Chefs Utensils Buying Guide
Apart from kitchen knives, cutlery, saucepans and serve-ware there are many other implements required for the chef’s kitchen in order to prepare, cook and serve food to customers. Within the Alliance pages you will find all the utensils you need, from serving utensils to scales, chopping boards to plate warmers to make sure your dishes are perfectly prepared and professionally presented. All of the products are high quality from reputable manufacturers, premium products will last for many years so it’s worth investing to make sure you have long-lasting, well-made equipment.
Work Out What You Need!
As there are so many items to choose from it’s best to think about what you need, consider how many meals per day are cooked and when your restaurant/pub/bar is busiest. You will probably want a few of each item to make sure there is no delay waiting for a utensil. Having the right equipment in your chef’s kitchen will make sure that your chef can do the job without delay. Utensils are just as important as the recipe – you need the right ingredients and the right utensils to make it work.
Think About Materials!
- Wood is great for industrial kitchens; works well for food preparation (chopping etc.) and is excellent for meat, rice, fish etc.
- Stainless steel is extremely popular because it is durable and long-lasting. It also conducts heat well and will last a lifetime.
- Plastic is lightweight and easy to use but not suitable for high temperatures. Use plastic for food serving rather than preparation.
Work Out What The Essentials Are!
Think about your menu, your day to day cooking requirements and what your staple products need to be. Here’s a list of what you might need, make sure you have a few of each so no one is waiting to use something; this causes delays in food prep and can result in poor service.
- Measuring Spoons/Measuring Scoops (for measuring small quantities), mark them up for convenience.
- Measuring Jugs (for measuring wet and dry ingredients) have a variety of options.
- Chopping boards (essential for food preparation) have a number of sizes and options available. Wood is very good as it does not blunt knives. You can care for wooden chopping boards by gently oiling with food-safe oil.
- Mixing Bowls in various sizes. For general mixing and baking choose large sizes, medium sizes are excellent for mixing dry ingredients or beating eggs. Stainless steel, ceramic, Pyrex, Polypropylene and stoneware are all suitable materials.
- Wooden Spoons are sturdy and long-lasting as well as being extremely useful in any kitchen.
- Spatulas and Spoons ideal for cooking, stirring, spreading etc.
- Peelers essential for preparing fruit and vegetables and will be used by most kitchen staff so have a few available.
- Colanders, Strainers and Skimmers which are used regularly to wash fruit and vegetables, rinse food, strain pasta, rice etc. Vital to any kitchen!
- Lemon Ties and Butter Muslins to wrap butter and lemons.
- Ramekins and Small Bowls which as well as being used for serving certain dishes, are ideal for dividing ingredients so everything is in place for a recipe.
- Graters, in various sizes for grating cheese, vegetables, nuts, fruit and zest.
- Peelers for potatoes, tomatoes, vegetables etc.
- Meat/Steak Hammer to tenderise meat.
- Garlic Press to crush garlic.
- Salad Spinner/Dryer dries washed salad leaves quickly.
- Butcher’s Twine used to tie meat.
- Cutlet Frills to dress lamb/pork.
- Chicken Frills to dress poultry.
- Metal Skewers for meat.
- Meat Hook to hang meat.
- Grapefruit Knife to cut grapefruit segments easily.
- Double Blade Hachoir to finely chop vegetables/herbs.
- Potato Masher to mash potatoes and other vegetables.
- Egg Slicer to slice whole boiled eggs.
- Lemon Zester to grate the zest of citrus fruit.
- Mandolin Slicer for slicing vegetables evenly.
- Tellier Moulin for pureeing and pulverising vegetables.
- Can Opener to quickly and easily open cans!
- Thermometers to check food temperature, essential for meat, poultry and fish. Also purchase thermometers for ovens, frying oil, milk, sugar/jam, fridge/freezer.
- Serving Utensils to stir, strain, scoop and lift food when cooking. Look for perforated spoons, gourmet spoons, buffet serving spoons, slotted spoons, salad spoons, soup ladles, gravy ladles, pea ladles, tongs (burger, meat, steak, cake, spaghetti, serving, sugar) carvery forks, salad forks, cake server, pizza/pie servers, flan servers, egg/fish slices, cake turners, hamburger turners, pizza cutters, pastry brushes.
- Scissors…self-explanatory!
- Sheers for poultry.
- Salt/Pepper/Spice Mills for adding condiments to food.
- Scales to measure ingredients.
- Whisks to beat eggs and other ingredients while keeping the air in the mixture.
- Pyrex Cookware – a reputable favourite in kitchens, Pyrex is sturdy, strong and long-lasting but it will break if dropped! It conducts heat well, can be used in the oven, fridge and freezer and comes in a number of different products from measuring jugs to bowls, casseroles to flan dishes.
- Pate Moulds & Mousse Rings important if you prepare lots of pates, mousses and fools.
- Ice Cream Utensils for scooping out ice cream.
- Funnels ideal for pouring into mixtures or decanting.
- Plate Rings, Covers and Warmers essential to keep dishes warm before serving.
- Check Grabbers to make it easy for server and chef to know what’s required per table.
- Fryer Oil Filters to hygienically change the oil in deep fat fryers.
- Markers, Skewers and Flags to identify different cooking temperatures, different food and dish types.
For further information on chef’s utensils visit the section in the Wholesale Chef’s Kitchen Utensils pages or contact the Alliance customer care team.