A Chef's Toolkit

For any professional or home chef their knife roll and accompanied tools allow them to idealize their creation into reality and on to the plate. But what are these tools? And how important are they really to making great food?

Among chefs there is a collective agreement of the basic necessary items that are vital to cooking, many of which you can probably guess like a large sinister looking chefs knife, maybe a few smaller ones for various purposes, a peeler, spatula, tongs ect.

​But while each chef may have these same few items there are also a vast array of different tools that have a unique purpose that can help to optimize the abilities of the chef to make interesting, fun and delicious food. So let's explore some of these tools, their purpose and which ones may be an essential add-on to your culinary arsenal.
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• The Chef’s Knife: This is a well known one, for any chef this is generally the backbone of their tool kit and the first item that should be on any chef shopping list. The chef's knife is the most often used and the most versatile of all the tools in your kit. The chef's knife will allow you to do most food preparations and for this reason it is good to invest in a quality knife that is comfortable to weild and with an edge that can hold up well on any tasks. These knives should be anywhere from around 8-10 inches in blade length and have a bolster that drops about an inch below the handle. Allowing you to grip the handle all the way around and chop down without your knuckles touching the cutting board.

 

• A boning knife: This appropriately named knife is used for exactly that, cutting around bones. When Chef’s are working with a variety of different animals that all have unique bone structures it is important to have a knife that can work quickly and in small spaces. Cutting around joints, tendons and bone can be tricky and requires finesse, in order to get nice clean cuts of meat to cook with, The slim boning knife with its tapered and slightly curved tip allows cooks to work much more efficiently when de- boning animals compared to the large chef’s knife.

 

• A paring or petty knife: while small in stature can yield big results. These small knives, roughly 3-6 inches in length. Can help to accomplish small detailed cuts or preparations that require finesse over chopping power. This knife can help to turn vegetables and ganish into works or art and take your presentation skills to the next level by allowing you to make smaller, more controlled cuts and even peeling.

 

• A Microplane grater: A must have for every chef and this tool can be used for much more than simply getting the zest of a lemon or lime. It gives you the ability the shave or mince all types of flavoring components that give your food some extra impact. Rather than dicing ginger and garlic for that weeknight stir fry, try using your microplane to get really fine shavings. It helps to release more flavor and allow the ingredients to break down faster in the pan or in a dressing. 

 

• Plating and saucing spoons: If you think these are just regular kitchen spoons, think again. Take a quick look on any cooking tool website and you will find an array of different shaped and funneld and slotted spoons that will help you to control that sauce work and make your plate stand out just like you see in fine dining cookbooks and tv shows.

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• Hand held Mandoline: Remember safety first with this one, but once you get comfortable using this tool it can be a real beast to have in your tool kit. The ability to make uniform large slices can be so useful trying to attain that perfect homemade vegetable chip, delicate radish slices to top your plate or quickly prepare your ingredients for a weeknight casserole. A mandoline can help to cut your prep time in half and alleviate monotonous persians slicing can sometimes be a burden.

While these are just a few of the basics, they can serve to get you through many cooking tasks and help you to elevate your food by using proper preparation and presentation techniques. It’s important to note that for any caliber of chef it is of the utmost importance to keep good care of all of your tools, a dull knife is potentially much more harmful than a sharp one.

Being equipped with the right tools not only allows you to create more amazing foods, it also ensures that you are working safely and having an enjoyable experience cooking.

Have a chef come a show you how to use these tools!