It’s not only the quality of the food that affects a recipe but also the utensils used to make it. So we asked some of our favorite chefs what their most trusty kitchen tool is for cooking at home.
Wolfdale’s Cuisine Unique’s Douglas Dale has a favorite home kitchen tool, but it’s not available to consumers — yet. The Oil-on, which Dale invented, is a brush applicator that cleans dirt off grills and lays down a new coat of oil. He patented it six years ago and is now working with a San Francisco company to bring it to a store near you. While you’re waiting for the Oil-on to hit the market, you can buy another utensil that Dale swears by — his Shun Knife.
“It’s one of those utilitarian Japanese knives,” Dale said. “We use it for fish, veggies, meat, you name it. It’s always on our cutting board.”
Adds Dale: “You need a good cutting board, then you’re in business.”
Dale also can’t live without his metal spatula.
“It’s metal with a wooden handle; it feels good in your hands,” he said. “If you don’t know where it is, you feel lost.”
Most home cooks will be pleased to discover what Charlie Soule depends on in his home kitchen. The chef and owner of upscale Crystal Bay restaurant Soule Domain says his go-to items are two things every cook already has — a toaster oven and barbecue. Soule uses his toaster oven every morning to make his breakfast of grilled cheese, adding extras like sundried tomatoes, baby turnips, thinly sliced squash, and basil aioli.
“You can just put it in there and in 10 minutes it’s ready, so you are not standing there watching the grilled cheese,” he said.
But in the summer, it’s all about the barbecue for Soule. His backyard essentials include tongs, spatula, grill brush, basting brush, and trusty matches. He likes to grill up Alaskan cod marinated in soy sauce with spring veggies.
“On my nights off this time of year, I try to cook almost everything on the barbecue,” he said.
John Weatherson, owner of Trokay Café in Truckee, doesn’t do much cooking at home, but he says some of his most-loved kitchen tools from the restaurant are available to home chefs. One is his thermal immersion circulator, available at Williams-Sonoma, which circulates and heats water that is kept at an accurate and stable temperature.
“It’s basically a Jacuzzi,” said Weatherson, who use it to make fish and vegetables.
Like Dale, Weatherson also relies on a good Japanese knife, in his case Korin knives. Additionally, Weatherson says a good set of pans makes a huge difference. He uses All-Clad pans, preferably copper for providing even heat.
“My set of copper pans are my favorite home utensil,” he said. “Half of my collection is at the restaurant.”
The Shun Knife wins again. River Ranch Executive Chef Julia Walter says her 10-inch knife “is the most important chef tool that there is.” When at home, she also turns to her Microplane handheld grater for grating carrots, cheese, and hard-boiled eggs. Another of her favorite home kitchen gadgets is her heavy-duty Vitamix blender.
“I use it for all sorts of vinaigrettes, sauces, and smoothies in the morning,” Walter said. “I use that more than anything.”
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