Despite perhaps harbouring great recipe books, or knowing where to find the finest groceries and other produce, home cooks often fight an uphill battle when attempting restaurant-quality dishes at home. Look, it might be a lack of skill, but equipment always plays its part.
A bad workman might blame their tools, fine, but how long have you had that frying pan? Is that one good knife in need of a sharpen? And don’t look too closely at what’s lurking in the back of the cupboard.
We’ve called on some of London’s most interesting chefs to share their top tips for upgrading a home kitchen — or, in other words, what they really use when it comes down to it.
Anna Haugh, Myrtle; Nicholas Mosse plates
“As a kid, my mother made an apple tart at least once a week on a regular dinner plate. In general, ceramic plates are good to use in the oven and there are lots of different dinner plates on the market, but I would recommend looking for one with a dip — a plate that has a base with a side that rises up. Basically not a flat plate. You can eat your dinner off it but you can make an amazing apple tart in it.
“Buying good plates doesn't mean cheffie plates, but the plate you buy should make you feel the way you want to feel when you eat your food. But spending a bit of money on something nicely designed this plate can be used for tricolore salad of buffalo mozzarella, basil and tomato or a piled-high panzanella.”Nicholas Mosse Irish-made plates, from £15, nicholasmosse.com
Kush Bhasin, Sorted Food: Victorinox peeler
Bhasin cut his teeth at some of the UK’s top Michelin-starred establishments and it was at Raymond Blanc’s Oxfordshire restaurant Le Manoir that he learned the legend of this peeler. This is the very best peeler around and there was a time when every single cook in the 40-something team had one.
Reliable, comfortable, effective and, importantly, cheap, it was a staple of the brigade. Having one at home is easy as anything, and will make prep time a doddle.
Victorinox Rex peeler, £6.95, nisbets.co.uk
Michel Roux Jr: Cristel pans
Little-known outside of France, and used for years at the two-starred Le Gavroche, Cristel has both heritage and technology built into the brand. Some pans boast a triple-layered bottom, these feature a full five layers for the most even heat distribution, including up the side, providing the best possible sear from all angles, and better suitability across induction, gas or electric hobs. If they were good enough for the team at Le Gavroche, and hence good enough for Roux, then they must be the thing to have.
Cristel Castel pro pans, from £40, cristel.com
Chet Sharma, BiBi: Vogue dough scraper
“There are a few key essentials everyone in the BiBi kitchen needs: a small offset spatula; a set of plating tweezers for delicate garnishes; and sharp knives, of course. But the most unusual (yet useful) for me is a blue dough scraper.
“These scrapers, which cost around £1, are invaluable in a professional kitchen. Designed to shape bread and doughs, they’re also used to pick up items off the chopping board, scrape down messes from surfaces with a straight edge — more important in a kitchen than you'd think — and occasionally to fan the flames on the grill.”
Vogue dough scraper, from £1.18, nisbets.co.uk
Ben Lippet, @dinnerbyben: De Buyer mineral B black iron pan
“If you’ve got a heavy, black iron pan in your arsenal, you are one huge step closer to cooking perfectly crispy fish, getting a deeper sear on meat and vegetables and doing it all while feeling very much like a chef. Restaurant kitchens have stacks and stacks of them, all eagerly waiting to transform any ingredient from good to great. I bought one for home and it’s my go-to. They can move from the stove to the oven with ease, turning out steaks or chops in a heartbeat.
“They can also withstand the blistering heat of an at-home pizza oven, sliding in and out without breaking a sweat. No warping metal or melted handles here. The way they behave when cooking, while delightfully predictable, is always exciting. Take note: these pans need a bit of TLC. They require an initial ‘seasoning’ and really hit their stride after two to four uses, developing a natural, non-stick coating that even makes cooking eggs seamless. The longer you use them, the better they get. Buy one of these pans and it’ll be by your side forever.”
De Buyer cast iron pan, from £64, nisbets.co.uk
Jean Georges Vongerichten, abc kitchens: KitchenAid x Global scales
“For me, my most useful tool would have to be a set of gram scales. All my recipes are precisely calculated by weight and it is crucial for consistency that the ingredients are weighed properly, especially when it comes to things like spices or chillies.”
KitchenAid x Global weighing scales, £48, nisbets.co.uk
Ramiro Lafuente Martinez, Connaught Grill: Japanese knife co. honing steel
“Cooking with dull knives is dangerous and requires more force than necessary. To avoid damaging your ingredients — or, even worse, cause an accident — it’s important to keep kitchen knives sharp. A honing steel is the perfect tool to do this. Even if it feels like it belongs in a professional kitchen, amateurs will find that maintaining sharpened knives will cut through ingredients with little effort, making home-cooking all the more enjoyable. Butchers and fishmongers regularly use it too. Just as kitchen knives are vital to food prep, sharpening steel is essential to keeping them functional. I’d recommend buying one from the Japanese Knife Company where you can find some of the best quality sharpening steels around.”
Japanese knife company, £76, japaneseknifecompany.com
Law Kwok Meng (aka Chef Meng), INÉ: Kataba knives
“A knife for a chef is always a sentimental object. I go for ones which are crafted with meticulous detail and last a long time so they won’t wear out. There is a shop called Kataba which offers Japanese knives perfect for finely and delicately slicing fish which we serve at INÉ. Japanese kitchen knives are dramatically different from Western ones. The blades are generally much thinner, the grinds of the blade are asymmetrical, the edge angle is much more acute and the steel used in the knife is significantly harder. This design has evolved to match the delicate and precise cuisine for which they were intended.”
Kabata chefs knives, from £92, katabahamono.com
Sally Abe, the Pem: Kitchen Spoons and Spatula
“These spoons are everywhere in professional kitchens and are the best for plating and for saucing dishes. The depth of the spoon is deep enough to balance one portion of sauce perfectly inside and there’s a nice point to the spoon, which allows you to put the food precisely on the plate while being very good for stirring. I like the way the handle feels in your hand too: it’s specific but I don’t like a round handle — I prefer something that’s nice and flat.
“The spatula does everything the spoon can’t do. If you’re at home and you’ve got sliced meat or a piece of fish, this easily slides under to pick things up, and it’s good for spreading. It’s also versatile. In the kitchen, rather than a spatula, we call it a ‘gozunder’ because it goes under anything you might need to pick up.”
Olympia Kelso dessert spoons, £1.99, nisbets.co.uk
Ateco spatula, £12.99, amazon.co.uk
Alex Price, Crispin and Bistro Freddie: Zalto and Lehmann F. Sommier glassware
“For an elevated wine experience in both the restaurants and at home, Zalto Universal glasses are my go-to. Much sturdier than they appear, these elegant hand-blown glasses enhance the taste of any wine. At £50 each, they're a luxury worth investing in. Even for the clumsy, it was a relief to discover they were dishwasher safe!
“For a more budget-friendly option with comparable quality, consider Lehmann F.Sommier Psyché Universal Glasses. These are machine-made but still stand up to the delicacy of their mouth-blown counterparts.”
Lehmann F. Sommier glasses, £99, boroughkitchen.com
