Thursday, March 28, 2024

Breville Sous Chef BFP800XL

Breville Sous Chef BFP800XL Review

Food Processors

Product Grade
Report Card Grade
0 Reviews
Best Feature:
Exceptional versatility and restaurant quality processing
Worst Feature:
Expensive and difficult to clean
Best Uses:
Large processing jobs
Pricing:
$399.95
Manufacturer:

Where to Buy

Store Name
Price
$392.40
$399.95
$399.95
$579.99

Overview

The Breville Sous Chef was one of the most powerful, heavy, large, and capable food processors that we tested. It was also the most expensive. It is a quiet and smooth appliance, typical for a brand so well established and respected. We put it through its paces and found that it excelled at all the most basic functions. We are not sure that the julienne disc and emulsifying disc are necessary, or wonderful, but all the standard functions are awesome. In addition, we loved the timer function, measurement-marked work bowl and pushers, and other details incorporated into this up-scale model.

You can compare the Breville Sous Chef BFP800XL to other food processors in the Food Processor Review.

Photos

Unpacking the Breville Sous Chef.
A high-end food processor for a serious home cook.
It has a programmable timer that allows you to process food more precisely.
You can use the small or large work bowl depending on the processing job.
The Breville comes with an array of blade/disc attachments.
The adjustable slicing disc offers 24 different thickness settings.
The Breville offers one of the widest feeder tubes we tested.
The pusher and the work bowls have helpful measurement indicators.
Even ripe tomatoes can be cut into paper-thin slices with the Breville.
Thick and thin tomato slices from the Breville.
Making scalloped potatoes with the Breville.
The Breville did an excellent job making sweet potato fries without producing much waste.
The Julienne disc did an okay job.
We were thrilled that parsley didn't turn into a wet mess.
Finely shredded parmesan.
The Breville did a great job shredding carrots.
Excellent homemade nut butter.
The emulsifying attachment didn't do a good job whipping cream.
Waiting for our perfect homemade pizza dough to rise.
Blade storage for the Breville.
The 'S' blade scraped up plastic from work bowl.
Scoring from blade on the first work bowl.
We had a defective 'S' blade that customer service quickly replaced.

 
This Product
Overall Winner
Overall Score
93%
93%
78%
Our Awards
Date Reviewed
January 2016
January 2016
January 2016
Pros
excellent performance; 25-year warranty; 8 attachments; blade storage; wide feeder tube; large and small work bowls; timer; good customer service
excellent performance; quiet; two work bowls; great warranty; wide feeder tube; blade storage; good capacity; efficient; versitile
great performance and great versatility; relatively affordable for a basic commercial food processor; the longest motor warranty of any commercial food processor; convenience of external ejection chute on vegetable prep attachment
Cons
expensive; heavy base; difficult to clean; poor emulsifying capability
expensive; poor performance with whipping; difficult to clean; no cord storage; heavy
motor is only powerful enough for smaller establishments where it will be used just a few hours a day; it only comes with 3 blade/disc attachments and 1 cutter bowl (other accessories are sold separately and can be pricey); no blade storage included with your purchase; can't see ingredients through the cutter bowl
Functionality (30%)
Processing Quality (30%)
Ease of Set Up & Clean Up (30%)
Storage Options (10%)
Type
Full-Size
Full-Size
FUll-Size
Capacity (cups)
16 and 2.5
16-cup and 4.5
12
Liquid Capacity (cups)
5
7.75
8
Price
$399.99
$299.99
$1,059.00
Warranty
25-year motor warranty; 1-year limited warranty on unit
20-year motor warranty; 3-year limited warranty on unit
3-year motor warranty; 1-year limited warranty on unit
Product Depth
10.25"
15.75"
15.75"
Product Height
17.75"
20"
19.25"
Product Width
8"
13"
8.75"
Motor Power (watts)
1,200
1,300
1 HP
Base Weight (our measurement)
15.4 lbs
15 lbs
33 lbs
Control Panel
Touchpad
Touchpad
Touchpad
Speed Settings
Continuous and Pulse
On, Off, Dough, or Pulse
On, Off, Pulse
Attachments
8 attachments: 2 'S' blades, dough blade, adjustable slicing disc, reversible shredding disc, julienne disc, French fry disc, and whisking/emulsifying disc
5 attachments: 2 'S' blades, dough blade, adjustable slicing disc, reversible shredding disc
3 attachments: 'S' blade, 4 mm slicing disc and 2mm shredding disc
Large Tube
5.75" x 3"
5.75" x 3"
6" x 2.75"
Small Tubes
2" circular
3" x 2"
2.25" circular
Cord Storage
Yes
Yes
no
BPA-Free Plastic
Yes
Yes
Yes

Product Background

The Breville Sous Chef BFP800XL is one of the most powerful and versatile food processors for a home kitchen on the market. It has a 1,200-watt induction motor with an impressive 25-year warranty, and it can handle large amounts of food in its 16-cup capacity work bowl or smaller amounts in its 2.5-cup one. The BFP800XL features pulse or continuous speed settings with a programmable timer and comes with a total of 8 blade/disc attachments, including an adjustable slicing disc with 24 different thickness options ranging from 0.3mm to 8mm. The lid is equipped with two feeder tubes including a small chute and an extra wide one (5.75"). The Sous Chef has a sleek, die cast metal base that is easy to wipe down, and all of the plastic pieces and attachments are dishwasher safe and BPA-free.


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.
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.
The Breville comes with an array of blade/disc attachments.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The adjustable slicing disc offers 24 different thickness settings.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Finely shredded parmesan.
Credit: Mary Griffin
The Breville did a great job shredding carrots.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The ‘S' blade scraped up plastic from work bowl.
Credit: Mary Griffin
Scoring from blade on the first work bowl.
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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