Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)
This event was on
Tuesday, July 01, 2025 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern
Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.
Question:

What type of non-stick pan is safe to use?
— Shereen Lokeman
Answer:
So, uh, you know, arguably, um, I think folks would say, or at least some folks would say that no non-stick pan is gonna be safe. So there's our starting point, okay? So the, the question is, you know, what do you wanna, what do you wanna tolerate? And, um, you know, if, if the concern is that a nonstick pan may not be good for you and the members of your family, then my recommendation is don't use one. Okay? Just eliminate that concern entirely. Uh, otherwise, you know, you might consider using one just once in a while, right? Just minimally. Uh, you might just choose, uh, a couple of things that are kind of persnickety in the pan that have a tendency to stick, and you'll just use your non-stick pan, you know, exclusively on those few items. Um, you know, in terms of, uh, what type of non-stick pan to use, uh, you know, I'll tell you what I do, okay? This is gonna lead to a larger conversation here. You know, I will go down every once in a while to the restaurant supply store, just down the street here and pick up something, and we'll have one non-stick pan, you know, something yay big, maybe seven inches or so because we don't use it, um, for most of our cooking. And, uh, it, I'll, you know, we'll use it until it doesn't have its non-stick qualities, and then we'll throw it out, um, orcycle it, if that's possible, and then just replace it. So this leads me to, uh, share my perspective on nonstick pans, and that is to say that they are disposable items, uh, because over time they accumulate micro scratches and they lose their non-stick quality. And, uh, therefore I don't recommend a full set of non-stick pans. Okay? Um, so yeah, hopefully that will answer your questions. Uh, Shireen. Okay. And, um, you know, you, you just need to think about, um, how much of a concern this is and if you wanna go down that path at all. Uh, and if so, what do those stepping stones look like for you?
