I was captivated by an infomercial several years ago about a product called Le Presse. The demonstrations made chopping things up so easy and quick, I came close to buying one. Then I learned that it was $75 ($59 plus $14.95 shipping) and decided it wasn’t worth that much.
Recently I was thinking about how nice it would be to have one and wondered if I should buy it. I searched for information online to learn of others’ experiences with it and found two reviews on Epinions. The first said it was cheaply made and the second said it breaks easily after using it.
Even though there were only two reviews, both of them said pretty much the same thing and they convinced me not to get it. Thanks to online review sites and reviewers, I was able to read its poor quality and write about that experience instead of buying one and learning for myself of its poor quality and writing about that unpleasant experience.
I’d like to extend a sincere thank you to anyone who has ever posted a review of a product online. Consumers everywhere are benefited from your efforts.
on the other hand customer service is good. still I would not bother either.
True, they did have good customer service, but the fact that both of the reviewers needed to use customer service so quickly after purchasing the item is a big negative in my mind.
Oooh, we were captivated by this infomercial too. Thankfully, we didn’t succumb.
Dan,
In production kitchens we used a tool called a Food Mandoline. From the looks of that le presse, it has the same functionality as a mandoline. The only difference is, a stainless steel food mandoline will last forever in a home. This site lists quite a few, but the one you want is this one, it’s #120186.
At first they’re a bit confusing to use, but once you figure it out, you’ll be making french fries and julienne vegetables in no time. And the price they have listed $100 is pretty good. You might be able to get one at local restaurant supply store for about $75.
Jason: It may take some work to figure out how to use a Food Mandoline, but it sounds like it would be worth it.
Can it play music too?
The only thing you’ll get from strumming one of these mandolines are bloody, shredded fingers.
I have a really cheesy old mandoline, made from 70’s-style green plastic, that I inherited from my Grandma. Despite its cheesiness, it’s still good enough to make cross-cut fries! They’re handy gadgets. If you ever want to juice something (a function of Le Presse missing in the mandoline), you’re welcome to borrow my similarly ancient Champion Juicer or Vitamix blender. Or the mandoline, if you want to slice.
Thanks for the offer, I may just take you up on it. I wonder if there’s a device similar to Le Presse that’s more durable. Based on what the reviews said, it worked great until it broke.