The best gift you can give a serious cook — which we’ll loosely define as anyone who talks (and probably brags) about cooking, religiously reads this website, or gets paid to cook food for others — is something you he will actually use. To ensure that our gifts meet this usefulness requirement, we asked the most serious cooks (professional chefs) to highlight the favorite and most useful kitchen equipment they have given and received. Here are their answers.
The kitchen equivalent of socks, underwear and toothbrushes. What these Christmas gifts lack in style, they more than make up for in utility and durability.
High temperature rubber spatulas
For Lauren DeStenoexecutive chef of New York City’s Altamarea Group, there’s no world in which his kitchen could have too many spatulas. When it comes to materials, his personal preference is “high temperature rubber or silicone.”
Spoons
chuck cruz-a classically trained chef who regularly posts some of the most enjoyable cooking videos on ICT Tac– wants his kitchen full of spoons. “Big, small, split and everything in between. To measure, dress and enjoy,” he says.
Electric scales
“I think there are a lot of things in the kitchen that you can always have more of, one of them being electric scales: they’re essential for accurate and consistent recipes,” says Doug Brixtonthe Michelin-starred chef who runs the New York restaurant The golden swan.
Specialty items that will enhance your everyday kitchen experience. These are things found in serious professional and home kitchens that have a specific purpose but considerable benefits.
Whetstones
“I gave whetstones to my cooks for Christmas for a year,” says Doug. “It’s a great gift because it’s something to use regularly when sharp knives are essential.”
Hand blender
For Doug, an immersion blender is the most memorable gift he has received from another cook. It’s easy to see why: these handheld tools are perfect for preparing soups, sauces and smoothies.
de Buyer Frying pan in carbon steel
“I gave my mother a de Buyer carbon steel frying pan for her birthday. It’s my favorite skillet,” says Chuck.
vacuum sealer
In a perfect world, Doug said he would have a restaurant-grade vacuum sealer in his kitchen. “This machine has many uses for bagging, storing produce and cooking,” he said. Unfortunately, these machines are expensive, as $4,000 expensive. However, you can incorporate the benefits of vacuum sealing into your kitchen with this affordable alternative from ZWILLING.
These pieces of equipment expand your home cooking capabilities. They’re generational gifts that will be treasured — and often used — for decades. Give one to a serious home cook or budding professional chef and he’ll thank you forever.
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
When asked what he would get a friend if he had an unlimited budget, Doug clearly answered in the lead. “A KitchenAid: these are great tools and can be used in so many different ways, including making pasta, bread dough, chopping meat and making sausages. »
pasta extruder
Re: Making pasta with a KitchenAid. Chuck’s dream gift is a pasta extruder, a pasta machine commonly found in high-end restaurants. Unfortunately, when purchased as a standalone device, these machines are quite expensive. The good news? You can turn your KitchenAid into an extruder with these more affordable accessories.
Am I a boss? Absolutely not. But for a few years, I was a pretty good line cook. If I had to buy a gift for one of my chef friends, these would be the tools at the top of my list.
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What are you buying your chef friend this year? Let us know in the comments below!
