I'm replacing a gas stove with an induction cooktop in a couple of months, and have several cookware pieces to replace now. I'm interested only in stainless steel and just need saucepans and a stockpot. Tri-ply or clad sound like good choices, and I'm ready to invest in high quality items. I live in New Zealand, where I cannot access All-Clad or Calphalon at all, and I'm unwilling to wait months and pay large shipping costs to order these from overseas. Local stores have the Le Creuset tri-ply and Demeyere.

Currently I have a Revereware set including 3 qt and 4 qt saucepans and a 6 qt stockpot; these are my daily drivers, particularly the 4 qt saucepan especially, when cooking rice or vegetables for family dinners). I also have a larger ~8 L stockpot for preserving etc which will eventually need replacement. I could replace both of these stockpots with a new 8 L vessel. I also have a SS "dutch oven" 5.25 L which is the main driver for risottos and similar dishes - thankfully that one will work on the new cooktop!

The smaller stockpot is mainly used for boiling water for pasta/veggies, and the occasional soup or very large off-heat mixing task (Christmas cake). The larger stockpot gets used mostly for the annual jams, jellies, chutneys.

I'm trying to let the new saucepan choice inform the new stockpot choice. I've picked up a set of Le Creuset tri-ply standard saucepans (not the signature ones) but not opened the set yet, so I could swap it for the Signature versions or return and spend on Demeyere instead. I'm really tempted to get a couple of Atlantis saucepans (2.2 L, 3 L). In the saucepan format they don't seem to come larger than the 3 L version? Demeyere Apollo is also locally available but after doing a lot of reading on this site, I think I'd rather have the Atlantis. :)

The 8 L Atlantis stockpot looks like the right combination of construction and volume for what I would regularly use. Is it overkill to get such a high-quality item just for use as a stockpot? Would I be better off spending less on a stockpot and more on the saucepans?

One day I might need to replace a skillet or saute pan but for the moment that's out of scope, since the ones I have will work for now.

A friend of mine is making salsas for a birthday bash, and needs some fresh chiles (mostly jalapenos and habaneros). My friend and I live in Auckland. I know we can get some canned/jarred chiles online from Mexifoods, or from Mexican Specialties in Ellerslie. Does anyone know where I could source some fresh chiles in Auckland or from someplace that would ship them to me within the next week?

I'm laying in a stock of seeds and planning to plant some in my garden this spring, so hopefully this won't be a problem in the future.

Thanks for your time!