you dont need that many for at least julia child’s Beef Bourguignon recipe. 1 dutch oven/big pot for the stew, (1 saucepan/small-ish pot for parboiling bacon but you can use the main pot so optional) and 1 skillet for the onions and mushrooms(2 if you want to make both at same time but you got enough time anyway while the stew is stewing