Hi, I have an Aga that can get very hot. I have had trouble with cheap stainless steel pans denting and warping, which is difficult with the Aga's flat rings. Can you recommend a range to go for?

Hi, there are some extremely good stainless steel saucepan ranges such as Demeyere and Mauviel MCook. They are expensive as well. It is important to have a good quality pan, for the very reasons that you state above - a warping pan base will give uneven heat distribution. Cheap stainless steel pans are unlikely to have an aluminium sandwich layer in the base, either, and so the heat distribution in the pans is not as good (stainless steel is not a good distributor of heat.)

I would say, however, that a good quality saucepan is less important than a good quality frying pan. When cooking with liquids a pan is more forgiving than when frying or braising. So if you do not want to spend out on the Mauviel MCook or Demeyere ranges, the Paderno pans are a good idea. They are the best selling stainless stele cookware range in Europe, into hotels and restaurants, but are little known in the UK or in the retail market. So with Paderno, you are getting a good pan, without having to pay for a famous name. Paderno cookware is not as good as Demeyere and Mauviel MCook, but they still good pans. Chefs would not use them otherwise!