The Sous Chef comes with several food processor attachments, including a dough blade, a reversible shredding disc, and an adjustable slicing disc with 24 settings that range from 0.3 mm to 8 mm. That last attachments allows the Sous Chef to function like an automatic (and arguably safer) mandoline slicer.

The primary drawback to the Sous Chef (and most Breville appliances) is that they can be expensive, and the 12-Cup Sous Chef will cost you $50 more than the 14-Cup Cuisinart would. Whether or not those refined touches are worth the price tag is up to you. Breville also makes a Sous Chef 16, with a very generous 16-cup capacity as well, if you think bigger is better.

Specs

Dimensions: 8.5″(L)x 7.5″(W) x 17″(H)
Weight: 16 lbs
Capacity: 12-Cups
Accessories: Shredding or grating disc, adjustable slicing disc, dough blade,
Warranty: 10-year motor warranty and 1-year limited product warranty

The best food processor according to the pros: Cuisinart 7 Cup Food Processor

One might expect a professional chef to opt for the most heavy-duty appliances out there. At least at home though, chef Anita Lo prefers the convenience and simplicity of the smaller Cuisinart food processor. “If you’re just processing a small amount of food it just doesn’t work in a big processor.” Lo says, “sometimes you just need a few tablespoons of something pureed or whatever and that doesn’t work with a big bowl.”

Lo has had the same 10-cup Cuisinart food processor for 25 years, and recently purchased a 7-cup model for her place in the city where storage space is limited, and has been pleased with its performance. Most of the time, Lo reaches for her food processor for making purees, mincing pestos, dicing bread crumbs, and prepping small batches of ingredients. In these instances a larger model would be overkill.

Lo recommends a smaller size food processor for people who predominantly cook for themselves, or who have limited countertop or storage space. The smaller capacity might limit the capabilities of the type of food processing you can pull off, especially for bulky projects like bread or pizza dough, otherwise it will serve you well.

Do note that there are also mini food processors out there, but those are even smaller than what Lo is talking about and typically come with a three- or four-cup capacity and are best used for potentially tedious tasks like mincing a lot of garlic or an onion.

Specs

Dimensions: 7.5″(L) x 9.0″(W) x 14.0″(H)
Weight: 10 lbs
Capacity: 7-Cups
Accessories: Reversible shredding/slicing disc
Warranty: Limited 3-year for the entire unit