The Breville Control Freak Home Induction Cooktop: A Detailed Review

The Breville Control Freak Home is a smaller, less expensive version of the original with the same power and precision. Though the price is still prohibitive at about $1300, we heard good things about it so we decided to give it a test run. 

Find out all about this super precise induction cooker that's unique in its features and abilities, plus how it compares to the original and to other portable induction cookers. Is it worth the hefty price tag? Only you can decide. 

The Breville Control Freak Home Features

The original Breville PolyScience Control Freak was introduced to the commercial market in 2016. The Control Freak Home came out earlier this year (2024), and is a smaller, lighter, slightly less expensive version of the commercial model. The build quality isn't as robust--we get into detail about that below--but other than that, the home version can do everything the commercial version does.

The Control Freak Home is designed for precision cooking. In fact, it's so precise, you can use it for sous vide cooking without a sous vide circulator. The exposed temperature sensor and temperature probe are what make it so precise. It also has 1-degree settings from 77-482F. It can control a temperature with an accuracy of +/-1.8F degrees, which means you never have to worry about overcooking or even overheating your food.

You can also set the heat intensity level (low-medium-high), which controls how fast the cooktop heats. This is a great feature because you can set it to heat quickly for simple tasks like boiling water or heating oil to the desired frying temperature, and you can set it to low or medium for more heat sensitive tasks like cooking eggs and melting chocolate. 

The temperature probe provides an additional feedback loop that ensures your food stays at exactly the correct temperature.

This is the highest degree of accuracy available in the induction market today. This accuracy doesn't come cheaply (precision control is the key difference between a cheap induction cooker and an expensive one). 

Being able to cook this precisely is a huge game changer. It eliminates the guesswork of low/medium/high, giving you a level of control we haven't seen before outside of sous vide. The Breville Control Freak and Control Freak Home bring the accuracy of sous vide cooking to the cooktop. It's a completely new way to look at cooking, and it will change how you look at cooking forever.

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A Brief History of Breville

Breville is a kitchen product company founded in Australia in 1932. They're probably best known for their smart ovens, but make many different kitchen products, including espresso machines, toasters, food processors, blenders, coffee makers, and more. Breville products are known for high quality and modern design. 

In 2014, Breville acquired the PolyScience Culinary Division, which expanded their product line into high end sous vide circulators and a few other products marketed to professional chefs and fans of modernist cooking. PolyScience is a maker of laboratory equipment, and in the world of modernist cooking, there's a big overlap between laboratory equipment and culinary equipment. Breville took advantage of this new market, and did so with great success. They also own Chef Steps, a cooking site that promotes science-based cooking, along with several Breville products, including the Joule Sous Vide circulator (see our Joule review). 

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Specifications

We include specs for the original (commercial grade) version and the newer Home version. You can see that the Home version has nearly identical features in a smaller, lighter package. The biggest difference is the touchscreen controls on the Home version, which means you'll have menus to scroll through rather than using buttons to select cooking modes. 

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About Induction Cooking

If you're not familiar with induction cooking, there are a few things to know about it. Induction heats by completing a magnetic circuit, so in the case of cooking, the circuit is completed when you place a magnetic pot on the burner and turn it on. 100% of the heat goes into the cookware, so induction cooking is very efficient. However, you need magnetic cookware such as cast iron, carbon steel, or clad stainless steel. There are also many aluminum pans that have a steel base so you can use them with induction.

Induction cooktops range hugely in price, from less than $100 for a cheap portable up to several thousand for a full-sized induction cooktop. Inexpensive induction burners heat fast, but they don't hold temperature very well, overshooting and undershooting the setpoint by 20 degrees or more. So you can get the impressive speed of induction at any price, but to get the amazing accuracy that induction is capable of, you have to spend quite a bit more; accurate temperature control is expensive. 

And about that accuracy: Most people praise induction for its speed and ease of cleaning (no cooked-on food because the burner doesn't get very hot), but its true strength is its accuracy. Induction offers accuracy that isn't possible with any other cooking method. Chefs like gas because the heat control is instantaneous, but you're dealing with low/medium/high settings rather than specific temperatures. 

