ProductReportCard Editors' In-Depth Review
Specifications
Performance Comparison
Functionality
The Breville Sous Chef is one of the most comprehensive and powerful food processors for home use that we tested. It was also one of the largest, and we felt it was best suited for people who plan on doing big projects. It comes with an array of attachments and features that make it exceptionally versatile. Like the Cuisinart Elite Collection 2.0 16 Cup and the KitchenAid 11-Cup with ExactSlice System, it has two work bowls, one 16-cup bowl and one 2.5-cup bowl. We loved this feature because the little bowl eliminates the need for a separate chopper unit and is very handy for smaller jobs like mincing garlic or parsley. In terms of liquid capacity, we found the large work bowl to hold about 5 cups, which should be plenty for most jobs but was less than the Cuisinart Elite Collection 2.0 16 Cup at 7.75 cups. Another feature we liked on the Breville was that the work bowls and pushers all have measurements marked on them to make it even easier to use.
You can use the small or large work bowl depending on the processing job.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The Breville Sous Chef also comes with 8 blade/disc attachments, the most of any food processor we tested. The small and large stainless steel, universal 'S' blades are exceptionally sharp and can quickly and easily process any type of food. The plastic dough blade has duller edges and is designed for mixing/kneading. The stainless steel slicing disc is adjustable and features 24 different settings that offer varying degrees of thickness from 0.3mm to 8mm. We really like having thickness options depending on what we are making - the disc is easy to adjust and turns out an excellent, consistent slice. The Sous Chef also comes with a reversible shredding disc (medium and fine), a julienne disc, a French Fry disc, and an emulsifying disc.
The Breville comes with an array of blade/disc attachments.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The adjustable slicing disc offers 24 different thickness settings.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The Breville Sous Chef is also designed with a standard 2-in-1 feeder tube system with the chutes located on the front of the lid, which we found to be the most convenient position during our testing. In addition to the small 2" round feed tube, the Sous Chef had one of the largest feed tubes we tested at 5.75" x 3". Breville incorporates a 'Safety Interlock System' that ensures the unit will not start without the bowl, lid, and large pusher in position. This means, however, that there is no continuous processing through the large feeder tube and that certain foods, like our russet potato, had to be cut in half in order to fit into the chute and engage the motor. We found this to be the case in other high-end food processors like the Cuisinarts and KitchenAid. One of the only full-size units that didn't have a pusher-based locking system is the Hamilton Big Mouth Deluxe where you can continuously process through both feed tubes.
The Breville offers one of the widest feeder tubes we tested.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Lastly, we thought the button controls were very responsive and easy to operate. While not totally necessary, we also appreciate the programmable timer. Displayed on an LCD screen, the timer counts up or down allowing you to process food more precisely. Overall, this Breville has excellent, and expected, functionality.
It has a programmable timer that allows you to process food more precisely.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Processing Quality
With a 1,200-watt induction motor, the Breville is one of the most powerful food processors we tested but also exceptionally smooth and quiet. It has the heaviest base we tested at 15.4 pounds and the machine barely moved even during bigger jobs. Overall, we were really impressed with the quality of the processing. The controls were responsive and we did not fear over-processing our foods. In terms of chopping, it did well on both our onion and parsley tests.
We were thrilled that parsley didn't turn into a wet mess.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Likewise, we loved the adjustable slicing disc and thought it did a fantastic job slicing tomatoes and potatoes. Being able to choose from 24 different thickness options is amazing - especially when it works as well as this system does. You can see how it did slicing a ripe tomato below.
Thick and thin tomato slices from the Breville.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The almond butter test was downright awesome. It turned roasted almonds and a bit of oil into a smooth product within three minutes. We were impressed, and this model was hands down the best in this test.
Excellent homemade nut butter.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Another area where the Breville excelled was shredding. We tested both sides of the reversible shredding disc with carrots and parmesan and thought it did a great job.
Finely shredded parmesan.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The Breville did a great job shredding carrots.
Credit: Mary Griffin
We found the French Fry disc also worked well - far better than the other French Fry Disc that we tested on the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth.
The Breville did an excellent job making sweet potato fries without producing much waste.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The plastic dough blade performed well in our pizza dough test. However, we had to make a double batch of dough (4 cups of flour) to effectively engage the blade, which was a hassle and more dough than we wanted. Once we figured out the double batch, however, the dough came out nicely.
Waiting for our perfect homemade pizza dough to rise.
Credit: Mary Griffin
We were less satisfied with the whipped cream test. Similar to making dough, we had to use more cream to properly engage the emulsifying attachment, and the whipped cream that emerged was inconsistent - watery, and over-processed at the same time.
The emulsifying attachment didn't do a good job whipping cream.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The julienne disc performed well, but we would still recommend julienning by hand if you don't want to end up with inconsistent pieces.
The Julienne disc did an okay job.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Ease of Set Up and Clean Up
Overall, the assembly of this machine is smooth and easy. The same cannot be said for the clean-up. With fruits and veggies, it is mostly easy to clean. However, dough, almond butter, and whipped cream are a different story. It is challenging to get processed foods out of the spindle mechanism and from around the corners, edges, and seals of the work bowl and lid.. The plastic parts and attachments are dishwasher safe, but Breville advises against washing them in the dishwasher too often because it will "damage and shorten the life of the plastic." They advise that you hand wash all of the plastic parts with warm water and a mild detergent.
Storage Options
The Breville Sous Chef is huge and requires a lot of space to store. It is designed with a retractable power cord though, and the small work bowl fits inside of the larger one. It also comes with a storage box for the blade/disc attachments, and the discs attachments all have a detachable spindle for easy storage. This model is big and heavy, but they do provide you good standard storage options. The design, as well, is attractive enough to keep out on your counter, but it probably wouldn't fit under most standard cupboards.
Blade storage for the Breville.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Best Uses
We found that the Breville Sous Chef can do pretty much everything well except for whipped cream. It's very versatile.
Value
At $400, the Breville Sous Chef was the most expensive machine we tested, but it performed exceptionally well. We initially had some quality concerns after noticing the 'S' blade scored the bottom of our work bowl, but customer service was excellent, and they worked with us to quickly replace our defective 'S' blade and work bowl. It comes with a limited 1-year warranty on the entire unit and a full 25-year motor warranty.
The ‘S' blade scraped up plastic from work bowl.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Scoring from blade on the first work bowl.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Conclusion
Overall, we think that the Breville Sous Chef is an outstanding machine - with an excellent, powerful, smooth motor and a huge range of versatility. It also has the longest motor warranty in the business. However, it is expensive. At $400 dollars, the extra $100 more than our Cuisinart Elite Collection 2.0 16 Cup test winner does not seem justified. That being said, this machine has it all and does it all.
Alternatives
The Breville Sous Chef 12 Plus
- $330
- 12- cup capacity
- doesn't have a julienne, French Fry, or emulsifying disc
Cuisinart Elite Collection 2.0 16 Cup
- $300
- More liquid capacity
- 1300-watt motor
- doesn't have a julienne, French Fry, or emulsifying disc
We suggest that you check out our Buying Advice for Food Processors to get an idea for what machine will best suit your needs.
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