I got this primarily to replace an old crockpot I had and will likely only use it for slow cooker purposes. It came beautifully boxed and it's extremely well-made. It came with a wood spatula, as well as a branded cork trivet and a lid rest. While I appreciate the thoughtful details, I would recommend not using the lid rest. If I hadn't been holding onto the lid, it would have crashed down on my counter and likely shattered. The metal bar meant to hold the lid at an angle moves out of position under the weight of the clay lid. My husband looked at it and said the locking clip needs to be extended further to prevent the bar from slipping down. Perhaps one could jerry rig it to not crash down, but that was an added bonus for me and not one of the reasons I went with this clay pot cooker. It doesn't bother me to have to set down my lid on another surface as needed.