With a high-end induction burner, you can set a burner to a specific temperature or power level, and the burner will hold it. 

So Breville (or probably PolyScience) saw the true potential in induction cooking, which is accuracy, and they developed it to a ridiculous level with the Control Freak. 

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Induction Cooking Safety

Induction isn't as popular in the US as it is in some other parts of the world, but with new information coming out about gas stoves creating indoor air pollution, a lot of people are becoming more interested in it. Though there are a few things to consider, we believe that induction is, overall, a safe way to cook.

Induction cooking is about as safe as using a conventional electric stove, which few people think twice about. Both of them emit EMFs, or electromagnetic frequencies. The EMFs given off by induction are slightly different than those from an electric burner, but the level of risk is low for both. 

If you or someone in your home has a pacemaker, then induction could be a problem, not because it's dangerous, but because the magnetism could affect the pacemaker. You should consult with a doctor before buying an induction cooktop if this is a concern (it is rarely a problem).

Incorrect pot placement can also cause a greater amount of EMF emissions, so always try to match a pot to the burner size and center the pot on the burner to keep emissions to a minimum. 

If you want to read about induction safety in more detail, see our article Is Induction Cooking Safe?

As far as actual cooking, induction has some built-in safety features that make it safer than electric and gas ranges. For example, the burner doesn't get hot, the pan does, so there's little chance of burning yourself on a hot cooktop (though they can get pretty warm). And when you remove a pot, the induction circuit is interrupted, so the burner will shut itself off. Many induction cookers have delayed shutoff (a convenient feature), but all will switch off after a few minutes, so you never have to worry about whether you left a burner on. 

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Pros and Cons of Induction Cooking

As we've said, the Control Freak--both models--introduces precision cooking techniques not previously available to any cook, ever. So while these pros and cons apply here, keep in mind that the Control Freak is in a different category than other induction cookers. 

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Who Would Use the Control Freak Home?

The Control Freak Home is marketed to serious home cooks interested in modernist cooking and/or upping their cooking game with ultimate control over temperature. The accuracy of this cooker has the potential to completely change how you cook. When you can control heat to an exact temperature as well as control heat intensity and have an instantaneous feedback loop from the exposed sensor and the temperature probe, it creates an innovative approach to cooking. 

There are several videos on the Breville site and Chef Steps site you can watch to get an idea of what's possible. If this is a new concept for you, prepare to have your mind blown.

People interested in this product would also have to be able to afford it. At about $1300 for the Home model and about $1500 for the commercial model, this is quite an investment--more than some full-sized induction ranges and cooktops (but also more accurate).

Is it worth it? It's a quality product that does what it promises to do, so in that sense, it's a worthwhile purchase, if you'll use it to its full potential.

If you just want an induction burner that heats quickly, then the Control Freak probably isn't a good investment for you.

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Features to Look for in Induction Cookers

In our other induction cooktop articles, we talk about the features to look for when you're shopping for induction cooktops. These include:

We're not going to go into more detail about these features here because the Control Freak has none of the shortcomings of other portables. Its temperature levels, power levels and progression, and burner size all far surpass those of other induction cookers on the market, including most full-sized cooktops and ranges (if not all). It's also heavier than most portables, indicating excellent build quality.

It has a multi-functional timer that counts down, counts up, and can be set to Keep Warm or Off when done, so there are no issues here, either.

The only feature you may not like is the touchscreen, which requires scrolling through menus to set the cooker. This is true only for the Home version because the original has buttons to select modes.  

In other words, the Control Freak really has no shortcomings, other than the price, and perhaps the learning curve of cooking a new way.

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The Control Freak Home Vs. The Original

The performance of the Home Control Freak is pretty much identical to the performance of the original. The main difference is that the Home version is smaller and lighter, with a less durable build quality (but plenty good for home use). 

Another difference is that the original has push buttons rather than a touchscreen. The Home version has the same preset options as the original, plus ingredients and technique menus to help you cook. 

