooking meals really fast, this is probably not the item for you. You need to use lower heat (I usually start low and progess to medium heat) and allow the food to cook enough so it "releases" from the pan, otherwise yes it will stick! After cooking, let the pan cool before washing. Soaking in hot water for a few minutes does wonders and I find that even the ugliest messes in Calpahlon cookware clean up easily with a little soaking, dishsoap or Bon Ami, and a dishcloth.

There is a noticible difference in thickness between this "China" piece and my other "Toledo, OH" pieces, and the shape and weight of handle make it a little unbalanced when empty, but given the value, "Cool V" handle, and lid included (my professional hard-anodized pieces were pricey, have hot handles, and lids sold seperate), I'm pleased with this buy.

I spent 17 bucks to buy the skillet. Obviously, the price is good for 80% off. However, when I cooked, all the things sticked to it. I don't suggest to buy this no matter how cheap it is. The reason why I gave 2 stars is because the skillet is pretty solid, which seems able to be used lifetime.

I think some of the criticism of this pan stems from the name used here -- Chefs' skillet. The shape and size of this pan is almost exactly the same as a couple of open saucier pans from All Clad and Cuisinart. I own those pans and use them constantly. Those, however, are stainless steel and I was curious to see how hard anodized aluminum would perform.

I found that the hard anodized saucier out performed the stainless sauciers I have when making light white sauces, mornay sauces, and heavy cheese sauces. I found the aluminum to be much more responsive to heating changes I made on the burner. So I have never had any burning or scorching of my sauces. It is a little wider than the stainless sauciers and this made reductions a bit faster. I also found with reductions that the Cuisinart pan had a tendency to scorch but this pan definitely does not have that problem.

If you are interested in saucier pans you can go to Cooks Illustrated Magazine. They did a head to head test of several major brands of saucier's. This was not included in their study but it would certainly have ranked at the top.