The Best Cooking Equipment for Serious Home Chefs
How to live out your full chef fantasy of being a Michelin star home cook with 23+ of the top fancy cookware and kitchen equipment essentials.
So you consider yourself a top tier home chef? Your kitchen has a michelin star (in your eyes) and all your friends rave about your food. Maybe you’re an avid michelin star hunter or restaurant goer. Well, if that’s the case then your kitchen needs to be fully stocked with the correct equipment. Making the simplest of dishes exquisite comes with craft, passion and of course - the correct tools for the job.
It may be niche, but here is the list of equipment that if you’re the fancy home chef I know you are, you will want in your kitchen. This here, this is your kitchen wishlist.
Chefs Tweezers
Not only will these be incredibly helpful in plating your dishes like a pro, tweaking garnishes and making your plate look like an absolute work of art, but they are also incredibly fun.
Now, I get it, most people don’t see the fun aspect of a pair of tweezers used to add a tiny garnishes in just the right spot of a dish you’re cooking at home. But you’re not most people, I know that just like myself, you do see the fun in that.
It’s difficult to feel like you’re a great home chef when you’re just that, a home chef. Professionals have the advantage of fancy restaurants and teams of staff, you’re trying to cook up a michelin star meal next to your Weetabix. You need all the motivation you can get to put you in that mind set, and these sure do just that.
Le Creuset Signature Enamelled Cast Iron Casserole Dish
Whether its ‘fancy chef’ you’re going for or you just want to cook some home comforts. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more useful than a cast iron casserole dish. Everybody should have one of these, I myself have one and have never turned back. I use mine for everything from casseroles (as the name suggest) to risottos. They’re just so useful.
Not to mention aesthetically pleasing. This is what you want to see sitting on your hob every time you walk into your kitchen. A work of art and a work of genius.
This one specifically that I’m recommending is the Le Creuset signature casserole dish. Now I know what you’re going to say “Why is it so expensive?” followed by “Is it worth it?” and the answer is that Le Creuset is the market leader. This casserole dish is the crème de la crème of cast iron cookware. They’re built to last a lifetime, something you will pass on to your children, that your children will pass on to there children. The reason its so expensive in short is that you only ever have to buy one. And as for if its worth it, the answer is an outstanding yes.
Blowtorch
If your kitchen doesn’t already have a blow torch then dude… what’s going on? You’re missing out. Think about all the creme brulee’s you could be making, the toasted nuts, marshmallows, charred desserts and foods.
From caramelising to charring there are a number of ways that a blow torch adds a professional finish to your food and if you really want to be the fancy chef you know you are, then you need that finishing touch. God knows they are cheap enough, this Sondiko one is the exact one I have which works perfectly.
A Good Hand Blender
A good hand blender is incredibly useful, ever made mash with one of these? Controversial? maybe, delicious? absolutely.
The thing about hand blenders is that you don’t really need the most expensive or powerful one on the market. However, you also don’t want the cheapest. I’d recommend anything 500w and above. That’ll drive enough power to mix, blend, puree or crush just about anything.
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
A stand mixer makes all the difference when baking. The time you save alone is worth the money. If this particular stand mixer looks familiar to you, its because this is the exact one they use on The Great British Bake Off.
So if you’re a baking aficionado or looking to be the next GBBO star baker, then this is the absolute must buy brand.
RELATED ARTICLE: What equipment do they use on the Great British Bake Off
Microplane grater
Another extremely useful but cheap kitchen essential for any serious home chef has to be a microplane grater. Imagine finishing of your mushroom tagliatelle with a delicate grating of parmesan cheese, or a little zest of lemon on your caramelised banana split. Chef’s kiss.
Professional Chefs Knife Set
What is arguably going to be the main tool for any serious chefs home kitchen is the knives. A good pair of knives is incredibly useful in the kitchen, not only that but if you’re a big fan of cooking, then these knives will get you excited, its like Christmas day every time you whip one out the wooden block.
I’m not condoning playing with knives, however its hard not to have a little play with these. You want high quality, professional knives. Ideally a knife for any situation, which is what you get with this Damascus professional 9 piece chefs knife set.
Vancasso Aqua Blue Dinner Set
You wouldn’t paint on an old tired canvas, nor would you serve £100 wine in a tea cup, so why would you serve your masterpiece worth of food on old tired looking cracked plates?
You want your food to look the part and a big part of that is actually the plate you serve it on. Don’t think just because you’re a home chef and not a professional that you cant treat yourself to meals served on amazing dinnerware.
There’s a few choices out there that really stand out to me personally, but on of my top recommendations has to be the Vancasso aqua blue ones. I mean look at them, they’re so uniquely irregular. They just look so gosh darn cool. Not to mention they are quite cheap. £64.99 might seem expensive for some dinnerware but this is a 11 piece set. That’s about a fiver per plate. If you get the £119 set which is this same as this but double the set, it brings down the price per one even more!
Vancasso do a few different styles of luxury looking stoneware dinner sets so check them out, I also like there starry set here.
Dinner Plate Set
The above set is beautiful, no doubt about it. However, maybe you don’t want a full set, maybe you just want a few plates for when you’re feeling extra fancy. For that, I recommend these Studio Blue hue plates. 4 luxury plates perfect for your michelin star home kitchen. What’s not to love?
Whetstone Knife Sharpening Stone
Okay, so lets assume you either bought the knife set I recommended above, or you already own a professional standard set of knives, perhaps the Zwilling set. Well, the next thing you want to do is protect your knives and keep them sharp. For that, you will need something like this here Whetstone knife sharping kit.