We prefer the push button controls of the original because of the menu scrolling involved in a touchscreen, but in this case, it's a small issue because the Home version still has a manual dial for easy temperature control; in some ways it's actually easier to use because you don't have to type in letter-by-letter using the dial, as you do with the original. 

We also prefer the smaller size and lighter weight of the home version, as well as the lower price.

The home version is slightly less sturdy, with a thinner steel case, a polymer frame (rather than steel), less robust cooling fans, and it doesn't have the waterproof certification of the original. These features are what make the Home version less expensive without sacrificing performance. The heavier duty original model is designed for a commercial environment, but probably isn't necessary for most home users.

The original Control Freak has a USB port that makes it easy to update software and add recipes. The Home version doesn't have a USB port. 

Finally, the Home version does not come with a carrying case, which is a nice extra, but not necessary unless you do a lot of traveling with your induction burner.

So, if you're buying for home use, there's probably no reason to spend the extra money for the original version unless you absolutely hate the touchscreen. But you should try both versions before you decide, because the touchscreen menu has a surprisingly user-friendly interface. 

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The Control Freak Vs. Other Portable Induction Cooktops

We've already said the Control Freak is different than other induction cookers because of the precision. The key to its precision is the exposed sensor, which provides instant temperature feedback.

There is also a temperature probe, included with purchase, to provide even more feedback: this probe can go in liquids, frying oil, or directly into food to provide an additional temperature control. In our testing, the temperature control is surprisingly accurate. It really does control temperature to within one degree of the setpoint.

So the only other brands you can realistically compare the Control Freak to are high-end brands. One of our favorites is the Vollrath Mirage Pro (see our review), which has 100 power settings and a temperature range of 80-450F. But it doesn't have the instant feedback of the Control Freak, and it controls to within about +/- 10F degrees. It also lacks the full color screen and recipe options. However, it's about $500 less than the Control Freak Home, so there's that. 

There are also the Cooktek induction cookers (above), some of which are as expensive as the Control Freak. They are made for a commercial environment and are extremely well made, durable products--and made in the USA--but they don't have the precision control of the Control Freak. 

The Hestan Cue (see our review) functions much like the Control Freak, with precise temperature control and a huge recipe data base that guides you through every step of cooking. It isn't as high end as the Control Freak, and it requires Hestan Cue cookware, which has the feedback loop built into it (and the cookware requires batteries). You can get a Hestan Cue system, including a couple of pans, for about half the cost of the Control Freak. Our opinion is that the Control Freak has a better build quality and offers more flexibility than the Hestan Cue system, but if you're interested in precision cooking, you should investigate both products.

Other than these three, we don't know of any other induction cookers that come close to doing what the Control Freak does. There are a few others out there that claim to, but they don't offer the same precision temperature control.  

If you come across a product that offers precision temp control but costs less than $500, it almost certainly won't do what it promises to do. As we said above, temperature control is expensive.

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Using the Control Freak Home

We didn't test the original Control Freak because we'd read that it had some bugs. For example, some users found it didn't work with their Demeyere cookware, which is the most induction-optimized cookware on the market. This is a big miss, and we didn't think a $1700 product (at the time) should have such a glaring shortcoming. However, Breville seems to have worked out the bugs, and so far we haven't heard of any issues with the Home version. So we tested the Home version, but our results also apply to the original, with some variations on how you operate the units. 

We first checked the accuracy by boiling water. Since we know the temperature at which water boils, this was a good gauge of how accurate the unit actually is. And it is extremely accurate. Boiling occurred at exactly 212F, and held a constant temp for the duration of the test (about 5 minutes). 

Then we did a few tasks that require precise temperature, such as melting butter and melting chocolate. We chose low heat intensity for these delicate foods, then set a temperature, which the cooktop held beautifully. Once melted, both the chocolate and the butter stayed at the perfect Keep Warm temp for 45 minutes, which is pretty amazing considering how crucial it is to remove them from heat on any other type of cooktop.

