Breville Sous Chef 16 BFP810 Food Processor Review

The adjustable slicer is the reason to choose it

One disc offers 24 settings from 0.3 mm to 8.0 mm, changed with a dial. It replaces a drawer of fixed-thickness discs and does the work of a mandoline, with a guard and a feed chute instead of an open blade. Thin slices for gratins and carpaccio and thick ones for slaw and fries all come from the same disc. If you slice at one thickness only, this feature does nothing for you.

The motor is headroom, not a headline number

The 1,450 W heavy-duty induction motor runs on a direct drive with high torque. What that buys is sustained load: a full batch of dough with up to 2.0 lb / 900 g of flour, and enough torque for nut butter. It does not make it chop an onion better than a lesser machine does, because chopping, slicing and shredding are light loads. The induction design is also the durability story, since there is no brush gear to wear.

Capacity and the mini bowl

The main bowl holds 16 cups / 121 fl oz, and the 2.5-cup mini bowl nests inside it for small jobs: a handful of herbs, a few graham crackers, a small paste. The mini bowl has its own blade, so the big S-blade stays clean.

The feed chute

The 3-in-1 chute opens from 1.7 in to 5.5 in, with nesting pushers. Whole tomatoes, potatoes and blocks of cheese go down without pre-cutting, and small items do not splash back up the tube.

Design and ease of use

It has labeled lock arrows, cup and fluid-ounce markings, min and max fill lines, and a digital timer that counts up or down and stops the motor. The spindle is separate from the base, so there is no hole in the bowl floor: you can fill the bowl off the machine and use it like a large measuring cup.

The accessory set and caddy

The set includes a micro-serrated S-blade, a mini blade, the adjustable slicer, a reversible shredder, a French fry disc, a dough blade, spatulas and a brush, and it comes with a storage container that has a labeled slot for each piece. The housing is brushed stainless with a stainless steel hub, and every part that touches food is BPA free.

Size and weight

It stands 17.7 inches tall, 11.3 inches wide and 9.2 inches deep, and it weighs 30.6 lb. It will not slide under most upper cabinets, and it is not a machine you lift in and out of a cupboard. It wants a permanent spot near an outlet. The storage caddy that holds every attachment is convenient, but it takes up real space of its own.

Cleaning is the real friction

There are more parts than on a basic processor: main bowl, lid, pushers, spindle, S-blade, mini bowl, mini blade and discs. The mini bowl does not save you washing the main bowl, because the main bowl stays exposed while you use it. The bowl and lid are dishwasher safe on the top rack, but the care instructions favor hand washing for them, and the pusher and the geared spindle should be washed by hand. The enclosed bowl handle traps food and moisture and needs the brush that comes in the box. This is the part that decides whether the machine earns its counter space or ends up in a cupboard.

No drizzle hole

For hummus, mayonnaise and emulsified dressings you add liquid through the feed tube, which gives you less control than a dedicated drizzle hole.

Metric-leaning bowl markings

The bowl is marked in cups and fluid ounces alongside milliliters, and the metric figures clutter the scale for a cook who thinks in cups.

Noise

It is a loud machine: a powerful motor in a hard housing. If you process at 6 a.m. in an open-plan kitchen, you will notice.

Warranty shape

The general coverage is a 2-year limited product warranty, while the motor is covered far longer under the motor warranty. The general term is short for a machine built to last.

The bowl is the part to watch

On any processor the bowl is the part that fails first. The updated bowl design is built to take the knocks of kitchen life, and replacement bowls and parts can be bought, which keeps the machine serviceable rather than disposable.

The 16-cup figure is measured to the brim, so a working load of shredded or light ingredients sits below the lid line: treat 16 cups as the ceiling, not the load you will fill every time. The 2.0 lb flour limit is the number that matters for bakers. The 1,450 W is a torque figure for dough and nut butter, not a chopping-speed figure.

Wattage is not a quality score. Chopping, slicing and shredding are light loads that any competent processor handles, so the 1,450 W changes nothing you can see on an onion. The motor earns its keep on the heavy, sustained jobs: a full 2.0 lb batch of bread dough, a jar of nut butter, where torque and heat tolerance decide whether the machine keeps going.

The induction motor with direct drive is also why the machine is built to run for years rather than burn out. For a cook who chops onions and grates cheese, the motor is not the reason to buy. The slicer is.

Chopping

The micro-serrated S-blade and the wide bowl make short work of onions, herbs, ginger and cilantro, and a mirepoix comes together in a handful of pulses. The pulse control and the timer keep it controllable.

Slicing

The adjustable slicer produces even slices at whatever thickness you dial in, from paper-thin to thick. This is the machine's standout job.

Shredding

The reversible disc handles cheese and vegetables. Soft cheeses are the harder case: a cold, firm block and a light hand give the best result.

Dough

The dough blade and the 2.0 lb flour limit mean a full batch of bread or pizza dough in one go, with the base staying planted.

Small jobs and nut butter

The mini bowl takes herbs, nuts and crumbs. Nut butter is within the motor's capability, with patience and scraping.

Labeled lock arrows and a screen that confirms the parts are locked before the motor runs take the guesswork out of assembly. The digital timer counts up or down and stops the motor at the end. The bowl's separate spindle means no hole in the floor, so you can fill it off the machine and use it as a measuring cup. The 3-in-1 chute with nesting pushers and the caddy with labeled slots keep the parts in order, and the brushed stainless housing with a stainless hub wipes clean.

The counterpoint is the bowl handle. It is enclosed, which traps food and moisture, and it needs the included brush to clean properly.

At 17.7 inches tall, the machine will not sit under standard upper cabinets with a lip, so measure your clearance before you buy. At 30.6 lb it stays put, which means planning a permanent counter spot near an outlet rather than moving it for each job. The caddy needs its own space too. And it is loud.