Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 Review: Elevating Your Kitchen Experience

In the bustling heart of any home, the kitchen, the right tools can transform daily cooking into a delightful culinary adventure. For home cooks and gourmet enthusiasts alike, investing in high-quality kitchen utensils is paramount. This is where brands like Joseph Joseph shine, consistently delivering innovative designs that combine functionality with impeccable style. My personal journey with Joseph Joseph began with their brilliant Nest Mixing Bowls – a collection of vibrantly colored, space-saving bowls that brought a smile to my face every time I reached for them. That initial experience solidified my appreciation for Joseph Joseph’s commitment to smart, user-friendly designs that genuinely enhance the kitchen environment. Today, we’re taking a closer look at another one of their standout products: the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 Utensil Set, a premium collection of cooking tools designed to bring both elegance and efficiency to your culinary workspace.

Unboxing the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 Utensil Set

The Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 set isn’t just a collection of utensils; it’s a statement piece for your kitchen counter. Retailing at approximately $100, this comprehensive set includes six essential kitchen tools, each thoughtfully designed, alongside a sleek, rotating carousel stand for convenient and stylish storage. The utensils included are:

• Solid Spoon: A versatile tool perfect for stirring sauces, serving side dishes, or tasting your creations.
• Spaghetti Server: Expertly designed to scoop, lift, and portion pasta with ease, minimizing spills and maximizing efficiency.
• Slotted Turner: Ideal for flipping delicate items like pancakes, burgers, or omelets, allowing excess liquid or oil to drain away.
• Slotted Spoon: Excellent for lifting food from hot liquids, such as vegetables from boiling water or deep-fried items, while leaving the liquid behind.
• Skimmer: Essential for removing foam from stocks, skimming fat from stews, or lifting items from hot oil or water with minimal liquid transfer.
• Ladle: A fundamental tool for serving soups, stews, gravies, and sauces, ensuring every portion is perfect.

Each of these tools is crafted to meet the demands of everyday cooking, promising durability and superior performance. The inclusion of a robust stand means your most-used utensils are always within arm’s reach, keeping your kitchen organized and your workflow seamless.

Premium Materials and Innovative Design: The Elevate Advantage

One of the most impressive aspects of the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 set is its construction. Each utensil is made from high-grade 18/8 stainless steel, a material renowned for its exceptional durability, corrosion resistance, and hygienic properties. This means the utensils are not only robust enough to withstand the rigors of daily use but also resistant to rust and staining, maintaining their pristine appearance over time. The “18/8” designation refers to the composition: 18% chromium, which provides excellent corrosion resistance, and 8% nickel, which enhances luster and strength, making these tools a long-term investment for your kitchen.

The handles are ergonomically designed with heat-resistant silicone, ensuring a comfortable and secure grip even when hands are wet or greasy. This silicone also prevents heat transfer, protecting your hands during extended cooking sessions. The sleek design is further complemented by a polished stainless steel end cap, adding a touch of sophisticated elegance to each tool. But the true innovation lies in the patented “Elevate” technology.

The Joseph Joseph Elevate Technology: A Closer Look

The standout feature that gives this set its name is the unique weighted handle design. This ingenious design ensures that when you place a utensil down, the head of the tool is always lifted off the counter surface. This clever feature serves a dual purpose:

1. Enhanced Hygiene: By preventing the working end of the utensil from touching the counter, it significantly reduces the transfer of germs and keeps your cooking tools more sanitary.
2. Reduced Mess: It helps to keep your countertops cleaner by minimizing drips and spills from food-laden utensil heads, especially useful during busy cooking sessions.

This attention to detail exemplifies Joseph Joseph’s commitment to solving everyday kitchen dilemmas with clever, practical solutions. Since cooking utensils are arguably the most-handled items in my kitchen, requiring them to be sturdy, high-quality, and easy to clean is non-negotiable. I am pleased to confirm that the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 set not only meets but exceeds these fundamental requirements, proving to be warp-proof, melt-resistant, stain-resistant, and, crucially, dishwasher safe for effortless cleanup.

