BonJour Chef's Tools Professional Culinary / Crème Brûlée Torch, Black

I've used this for quite a few things so far (creme brulee, marshmallows, steaks, bacon wrapped chicken, etc.) and it works perfectly without much fuss. The flame can be adjusted quite a bit, and doesn't impart any unwanted flavors to the food you're cooking. Quality of the torch seems good, and I would expect it to last a few years. I've seen quite a few recipes for torched steak, but most of them seem to involve freezing the steak or using a sous vide cooker. Since I'm not one to spend $300+ on a kitchen gadget I'll rarely use and have a moral objection to freezing steak (Why even risk the texture of a good steak?), I came up with my own method to make perfect steaks almost every time. 1) Start with a 1" thick steak of your choice (I prefer USDA prime NY Strip Steaks) 2) Coat lightly with 1-2 tablespoons of peanut oil or preferred high heat oil (No olive oil here) and 3-4 tablespoons of kosher salt at least 24 hours ahead of time 3) Torch every bit of steak (including the sides) until it is a dark brown with charring in spots 4) Place on broiler pan (so the juices don't collect and ruin your crust) in 200F oven for 15-30 minutes (roughly rare at 15 minutes and medium at 30) 5) Touch up the steak with torch to ensure a crispy crust

I bought it since it is rated over 4 stars here, but found I was so wrong, I doubt who were posting here, very misleading. It looked solid except the igniter and the safe lock were very loose and small pieces of plastic, they wouldn't last long for sure. I bought 2 butane fuels and tried it, so bad I could hear the gas leaking while I was pumping, only very small percentage of fuel(For sure less than 5%) was pumped in here. The worst thing was, it kept leaking, a few minutes after, it became empty! I tried the second fuel on, a tiny flame lasted for a half minute! What a joke it was! I was very angry and ordered a replacement on Saturday. To my surprise, a box arrived on the next Monday morning in my office. I was shocked by the high efficiency of Amazon, before I got a chance to check the box. Both the shipping box and the product box were squeezed so badly and almost broken, the product box was open, obviously it was a returned bad product, Amazon did not check the content, just taped it and threw it to me again. I did not even bother trying it this time, returned it for a refund immediately. For those who want to have a good and durable torch, I suggest you to buy a Lenox LT-9x, it is solid and durable, comes with 3 year warranty. You don't spend time pumping fuel, just install it on a propane cylinder will do. When you don't need it, remove the torch head you are safe.

**2nd Update** 1 year and 6 months after purchase. The ignitor has failed. The torch now requires a lighter to be lit but still functions. I will probably keep this one put away as a spare now. *****UPDATE***** After less than two months, The little latch to lock the flame ON has broken... This was very helpful before because the ignitor button is stiff and difficult to hold down for very long. I am very disappointed that this little piece broke. The torch still works fine. But its much more difficult to use now without the hands-free option... ------------------------------------------- * Original Review* Accurate fuel gauge, Strong flame, Good wind resistance. Just be sure to use good quality butane in it. Like Vector. Very happy with this purchase.

That's my response to the most frequent comment I get from visitors to my kitchen these days. Between creme brulees and a lot of sous viding, this torch has gotten a lot of use in it's first couple of months, and it's working out great. Controls: sure, you should read the instructions to find out what each switch does, but really it's not that complicated. 30 seconds of glancing at instructions, another 10 seconds of playing with it, and you're set. The adjustable flame length has a good range, and the hold switch makes it easy to use for extended periods. Refilling is a breeze. Build: Solid. The brushed metal look of the canister portion is slick. Some staining is taking place on the nozzle, where the combination of heat and small bits of splatter detract from the original shine, but it's a tool, not an art piece. The gauge on the side to view the fuel level is really helpful. The base, while the least integrated in terms of aesthetics, is functional and it feels secure when sitting on the counter. There may be a couple of torches out there with a bit more flame to them, which could be helpful for large sous vide items, but for your average amateur chef this is a terrific, and fun, toy to have.

Best one of its kind.

Had this torch for less than a week and we've had creme brulee twice already! What a great addition to my kitchen. The torch is easy to fill and seems to make reasonable use of the fuel. The level has hardly gone down after 2 lengthy uses. Attractive and easy to hold. The continuous-use feature is neat if you have quite a bit of flaming to do. Since this is my first culinary torch, I can't compare it to anything else, but I can tell you that I am very happy with the purchase and find no fault with the product. If that changes over time, I will update this review. ***60-day update*** I have used this torch many, many times and am still on my first load of fuel. Still works great ... used it last week to torch a ham that I had covered in a brown sugar/cinnamon/clove mixture. That expensive spiral-sliced ham store no longer has anything on me!!!

An excellent piece of kit to add to the kitchen 'must haves'. I have used the torch a number of occasions now and I am unable to fault it.

Buen producto. Tan sólo me gustaría que pudiera graduarse a una flama más bajita del nivel mínimo con el que viene.

Poor quality.

Je vais utiliser dans la cuisine pour griller des plats . Bien reçu, livraison rapide et le brûleur est très joli , confort dans la main ! Je n'ai pas encore utilisé donc pour plus tard l'évaluation de son efficacité !

Si tiene buena calidad. Aunque no incluye gas butano