Product Review: Vidalia Chopper

Five Little Chefs – Vidalia Chopper Review

In our qwest to find tools to help children cook we found the Vidiala Chop Wizard while shopping. I recall seeing it advertised on television. At the time I thought it would be nice to chop vegetables and fruits quickly, but wondered if it was made well enough. When I saw it in the store we had tried different cutting methods and a designated children’s knife. They were still having problems cutting well, especially for my younger Little Chefs. I decided to buy it and try it out.
We have tried it out with many recipes, but I thought as another test we should try making pico de gallo. This is a staple at our house, however I am the one who usually makes it. I told my Little Chefs it was their night to make it. I explained how to do it and let them work together at it.

Little Chef A wanted to cut the onions. She took it apart one layer at a time.

Next she tried putting the first layer on the vidalia chopper, but it was too big so she decided to tear it apart.

Now it fit on the grid and she was able to slam the top part down. I asked how hard it was; easy, medium, hard. She said medium.

Little Chef D started cutting the tomatoes with her designated children’s knife. Then Little Chef C finished the cutting. They definitely have different cutting skills as evident by the tomato slices.

The two chefs worked together to dice the tomato. First Little Chef C held one end down while Little Chef D slammed the opposite end down. “It’s like you are angry” Little Chef C said to Little Chef D as she was slamming. It took her 4-5 slams to cut the tomato through.

Why does it take two chefs to use this tool? The directions say to put pressure on one end to keep it aligned while slamming the other end down. I don’t think it actually says “slam” but that is how much force is required. Why do you need to put pressure on the end to keep it aligned? Look at the corner in the picture. The second slam Little Chef C did right out of the box it broke. Unfortunately I was not surprised. However, I was impressed how well it did work so I couldn’t be so angry.

Little Chef C cut the avocado in half, took the pit out and scooped it out.

The avocado had to be sliced in two so it wouldn’t be so thick. In fact that is a must with this tool. Everything should be sliced fairly thinly.

After the onion, tomatoes and avocados were diced the bottom compartment was emptied into the bowl.

There are two sizes this tool can cut. For this recipe we used the smallest size. It is nice to see everything cut in uniform sizes.

They seasoned the pico with salt, pepper, and tobasco sauce.

This is what the Vidalia Chop Wizard looked like after they finished. As Little Chef C was chopping the avocado she said, “It’s getting dirty on the top because I’m slamming it with dirty hands.” That is very observant, why
don’t you wash your hands!
When you are finished chopping and open it up there is crud all over in tiny little spaces. Luckily they included a small comb like object that fits perfectly in the little spaces. Just scrape it down and across the grid and it all magically comes out easily.

Overall, it does cut as it says it should. It does require four little hands to make it work. I can make it work on my own. Little Chef A is strong enough to make it work on her own. It depends on the strength of the little chefs. It is very loud when you slam it down. I can make it work with one slam. All the Little Chefs need to take multiple hits. The end result is great, uniform sizes and it does take a lot less time to cut. If you can forgive the awful design of the hinges that will break at some point, if not the second hit, then it is worth it to buy this product.