What Best Chefs Would Like to Have in the Kitchen
There are certain kitchen appliances that you will need to have to fully-equip your pantry. Today we’re going to take a look at what kitchen appliances the best chefs deem as essential for a great culinary working environment.
Consistently eating out at restaurants, although enjoyable, can get pretty darn expensive after awhile. It pays, therefore, to learn the art of cooking great dishes at home. To cook excellent food, you’ll need to know what the best kitchen appliances are for the job. In this article, we’re going to take a look at what an international chef would recommend as bare essentials in his kitchen.
The master we spoke with is Godfrey Waddington, a head chef who’s been working at some of London’s top Michelin Star restaurants for over 20 years. Take it away, Godfrey…
Smart Kitchen Appliances: Knives
A good selection of knives is possibly one tool most often associated with top chefs. The thing is, though, you don’t need that full box of knives that many kitchen appliance stockists are trying to sell you. All you need is three good knives in your wood-block, and you can perform pretty much any task.
The three knives you need are; a serrated bread knife, a chef’s knife, and a parting knife. These three tools are useful enough to tackle any task you throw their way. Go somewhere that sells high end kitchen appliances and invest in some top-quality steel. If you buy right, these three knives can last you years upon years and become your best, most trusted, friends. As with so much else in life, you get what you pay for, and your return on investment with a set of good knives will be well worth it.
Best Kitchen Appliances: Saute Pan
Now, once cutting instruments are sorted, a saute pan should be the second purchase. It would be the opinion of many top chefs that one should buy the best saute pan your budget can afford. The reason being, the utility of an appliance like this is perfect. A saute pan is a versatile piece of kit and can be used for; stir fry dishes with various oils, including best mtc oil, cooking eggs, boiling, steaming, and more. There’s no need, therefore, to go out and buy a whole array of stainless steel kitchen appliances. A high-quality saute pan can become your go-to-tool for pretty much any dish.
Retro Kitchen Appliances: Rondeau Pan Or Dutch Oven
Rondeau pans are sometimes called “Dutch ovens.” It is undoubtedly one of the most retro kitchen appliances used in top restaurants. It’s recommended for this bare essential pantry we’re putting together too. The rondeau pan is the type of thing that wouldn’t look out of place on your grandma’s shelves. She would have used it for making the likes of soups and stews because rondeau pans can fill the gaps in utility that saute pans can’t deliver on.
Smart Kitchen Appliances: Blenders
So far, we’ve been looking at small kitchen appliances that are relatively timeless and have been used in culinary arts for decades. Now comes a vital question; should you invest in any modern technology for your list of essential kitchen appliances? The answer is ‘yes’ because living without a high-quality blender would be quite unimaginable for many of the world’s best chefs.
Of course, a knife can do a good-enough job on most occasions, but there are just some tasks that only a blender can do. For instance, with people living a fast-paced lifestyle, a penchant for healthy green smoothies is now a MUST for many. Therein, a blender has become one of those smart kitchen appliances that’s worth a bit more investment.
More Basic Kitchen Appliances: The Pieces You Don’t Think Of
There are always some tools that remain completely over-looked until you need them! We’ve all found ourselves in the following scenario. We’re happily cooking away, with all of our pans and pots bubbling nicely. The vegetables are washed and ready, and the meat is sizzling. Then disaster strikes because one’s rubber spatula has gone missing, or you’ve forgotten to buy a potato peeler. Perhaps a chopping board needs replacing, or there aren’t enough pot lids to go around. The lesson here is to stock the small items and have back-ups if need be.
Only you’ll know the exact essential items needed to equip your kitchen with. Still, it stands to reason that all functional pantries should have a skeleton selection of the basics. So this means, rubber spatulas, peelers, wooden spoons, chopping boards, drainers, whisks, and graters.
Why Buy High-End Kitchen Appliances?
Look, it’s so tempting to go out and purchase second-rate gear rather than invest in the best kitchen appliances. However, if you invest in the best your money can buy right now, chances are, you won’t need to replace these items for years. Subsequently, it will become very easy for you to build upon your collection. Before you know it, you’ll be purchasing luxury kitchen appliances, beyond just essentials. All of the best chefs have some kitchen appliances that they use regularly but also feel are somewhat luxury items. Only after you’ve amassed the basics, though, you can move on to such luxury kitchen appliances parts.
Exceptions To The Rules & What Foods You Like The Most
The items listed above are an essential guide. It ultimately “boils down to” what food YOU like to cook most. A huge fan of good stir fry or Asian dishes? Then a top-tier Wok is probably an essential tool you need for your kitchen. Love grilled cheese sandwiches? Then a George Foreman grill is no doubt going to be top of your list. You’re going to need to make the judgment call on some essentials for your home kitchen, of course. However, for the best chefs in the world, working in top Michelin Star kitchens and cooking great food, the list above is non-negotiable.
Have we missed something? What kitchen appliances do you consider essential to a working kitchen?
Author Bio: Catherine Wiley has been a head chef at some of London’s top Michelin Star restaurants for over 7 years. She resides in Kensington, West London, with her husband and two children and frequently writes to spread knowledge about his true love of cooking.
