No BS Essential Tools List (If You Have A Completely Empty Kitchen)

Intro

People get completely carried away with outfitting their kitchen. I have moved apartments 6 times in 11 years and below is my go-to list. This is based on years of experience as a chef (in a former life) but also the Pareto or 80/20 principle ie. 80% of dishes can be made with 20% of the equipment.

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2 Things To Remember:

1. Most easy dishes are either made on the stovetop in a pot or pan or roasted in the oven on a sheet pan.
2. Most kitchen devices are overpriced or made up by kitchen company's marketing departments to sell you something you don’t need.

Where Do I Shop?

I go to the nearest commercial restaurant supply store and buy Winco or Winware (a restaurant staple)  as it is cheap and the quality is good enough.

1. 10” or 12” inch pan
2. 1/2 baking sheet
3. 16 or 20 Qt. Heavy Bottom Stock Pot (Big enough to boil water, make soup and braise stuff) WITH LID
4. Medium Metal Mixing Bowl - Pro Tip: If it’s the same diameter as your frying pan you can actually use as a lid.
5. Box Cheese Grater
6. Yellow Handle Chefs Knife
7. Swiss Peeler
8. Whisk
9. Silicone Spatula
10. Wooden Spoon

Worth the investment:

Microplane Grater

Notes:

If you want to go ultra minimalist you can roast in the 12” inch skillet, use a fork for whisking tasks and use a silicone spatula for wooden spoon tasks. Honestly, you can cook most dishes with a pot, a pan and a knife and some resourcefulness.

-R