I tried Lakeland’s new rival to the Our Place Always Pan – it’s HALF the price but does it compare to the original?

AS AN obsessive home cook and professional shopping journalist, I’ve watched in bemusement over the last few years as the concept of the Posh Pan™ has taken over. Driven partly by the ruthlessly effective marketing tool that is social media and partly by widespread scepticism around the cheap and potentially harmful non-stick pans that our parents used to rely on, it’s never been easier to convince shoppers to drop hundreds of pounds on a piece of cookware. I compared the Lakeland Only Pan Pro (right) against my well-used Always Pan Pro (left) Credit: Supplied 10-in-1 Tri Ply Only Pan Pro, £84.99 from Lakeland However, in my experience, the success of these “do-it-all” pans is often down to colourful branding and impeccable marketing rather than a high-quality product. Sign up for the Shopping newsletter Thank you! For example, I’ve never been completely smitten with the Our Place Titanium Always Pan Pro – while I liked it just fine and was impressed by its versatility, I’m not sold on its £170 price tag. Thankfully, Lakeland has just released its own take on the Titanium Always Pan Pro. Rather cheekily called the Only Pan Pro, it’s the same size as Our Place’s version, and comes with the same 10-in-1 claims, with one key difference: it’s just half the price, at £84.99. Lakeland 10-in-1 Tri-Ply Only Pan Pro review: Quickfire Q&A How much is it? Rather neatly, it’s exactly half the price of the Always Pan Pro, at £84.99. For that you get the pan, a lit, a metal steaming basket and a spatula. Who’s it best for? This is perfect for most home cooks, especially if you don’t have a large kitchen; it’s good for most everyday cooking tasks. It won’t do any task amazingly, but it does most things to a sufficiently high standard, and unlike something like cast iron or stainless steel, you don’t need to have gone to culinary school to know how to use it. What we loved: I do love the idea that you could get by even if this is the only pan you own: it passed all my usual tests with ease. I also loved how easy it is to clean. What we didn’t: It’s only oven-safe to 200 degrees, which you’ll need to keep an eye on, and it’s surprisingly heavy, although this is a problem you’ll have with the OG Always Pan, too. What would you rate it? 9/10: this is a great pan at a great price. First impressions The Only Pan Pro comes with a lid, steaming basket and spatula Credit: Supplied 10-in-1 Tri Ply Only Pan Pro, £84.99 from Lakeland The first thing I thought when removing the Only Pan Pro from its box was, I imagine, exactly the reaction Lakeland is hoping for. Wow, this looks EXACTLY like the Always Pan Pro. Comparing the pans side by side, the only thing that really sets them apart is the fact that my Always Pan looks a lot more used. There’s the same mirrored finish (with a lid you could use to fix your hair), and the same silver-and-grey honeycomb cooking surface. Lakeland’s pan even comes with a matching spatula, like Our Place’s, as well as a steaming basket that fits neatly into the pan. The only minor difference is that Lakeland’s Pan is a little more curved inside, whereas the walls of the Only Pan are a bit straighter – however, I quite like this alteration, as it makes it easier to toss foods together (like pasta into sauce, for example). The other thing I noticed immediately is that this is a heavy pan, which is also a problem I had with the Always Pan Pro. The Only Pan is actually lighter than the Always Pan (1.38kg compared to 1.52kg without a lid, according to my kitchen scales), but it’s still heavy enough that it’s a bit of a chore to toss stir-fries for an extended length of time. Does it deliver? The pan gave steaks a nice, even crust Credit: Supplied 10-in-1 Tri Ply Only Pan Pro, £84.99 from Lakeland There are two tests I use first when testing a new non-stick pan: cooking a steak and cooking eggs. A good pan should sear steak well, giving it the dark-brown, caramelised crust that meat lovers strive for. And any good non-stick should be able to cook an egg with a minimal amount of oil. In the steak test, it did well, imparting great, even colour without any of the unappetising grey spots you can get from a pan with bad heat distribution. That’s down to its tri-ply construction, which means there’s a sheet of aluminium between the cooking surface and bottom of the pan, spreading heat evenly. The result perhaps isn’t as satisfying as you’d get from a stainless steel or cast iron pan, but as far as non-sticks go, I’m certainly satisfied. And eggs didn’t stick, even with less than a teaspoon of oil It passed the egg test, too, with the caveat that you do have to use a tiny bit of oil to lubricate the surface – this pan isn’t truly nonstick in that way. However, I used less than a teaspoon of oil and with a slight nudge from a metal spatula (you’re more than welcome to use metal implements on this pan) it was spinning round like it was on ice. Although I have a few qualms with the “10-in-1” marketing (after all, nine of the functions are simmer, pan-fry, boil, sauté, stir-fry, bake, grill, roast and braise, which any oven-safe pan can do), its versatility does mean that I’ve reached for it more than any other pan in my kitchen over the past few weeks. And as the most clumsy and forgetful person I know, it’s a huge bonus that the handle doesn’t get hot, even when cooking at high heats (although of course it’ll get hot if you put it in the oven). However, it is worth being aware that it’s not oven-safe over 200C, and that the original Always Pan is safe up to 400C, but I rarely use my oven at heats that high anyway, so that didn’t factor into my thinking too much. Does it contain any harmful chemicals? As I alluded to earlier, one of the reasons for the huge success of pans like the Always Pan Pro is a public fear around a group of chemicals called PFAs. If you want to read more about them, I’ve explained them further in my review of Hexclad pans, but there’s no need to dive into them here because Lakeland’s Only Pan Pro doesn’t contain them. Instead, it uses a ceramic coating that is free from PTFE, PFOA and PFAS, putting it firmly in the non-toxic cookware category. The Verdict: Is the Lakeland Only Pan Pro worth buying? Over the last few years I’ve become something of an expert in premium cookware, and as a result I’ve become a bit cynical. However, this is a pan worth trying. It essentially has all of the benefits of a more premium model, at a much more affordable price. It isn’t perfect – it’s heavier than I’d like and you have to keep an eye on your oven temperature – but if you want a pan you can grab for almost any task, and you don’t want to spend a fortune, this is a safe bet. 10-in-1 Tri Ply Only Pan Pro, £84.99 from Lakeland – buy here