We even made the Hollandaise sauce on the Chef Steps site, which allows you to throw all the ingredients in the pot and the Control Freak--plus some whisking--does the rest (Hollandaise is a notoriously finicky emulsion that breaks easily if the temperature or technique is off even a little bit). It turned out great. 

Overall, we used the Control Freak for about six weeks to create many different dishes. All of our testers were impressed with the unit. Though the precision settings was a new way to cook and was a little tedious at first, no one could argue with the excellent performance and results.

The Control Freak Home has four cooking modes: Manual, Ingredients, Techniques (e.g., blanch, boil, caramelize, fry, deep fry, etc.), and Custom Presets, which allows you to add your own recipes and techniques to the cooker. So for example, if you select Ingredients, then you scroll through the menu until you find the food you're cooking. Once you select the food, then you select the cooking method. If you start with Technique, then you select that first, then scroll to find the food you're cooking. 

The manual mode allows you to set the temperature to whatever you want, just like "old-fashioned" cooking, but much more precise. 

Adding your own custom settings is probably the trickiest way to use the Control Freak, but it also allows you to create your own recipes and re-use them over and over again and get the same perfect results every time. We didn't do a lot with this setting because the available options were pretty comprehensive, but it's a great feature for creative cooks who want to develop their own recipes. 

The Control Freak requires a new approach to cooking, and it isn't for everybody. But if you want precision that almost always results in perfect food, then it's worth learning how to cook with the Control Freak. 

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Pros and Cons of Breville Control Freak

Here's a summary of the pros and cons of the Control Freak.

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Control Freak Home FAQs

Here are some commonly asked questions about the Breville Control Freak induction cookers.

Is the Control Freak Home Easy to Use?

The Control Freak has simple controls and there is nothing difficult about selecting cooking options, but it has the potential to completely change how you view cooking. The precise settings are not something most cooks will be familiar with, and most people will have a bit of a learning curve to use the Control Freak to its full potential. Some people hate scrolling through menus, so even though it's not difficult, you may not enjoy using the interface. Once you see the results, though, you'll probably find the menus a fair price to pay.

How Is the Home Version Different from the Original?

The Home version is lighter, smaller, and less expensive than the original (though still expensive). It's also slightly less durable, though plenty durable for home use. The Home version also has a touchscreen interface, rather than push buttons to select modes, you scroll through menus to select them. The Home version has the same temperature precision and burner size of the original, so performance wise, the two models are identical.

Why Is the Control Freak So Expensive?

To put it simply, good temperature control is expensive. If you've ever used an inexpensive induction cooktop, you know it can be frustrating because they continually overshoot and undershoot the temperature or power setting, often by 20 degrees or more. More sophisticated temperature control doesn't do this. Instead, it can hold a constant temperature within a few degrees, and the Control Freak can hold a temperature within 1.8F degrees. It also has other expensive features such as a multi-functional timer, 10-inch burner coil, stainless steel housing, a full color control screen, and high quality cooling fans. All of these features make the Control Freak one of the highest end induction cooktops on the market. It's even better than most full-sized induction cooktops.

What Makes the Control Freak So Different from Other Portable Induction Cooktops?

The precision control, color screen interface, food and ingredient data base, large burner, and durable build quality. You don't see these things in anything but very high end cooktops. In fact, the precision control has the potential to drastically change how you look at cooking, especially if you use the Ingredient and Technique settings of the Control Freak. Other induction cooktops heat really fast, but they don't have the precision of the Control Freak, and they don't offer a new way of cooking like the Control Freak does.

What Is the Burner Size of the Control Freak?

The Control Freak has a 10-inch burner, the largest burner available on a portable induction cooktop.

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Final Thoughts

The Control Freak Home version is an amazing, spectacular product that will revolutionize how you cook. It's well made, extremely precise, and offers the ability to cook by Ingredient, Technique, Manual, and Custom settings where you add your own recipes to the database. 

At about $1300 for the Home version ($1500 for the original), all this excellence doesn't come cheaply, but if you love cooking and want to expand your skills to this new, precision-control way to cook, then the Control Freak is worth every penny.

Thanks for reading!

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