In a kitchen at Manhattan's International Culinary Center, chef André Soltner and two cookware junkies seem bent on destroying a collection of brand-new pots and pans.

"This is very thin," says John Doherty, executive chef of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, as he taps the side of a stainless-steel frying pan. He holds the pan against his stomach, and then pushes in the sides like an accordion. "Oh my God," he says. "I just bent it."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah," says the 75-year-old Mr. Soltner, the former owner of Manhattan's Lutèce restaurant, giving it a try himself.

At The Wall Street Journal's request, the two were testing products in a growing niche of the roughly $2 billion U.S. cookware market: celebrity-chef branded pots and pans. Celebrity lines now make up an estimated 10% of the market, compared to as little as 3% a decade ago, according to the Cookware Manufacturers Association. Flip on the Food Network and Rachael Ray's orange-handled cookware fills the screen. Wolfgang Puck appears regularly on home-shopping network HSN to pitch his wares. Marcus Samuelsson, known in Manhattan for his Aquavit and Merkato 55 restaurants, debuted his own line in March. And this fall, the Food Network's Paula Deen is set to introduce five retro-styled cookware lines, including one made of cast iron.

The makers and retailers say such things as their sets will be "the last cookware you have to buy" and that they offer "exceptional" value. To test the claims we assembled three pros: Messrs. Soltner and Doherty and Ran Lerner, a professor of industrial design at the Manhattan design school Parsons, who has created housewares sold at places including Crate & Barrel. The panel looked at construction, durability and features. They jiggled handles, examined rivets and banged the pans against workstations. They cooked in a frying pan and another piece from each line; in one test, they left pasta sauce unattended for 15 minutes on medium heat to see how badly it scorched the equipment. What they found is that a star endorsement doesn't necessarily mean stellar cookware.

The clear winner was the most expensive set, Mr. Samuelsson's. (Disclosure: Mr. Samuelsson helps promote the International Culinary Center, where Mr. Soltner is a dean.) The judges called the other lines very similar in quality, with each having at least one flaw. Pressed to name a set that offered the best value, they chose Emeril Lagasse's Emerilware, by a nose.

Todd English

Todd English ceramic-coated aluminum cookware

Mr. English said his GreenPan cookware, made of ceramic-coated aluminum, combines light weight with even heat distribution. It has a nonstick coating called Thermolon that's said to avoid safety concerns raised about some other nonstick materials. Made by cookware maker GreenPan and sold at HSN, among other places, a six-piece set costs about $100. (The same cookware also is sold under Martha Stewart's name.) Pros: Mr. Lerner praised the distinctive look of the pieces while Mr. Soltner cited their "pretty strong" construction. Mr. Doherty liked the pieces' weight. Cons: The nonstick coating chipped when Mr. Soltner scraped a large metal spoon around the inside of a pan. The testers also were dismayed that the pasta sauce scorched the nonstick surface of a pot. Response: Mr. English said he has "never seen one chip" on his pans, including when he used metal utensils (which isn't recommended). He added that the pasta-sauce test would scorch any pan.

Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray frying pan with silicone handle

Ms. Ray said her 10-piece stainless-steel set, about $200, has a matte finish so it wears well, heat-insulated handles that can go into the oven and heavy bottoms. Working with her chefs, Ms. Ray said she whittled down designs sent to her by Meyer, the manufacturer. Pros: Mr. Lerner called the overall look "sexy." Mr. Soltner judged the metal's thickness "quite good." The panel praised the silicone handles' comfort. Cons: The silicone handle of the frying pan had a small tear, and, of more concern, the handle caught fire when the pan was used on a gas burner. The saucepan also had the biggest scorching problem among tested sets. Mssrs. Lerner and Doherty were concerned that food could build up in the gap between the saucepan's handle and body. Response: Ms. Ray said she uses her set every day and hasn't had a problem with tears in the silicone or with a handle catching fire. She added she hasn't seen any food build-up in the gap. As for scorching, Ms. Ray said she never leaves anything unattended 15 minutes, and Meyer said sauces should be heated on low. Jay Zilinskas, Meyer's chief merchandising officer, added that burner flames shouldn't extend beyond the base of a pan, where they could touch the handle.

Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson stainless-steel pan

Mr. Samuelsson said his stainless-steel line, made by Regal Ware, is for the passionate cook who "reads one of the great food magazines and cooks for their families." He added that his pots and pans, which cost about $500 for a 10-piece set, make it possible for home cooks to recreate restaurant flavors. Pros: The judges liked the metal's weight and thickness, and noted this was the only set tested that had tri-ply construction -- in this case, aluminum sandwiched between stainless steel -- on the pots' walls and not just the base. Such bonded cookware distributes heat evenly and quickly. They also praised the classic design. The set was "the only one that would make it in a commercial kitchen," Mr. Doherty said. Cons: Mr. Doherty criticized the handles of the sauté pan, saying the main handle was too wide to hold comfortably and the "helper handle" (a secondary handle opposite the main one) protruded too far for a home stove. The panel also noted the set's steep price. Response: Regal Ware Chief Executive Jeffrey A. Reigle said the deep helper handle minimizes the risk of burning a hand against the pan's side. The price, he said, reflects the quality of materials and the set's U.S. manufacture.

Emeril Lagasse

Emeril Lagasse 10-piece cookware set

Mr. Lagasse and his team refined the 10-piece, $200 set with high-end home cookware maker All-Clad, which makes the line. They tested it in the chef's New Orleans kitchen, said Mr. Lagasse's publicist. Pros: Of all three-quart saucepans or equivalents we tried, Emeril's scorched the least. And the frying-pan handle remained coolest. Cons: The judges liked the aluminum-and-copper base for transferring heat quickly and evenly, but worried it would separate from the pots after repeated use. The panel also thought the pieces were too light and prone to dents, as Mssrs. Doherty and Soltner demonstrated by bending the 8-inch frying pan. Mr. Doherty also found the frying pan could tip because of its heavy handle. "I'm always a fan of All-Clad and I'm disappointed here," Mr. Soltner said. Response: Bill Groll, All-Clad's vice president of product development, said the bases should stand up to everyday use and that dented sides were "never an issue with normal use." He also said some cooks prefer Emerilware's lighter weight to All-Clad's core lines, which are heavier. Mr. Groll said All-Clad had reconfigured the frying pan handle about a year ago after hearing similar concerns, and our panel may have tested an older version.

Wolfgang Puck

Wolfgang Puck colander lid and stainless steel pot

Mr. Puck said his cookware -- an 11-piece stainless-steel set goes for $99.90 at HSN -- is intended to provide quality to the masses. Mr. Puck said he keeps costs down by sourcing the manufacture of his line himself, rather than sharing profits with a cookware maker. Pros: Mr. Doherty liked the pour spouts on both sides of the saucepan -- good for both left- and right-handed cooks -- and the unusual colander lid. Cons: Mr. Soltner said the spouts, which let steam escape, are "like having no lid." Of more concern to the panel: the set's light weight and the handles. They called the saucepan handle flimsy and the frying pan's handle too low, causing their knuckles to scrape the work surface. Also, Mr. Puck counts a spatula, tongs and two oversize spoons as four of the 11 pieces. Response: Mr. Puck said the spouts make it easy to pour what's in the pans. He said he considers his pieces the right weight to be handled comfortably, and that the thick, tri-ply bottoms distribute heat evenly. His new cookware, which will replace the tested set next month, has handles that are higher and constructed differently, he said. As for counting the utensils as among the 11 pieces, he said his cookware comes in many configurations.

Write to Juliet Chung at juliet.chung@wsj.com

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