De Buyer is a French cookware manufacturer that makes everything from copper to non stick cookware. Although most people know them for their carbon steel pan, they have a great range of non stick pan. Specially, the De Buyer Choc Non-Stick Aluminum pan aka De Buyer Choc Resto Induction. This pan has the same shape as their mineral B cookware. But instead of carbon steel it is made with a thick layer of Aluminum. Theoretically, it should perform better than than carbon steel but you can never be sure.

De Buyer Choc Resto Quick Summary

Categories	De Buyer Choc Non-Stick Aluminum Pan
Performance	Great
Colors	Aluminum with Various Handle Color
Brand Awareness	America and Europe
Weight	Weight: 628 g 1.38 lb
Country of Manufacturer	France
Pouring Lip	No
Thoughts	A great performing pan that is usually founded in the restraunt industry. It is affordable also making it one of the best non stick pan out there.
Tested Cookware	De Buyer Choc 20 CM Skillet

Aluminum vs Carbon Steel

Carbon steel is known as the lighter sister of cast iron. It has the same non stick ability at half the weight. However, because of its low thermal conductivity, it tends to develop hot spot and is slow to heat up. The good thing is that because of its relatively heavy weight, it can store a lot of heat.
Aluminum on the other hand, has a high thermal conductivity but it also reacts with food. What manufacturer often do is layer the metal with stainless steel or a teflon coating. The major downside or upside, depending on how you see it, is the weight. Aluminum pans are really light meaning it does not hold heat well. Given as such, manufacturer needs to make it really thick. But that also cost money, luckily De Buyer has footed the cost and made it one of thickest aluminum pan that I have ever seen.

De Buyer Choc Non-Stick Aluminum Pan Design

As stated before, the pan resembles the design of the Mineral B. It also resembles a generic design of many other carbon steel manufacturer. It looks like a miniature windsor pan with a industrial grade steel handle.

Handle

The handles on these pans are very interesting. They are finished in a rough texture coating that helps you maintain grip. This is very helpful when your hands are greasy. It prevents it from slipping and turning on you. Not only that, De Buyer have decided to be very colorful with it. The Choc Pan comes in a wide range of colors from blue to even yellow. Needless to say, it adds a bit of flair to the cookware.
The handle has a very unique and ergonomic focused design feature. At the base where it pivots, there is a divot for your thumb. When you grip it, your thumb naturally falls to that point. It is very comfortable for a otherwise uncomfortable handle.
These types of pans are usually designed for restaurant professional, as such, ergonomics and design is typically not a focus point. On a more consumer orientated design, the handles will usually be rounded and more plump. But this one is more flat and angular. Which is why I was surprised by the divot and the color textured finish. All in all, for these type of cookware, the handle is really well designed. I wish they put this on their mineral B series.

Shape

The shape resembles those of a windsor pan. It is very plain and not at all interesting. I assume the reason why it looks like this is for economical reason. Something like this is probably cheaper to manufacturer than a pan with more curves. It even lacks a rolled lip to make pouring sauces easier. The base cooking diameter is also very small. I have a 8 inch pan and it only have a base cooking area of 5.5 inch. Not really a lot of room to work with. If you do decide to get this pan, I recommend that you buy big. I do like that the rim is wide and flared, this will promote evaporation. Pans with a more straight wall prevents evaporation of liquid.

De Buyer Choc Thickness

This is the thing that drew me to this pan. It is thick, like really thick. Using my micrometer, I measured the sidewall thickness to be that of 4.32 mm. On pans like T-fal you typically only get a thickness of 2 mm or less. The All Clad D5 non stick pan only has a thickness of around 3.2 mm, what a difference! This will ensure that the pan will have a very nice even heat distribution. It also adds the extra weight needed to sear food. Having light non stick pans make them not ideal for searing food. They simply cant maintain the heat if a lot of food is dropped in. I bet, that this pan will out perform the D5 pan.

Fit and Finish

The fit and finish on this pan is pretty good. Just be aware that they do not have the same refinement as cookware designed for home. On the manufacturing side, there is no odd burrs or edges. The only thing that I saw off was the rivet area. It looks like it made the handle slightly flat. Other than that, It is pretty well made.

De Buyer Choc Specs:

Note:These measurement are done by me with the tools that I have on hand. The manufacturers have their own measurement guidelines and that should be assumed to be accurate. What I find on this review can vary widely due to several factors, such as ambient temperature, location, water, tool calibration, stove btu, etc..and should only be considered as my opinion.
Weight: 628 g 1.38 lb
Rim Width:Around 8 inch
Flat Cooking Surface Width:Around 5.5 inch
Height: 1.5 inch
Sidewall Thickness:Around 4.32 mm

Thoughts

These are a well designed and affordable pan. As of now, they only cost around 30 dollars on Amazon. It is more designed for practicality than finish. These pans are usually only found in restaurant. It is great to see that they are only offering these pans to the consumer. If you want a restaurant quality cookware, this is the way to go.

I hope you found this De Buyer Choc Resto Review to be informative, If you would like to see more, please visit our Pots and Pans Review page.