Not only will it be useful for keeping your knives as sharp as sharp can be, but you will also feel like Zorro whilst sharpening them. win win.
Digital Thermometer Probe
Back at it again with another cheap but extremely useful gadget. This one is none other than a digital thermometer probe, a must-have for anyone who takes cooking seriously.
It’s not just about having perfectly cooked food but it’s also about food safety, especially if you cook a lot of fish and meats.
When it comes to probes, a lot are terrible and a few are good. I say don’t spend anymore then £15 on one as they have one function and one function only. Don’t fall for expensive probes, just stick with a cheap one that gets the job done. Like this one.
Japanese Mandolin
I’m going to be honest with you, these things scare the living crap out of me. But with that being said, they sure are useful. imagine the ability to perfectly slice everything from vegetables to fruits with absolute precision? That’s what these do.
In the restaurants i’ve worked in, i’d often use these to slice pears paper thin, like, literally so thin you can see through them, then I’d dehydrate them for cool garnishes and I’m happy to report I’ve never lost a finger.
But like i said, these scare the crap out of me, so i’m always extra cautious using them, as should you be. Totally cool though.
5KG Kitchen Scales
A good pair of scales is always a good thing. But enough with those little cheap inaccurate ones. Scales don’t need to be expensive but they do need to be accurate. Grab these 5KG battery powdered scales and you will have all the accuracy and space needed to weigh out just about anything (granted its under 5kg, and if its over… what the hell are you cooking?)
Vacuum Sealer
Cooking high end meals at home is great but it sure can be time consuming. Don’t you wish you could keep that food for longer without it turning bad. Perhaps an easy way to prolong and preserve your foods? What if the same device could also be used for quick macerations and marinades? Perhaps sous vide or for extracting flavour?.. Oh wait, that does exist, its a vacuum sealer!
Sous Vide Precision Cooker
Assuming you got the above vacuum sealer, then this is a great option to get alongside it. Vacuum sealing is half way to sous vide, so you might as well go the full mile and buy a precision cooking sous vide machine to go alongside. This one has an app for quality control which is just so useful and gadgety.
If you’re unfamiliar with sous vides, let me explain. Commonly called a ‘water bath’, Sous Vides provide the heat and water circulation for cooking. The results of this precision cooking is something that is impossible to achieve by conventional cooking methods.
Dehydrator
Dehydrators come in handy for a number of tasty treats and garnishes. You can dry everything from fruit and herbs all the way to meats and dog treats.
RELATED ARTICLE: Guide to Dehydrators for Cocktails
Echo Dot Speaker
Okay okay, I know what you’re thinking “how in the world is a speaker going to help me cook?” but let me explain.
Cooking should be fun and if you’re in the kitchen cooking up ‘fancy food’ than you’re probably going to be in there for awhile, so you need some music.
Echo dots work perfectly because A) you speak to them meaning you don’t have to touch buttons with greasy fingers, and B) there incredibly popular for a reason. Out of all the restaurants i’ve worked in, they all have speakers in the kitchen. It’s a thing, trust me.
Pasta Maker
Fresh pasta is always best. Pasta is and should be a simple dish, so taking the extra care with getting the best of each ingredient just makes sense. As for the pasta, the best is the freshest, which ironically will also be the quickest to cook and cheapest, so not only does having a pasta maker give you the option for the freshest pasta possible, it will also save you money in the long run, not to mention making pasta is incredibly fun!
Mueller Austria Juicer
Let’s talk juicers, very useful for a number of things, the key being, well, juice. Just having a juicer in your kitchen encourages you to become more healthy, and think of all the niche fruits and vegetables you can juice.
PolyScience Smoking Gun
Nothing screams serious home chef quite like the PolyScience smoking gun. If you’ve not heard of these before well let me blow your mind, you simply add wood chips or even dried herbs in the top, light it up and use the tube to direct smoke. It’s like an indoor smoker for food.
These became really popular throughout trendy cocktail bars awhile back, if you remember the phase of smoked Negronis and old Fashioneds, this how they did it. Or when you go to a restaurant and they pull up a bell jar at your table to reveal a huge puff of smoke revealing the dish beneath, that’s all from one of these.
You have a few options with smoking guns but PolyScience is definitely the leader and chef favourite. A good idea to really impress is to put uncooked foods in a sealed bag, fill that bag with smoke then vacuum seal and sous vide. Doesn’t get more class then that.
Vitamix Explorian Blender
Blenders are great, now we’ve all heard of Ninja. They make amazing stuff, but if you’re a serious chef, then you need a serious blender. Some like this here Vitamix Explorian. This is a professional grade blender, meaning its incredibly powerful and will blend just about anything. But this isn’t just about packing power, it also; Emulsifies, heats, grinds and chops. But the power of it is really the stand out function. So, damn, powerful.
Lodge Cast Iron Skillet Pan
Cast iron is always a serious chefs favourite tool. Extremely versatile, you can use these to sear, fry, sauté, grill, roast, bake, braise and broil (both indoors or out). As for which to buy, Lodge is for sure one of the best. Especial from a value for money stand point.
Professional Cream Whipper
No serious home chef should be using whip cream from a squirty can, you should be making it from scratch with one of these bad boys. Just don’t forget to stock up on cream chargers.
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Hi, I’m Cameron, guv’nor of Smartblend and author of this article. I hope this helped you live out your serious home chef dreams. Find anything cool? I sure hope so. Why not check out other kitchen recommendations I have right here on Smartblend? A few of which are listed below.
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