I haven't been so thrilled over an appliance - well....ever! Maybe my instant hot water. I know it's pricey and I gulped spending so much on a slow cooker but it is absolutely worth it, more versatile than my old slow cooker. It's user friendly and has the quality in function and appearance that I expect from Wolf. I bought it because I make bone broth regularly and didn't want the lead leaching that occurs with crockpots, in fact any other slow cooker that I could find when I was researching the best. And this truly is. Not only because of the heavy stainless, but the versatility it offers. It makes perfect bone broth, easy to clean, I really appreciate the inner vessel that is so versatile and solid. When I received the box, it was so heavy that I thought about not opening and simply returning. I'm 82 so considered my choice. I did open it and I am so glad that I did. Part of the weight was packaging - very well packed and arrived in great condition. After setting it up, I found the weight, removing the inner pan full of bones and broth to be quite manageable. I browned the bones in my oven prior to starting broth in the Wolf - love that feature. I'm certainly not a chef but enjoy entertaining and expect to be using this for a variety of meals. I really can't say enough about it.

We love this thing. You can prepare an entire meal"¦.program it for the desired cooking time and boom"¦..dinner is served. My wife is an outstanding cook and she absolutely loves this. Leave the left overs in it and throw them in the fridge. When your food is gone put the lid and the container in the dishwasher. Bottom line"¦..it's expensive"¦"¦but anything quality is"¦"¦.if you have a big family, it pays for it self. Most importantly, it saves time. GET IT!

The rectangular shape and large size is perfect for making a whole chicken or leftovers. I love being able to brown food right in the pot, and the meal time program. Foods were cooked good enough to serve guests. I love using it.

There's little question in my mind that this slow cooker is way overpriced, but having said that it does have a few features that may make it worth the price for you anyway. I've been using it regularly for several months now and I'd say it's built solidly with an interface intuitive enough to use without referencing a manual. The overall construction quality is excellent as far as I can tell, and regular use hasn't shown any non-superficial wear and tear. Reviews say that it runs a little hotter than it should, so things you cook on low that should be done in 8-9 hours may be finished closer to 7, but I haven't noticed any major scorching or burning of food even when I let my stew cook closer to 10 hours. It does get extremely hot even on low though so always always use oven mitts when attempting to pick it up.

I think the major reason to consider buying this unit would be the stainless steel cooking container. Nearly every slow cooker on the market uses a kind of clay surface for cooking food and while it may be naturally more non-stick than stainless (which you'll definitely notice if you make rice in it, the one function I'm not a big fan of so far), it's definitely not more durable and there is some concern in reviews that the clay could leach stuff into your food. But then again, I'm not a materials engineer so I'd can't really vouch for the veracity of that and the cooker is more than 10x as expensive as many other units on the market so from a strictly financial perspective it might be cheaper to just keep buying new, cheaper cookers than to buy this one once.

I know a number of professional cooks and this is the unit they use, and have used, for years. For whatever reason there doesn't appear to be a lot of options in slow cookers that don't use clay cooking surfaces. I can't imagine the difference is so expensive it's worth anywhere near the premium they charge, but there it is: if you want stainless instead of clay you have limited options. It's too expensive, but it does appear to be the kind of appliance you can keep for decades and I'm kind of a fan of "built like a tank" appliances, but YMMV. Plus I suppose it does also have a nice, clean aesthetic to it that looks good in a kitchen, if that matters to you.

I now have all of the Wolf countertop appliances. I have not used this product yet so I cannot weigh in as far as a review. The quality seems to be good.