The ingredients in your dishes are only half the story – the tools you use to create a culinary masterpiece can also make or break a good recipe!
Having the right tools to prepare and cook your food can make all the difference to how fast you can cook and to the flavour, all whilst making your job as easy as possible.
Here are our top picks of the 5 essential tools you need in your kitchen, and that you should never cook without.
A Good Non-Stick Pan
Every chef should own, or at least try, a great non-stick pan. This is something to really invest in for quality.
Non-stick pans require less oil to cook your food and stop it sticking, so it can aid in creating a healthier menu. These pans also distribute heat uniformly, resulting in an even and faster cook that will save you fuel.
These pans are also easier to wash and dry than stainless steel as they don’t absorb a lot of oil or waste, making them ideal for a fast-paced commercial kitchen.
Quality Chef’s Knife
Slice, dice, chop, whatever you need, a good quality chef’s knife will be able to get the job done. Again a worthy investment, a good chef’s knife should retain its sharpness for a long time. Even if not, once sharpened, the all-purpose eight inch chef’s knife will soon become a staple you use to cool every recipe.
Whilst many people flog expensive sets, you only really need this knife to do almost any job, although you may find it handy to also invest in a carving knife and bread knife, the cook’s knife is undoubtedly the most crucial in a commercial and home kitchen.
Tongs
A good pair of tongs can soon become very useful in a kitchen. You can use them to flip almost any ingredient, pick up hot dishes, or even stir a sauce when you have no spoon to hand.
A good stainless steel pair should serve you well, boasting sturdiness and reliability.
Measuring Set
How else are you supposed to weight out the correct amount of ingredients in your recipe? A good measuring set (be they spoons, a cup, jug, scales, or all of the above) are absolutely crucial when it comes to commercial kitchens.
Adding too much or too little of a spice can over or underwhelm the flavour, or adding too much flour to a sauce can affect the consistency and result in a sticky mess.
Having a good measuring set means you can portion all of your ingredients out incredibly accurately, and make sure your recipes are the perfect balance of flavours!
Spatula
Whether it’s to flip your eggs or prise a fish fillet from a baking tray, a good spatula can come in incredibly handy.
Although many people have a variety of spatulas, some delicate enough for fish, some for scraping and some sturdy enough for turning in a frying pan, you’re likely to be able to find a happy medium that will do all of this work for you.
Now you’re well-armed with a vast range of utensils, take a look at our job vacancies to put your kitchen skills to the test!
