Maya Chen · 5 min read
Give a great cook a blunt knife and a buckled pan and dinner suffers. Give a nervous beginner sharp steel, heavy metal and a thermometer and dinner sings. Technique matters, but tools are technique you can buy — and five upgrades cover nearly everything.
One sharp chef's knife
Not a block, not a set — one 20cm chef's knife you keep honed and sharpened. Most “knife skill” problems are really dull-blade problems: slipping onions, crushed herbs, tired arms. Learn to hone before each session and the knife does the work.
One heavy pan
A thick-based skillet or shallow casserole holds heat when cold food lands in it, which is the entire secret of browning. Thin pans crater in temperature and steam everything grey. Buy the heaviest you can lift comfortably.
Tools are technique you can buy. Five good ones beat fifty mediocre ones.
The other three
A digital thermometer ends all arguments about doneness. A large chopping board gives you room to work safely. And a scale — not cups — makes baking repeatable. Together with the knife and pan, that is a kitchen that punches far above its price.
Maya Chen
Pastry chef at Fennel & Ember. Maya writes about baking science and the gear that earns its shelf.
