Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

OK, so why would anyone who doesn't own a restaurant want to plunk down $900 for a food processor (and btw, I managed to buy it just before the prices started sliding south). This is the ancestor of the Cuisinart, Kitchen Aide, and other brands of home food processors. Mine DID come with an instruction manual, although from talking with a former restaurant chef, instructions for commercial restaurant equipment are rare. The functions (metal scimitar blade, slicer, grater, et al) are about the same as you'd find with a home model. The work bowl (3 quarts) is about the same size as the largest home food processors. All models have a locking mechanism so you can't operate the food processor without the work bowl cover in place. That's the end of the similarities. The Robot Coupe has a motor base that's about twice as big as my old Cuisiniart DLC8 (2 quart processor). Its got on-, off-, and pulse- buttons. Its very quiet. It comes with a shredding/slicing/mincing assembly that mounts on the motor base in place of the work bowl. It locks into place but the feed chute and pushers don't have to lock, themselves, making it far easier to julienne, slice, or shred large volumes of whatever vegetable or cheese you're working with. And the outfeed opens away from the base so you can slide a container under it and collect all the sliced/shredded/julienned output. This appliance is an industry standard, much like Hobart-style mixers or Vitamix blenders. It will turn a head of cabbage (cut into eighths) into cole slaw material in under 30 seconds. As another reviewer noted, this appliance will likely outlast you and the next 2 generations of your family. Manufacturer literature consistently describes this model in terms of 'how many pounds of mozzarella you can shred in 30 minutes', etc. So back to the question of 'why spend that kind of money?'. Yes, you could get along fine with a much cheaper, home-use food processor. But the speed of this machine and the precise cuts, make it worthwhile for me. I can prep for meals far faster (or prepare a much larger quantity) than I ever could with my Cuisinart. And its super-reliable. I'll never have to put up with bearing-whine or overheating. It's built to take serious abuse.That's the beauty of commercial tools -- they'll be working just fine long after you've forgotten how much you had to pay for them. Downsides: This comes with 3 blades (scimitar, medium-width slicer, and medium-width grater). All the other blades (different widths of julienne, slicer, and grater) will cost you about $80 apiece. Also, I found the top of the workbowl was super-snug and was hard to twist into place. I used a little food-grade silicon grease and that seemed to help. I did find, when I ordered a clear plastic workbowl to replace the opaque original, that the lid went on with no problem, so the original bowl may have been defective. The parts will go through a commercial dishwasher (which doesn't have a drying cycle and completes wash and dry cycle in about 90 seconds), but you really don't want them going through a home dishwasher, unless you pull them out before the drying cycle starts. Otherwaise, the plastic may warp (and yes, that happened to me). This is also going to suck up more counter space than a more modest home food processor. The base is 7" by 11" and stands 17" high with the work bowl mounted. Its heavy enough that you're not going to want to keep picking it up and moving it to a different counter. An it doesn't easily fit on most kitchen shelves. Also, if you use a round mixing bowl to catch the shredded/sliced/julienned vegetables, some of them completely miss the bowl and end up on the counter or floor. I've discovered I have to use a square, 12-qt. plastic storage container (available from restaurant supply stores for about $20). It slides neatly under the outfeed chute and catches all the output.