Performance in Practice: What I Love and My Reservations

Having integrated the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 into my daily cooking routine, several aspects truly stand out:

• Unmatched Quality and Durability: The build quality of these tools is truly exceptional. From the moment you pick them up, the substantial weight and solid construction convey a sense of premium craftsmanship. Unlike cheaper alternatives that often bend, warp, or wear out quickly, this set feels robust and built to last for many, many years. It’s the kind of investment that pays dividends in the long run.
• Effective Elevate Feature: The weighted handles and the Elevate design genuinely work as intended, keeping the business end of the tools off the counter. This not only promotes better hygiene but also contributes to a tidier cooking area, which is always a bonus during intense cooking sessions.
• Elegant and Practical Storage: The carousel stand is not just a functional storage solution; it’s also aesthetically pleasing. Its rotating design allows for easy access to all utensils, and its compact footprint keeps your counter organized without taking up excessive space. It adds a touch of modern elegance to any kitchen decor.
• Favorite Utensils: The Spoon and Slotted Spoon: Among the set, the solid spoon and slotted spoon have become my go-to tools. Their perfect size and ergonomic shape make them incredibly versatile for a wide range of tasks, from stirring and serving to tasting and draining. They feel balanced in hand, making cooking a more enjoyable experience.
• Substantial Weight: While I personally appreciate the hefty feel of these tools – which I associate with high quality and durability – it’s worth noting that they are quite heavy. Some users might find the weight takes a bit of getting used to, or for those with specific mobility concerns, it might be a consideration. However, for most, this weight contributes to a sense of control and stability during use.

Areas for Consideration

While the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 set excels in many areas, a couple of points warrant a more nuanced discussion:

• The Elevate Design vs. Drips: Although the Elevate feature successfully lifts the utensil head off the counter, it doesn’t entirely eliminate drips. When working with liquid-heavy dishes, gravity still dictates that some drips will occur. Consequently, I still find myself reaching for a spoon rest, especially when cooking messy meals. While the design minimizes direct contact, it doesn’t completely replace the need for a catch-all for drips, making its primary problem-solving aspect for me less impactful than initially hoped. It’s a fantastic feature for hygiene, but not a complete mess-prevention solution.
• Ladle Design: My biggest reservation concerns the design of the ladle. I prefer ladles with a wider, shallower scoop that allows for maximum liquid collection from a pot, especially when the contents are running low. The Elevate Steel 100 ladle, with its smaller scoop and relatively high sides, coupled with an almost 90-degree angle, makes it challenging to efficiently scoop liquids, particularly when a pot is less than a quarter full. This requires tilting the pot significantly, which can be cumbersome and less safe, especially with hot contents. A slightly re-engineered ladle with a broader and flatter scoop could significantly enhance the utility of the set for serving soups and stews.

The Investment in Quality: Is the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 Worth It?

At a retail price of $100, the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 set represents a significant investment compared to many entry-level utensil sets. However, when considering the longevity and performance, this set offers compelling value. I’ve personally experienced the frustration of replacing cheaper kitchen tools every couple of years due to warping, melting, or general wear and tear. This cycle of replacement can quickly add up, often surpassing the cost of a single, high-quality set like the Elevate Steel 100.

The durable 18/8 stainless steel construction, heat-resistant silicone handles, and the innovative Elevate design mean these utensils are built to last. They are designed to withstand the rigors of daily cooking, maintaining their aesthetic appeal and functional integrity for many years to come. For home cooks who prioritize durability, hygiene, and elegant design, this set is a worthwhile investment that will elevate their kitchen experience and reduce the need for frequent replacements. It’s an investment in tools that are not just functional, but also a pleasure to use and display.

Final Thoughts on Elevating Your Kitchen

Despite my minor reservations about the ladle design and the complete mess-prevention aspect of the Elevate feature, I remain a strong admirer of the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 set. Its amazing quality, durable construction, smart storage solution, and the overall feel of the tools in hand make it a truly premium offering in the kitchen utensil market. Joseph Joseph continues to impress with their commitment to innovative, functional, and aesthetically pleasing kitchen solutions, and this set is a testament to that philosophy.

For anyone looking to upgrade their kitchen tools with a set that combines robust performance, sophisticated design, and a touch of ingenious innovation, the Joseph Joseph Elevate Steel 100 is an excellent choice. It’s more than just a set of utensils; it’s an enhancement to your culinary space and an investment in years of enjoyable cooking.