The Fish Spatula – Your Secret Weapon for Perfect Flips
While most home cooks stick with their trusty plastic spatulas, professional chefs know there’s a better way. My fish spatula is just so versatile that I rarely use any other kind of spatula. These thin, flexible stainless steel tools with slots aren’t just for fish – they’re game-changers for eggs, burgers, vegetables, and anything that needs a delicate touch.
This is the standard issue, quality fish spatula you’ll find in kits given to culinary graduates, since they’re relatively cheap, and will last a lifetime. Flexible, dexterous, and perfect for gingerly lifting a thin filet of fish from a pan, chicken breasts, vegetables – you name it – onto a plate. Once you have one, like professional kitchen tongs, it’ll become an extension of your hand. The beveled edge slides under food effortlessly without breaking delicate crusts or tearing soft items.
While this handy tool is advertised as a fish turner, it can be used for anything. The wider base of this tool makes it easy to flip burgers, fish, over-easy eggs, and even pancakes. The thin, beveled edge makes it easy to slide beneath the foods you are flipping, and the slots allow any grease to drain.
The Bench Scraper – More Than Just a Dough Cutter
Here’s something that will blow your mind about professional kitchens – they clean as they go, and there’s one tool that makes this possible. But the secret magic of this tool is that it helps you clean as you go and keep your prep space tidy. Whisk peels, scraps and spills straight into the sink, compost, or trash. We keep ours by our side, every day.
Sous chefs and line cooks get it. Mincing garlic? Scoop up every bit. Chopping veggies? Transfer the whole pile to your skillet without dropping anything on the floor or dulling the edge of your knife. And yes, you can use it to cut dough. This rectangular stainless steel tool with a handle transforms how efficiently you work in the kitchen.
A bench scraper is one of the most versatile kitchen tools. It’s excellent for dividing dough, transferring chopped ingredients, or keeping your work surface clean and organized. Think of it as your kitchen’s best friend that nobody talks about.
Digital Kitchen Scale – Precision That Changes Everything
Ask any pastry chef what their most important tool is, and they’ll point to their scale. But here’s what home cooks don’t realize – A digital scale is a necessity for pastry chefs, but they also come in handy for chefs of all disciplines. The weight of your ingredients makes a big difference in the outcome of your creations, and volumetric measurements can’t always be relied on. Though often used by pastry chefs to measure flour, water and sugar, digital scales can add more accuracy (and better flavor) to things like a simple cup of coffee or a pot of pasta. Use it to measure meats before you begin cooking, especially if you’re pre-portioning your ingredients to make items like sliders.
A kitchen scale saves you so much time messing with measuring cups and cleaning up. If everything ends up in one bowl or pot, you can just dump it all in a bowl and both get the perfect amount and don’t have to use a bunch of other cups and spoons. It’s about consistency and precision – two things that separate professional results from amateur cooking.
Your grandmother might have cooked by feel, but today’s professional kitchens run on precise measurements. A good digital scale costs less than dinner for two at a decent restaurant, yet it’ll improve every dish you make.
Immersion Blender – The Tool That Lives in Your Pot
While home cooks struggle with transferring hot soup to bulky blenders, chefs laugh and reach for their immersion blenders. An immersion blender (also known as a stick blender) is used to blend or puree food in the container its is being prepared in. We use our immersion blender all the time. From blending soups and sauces directly in the pot, to whipping up homemade whipped cream for dessert, to easily making mayonnaise for hard boiled eggs, our recommended pick is a versatile two-speed blender from Cuisinart that’s a cinch to use (and is even easier to clean). Plus, it’s very reasonably priced.
You might wonder how often you would use an immersion blender? But once you buy it, you realize how handy this blender is. You can puree anything right in the pot instead of dumping everything in the blender. It’s also great for smoothies, sauces, and even for salsa making. Also, it takes up little space in the kitchen and is easy to clean.
An immersion blender is highly versatile, allowing you to blend anything that’s already in a container. That means you can boil your squash or tomatoes, then blend them right in the pot for a hearty soup, or mix up some oil, vinegar and spices, then use the immersion blender to bring together a nice salad dressing. They’re also simpler to clean than a model that uses a carafe and motor base.
Kuhn Rikon Peeler – Swiss Engineering for Your Vegetables
Most people grab whatever peeler is cheapest at the grocery store, but chefs know better. Chefs and cooks spend a lot of time together debating everything from knives to the best brand of mayonnaise. One thing that is never up for debate is what we’re peeling our vegetables with. Okay, I once worked with a guy who favored the long-handled peeler that my grandma passed down to my mom, who attempted to hand it down to me. Sorry, Mom, the Kuhn Rikon is efficient, colorful and, best of all, can be had with a couple clicks on Amazon for a very reasonable price.
Kuhn Rikon changed the veg peeler game with their sturdy, pleasurable-to-hold, y-shaped peelers that are cheaper than buying your favorite line cook a shift beer and a shot of Jameson. They’re sharp enough that I use them to peel everything from winter squash to hard cheese. Even the most expensive straight vegetable peelers are clumsy and awkward in comparison, and you’ll marvel at how such a small tool can improve your utensil lineup.
This isn’t just marketing hype – the Y-shaped design actually reduces hand fatigue and gives you better control. I use my Kuhn Rikon peeler for anything and everything I peel or shave at home. I couldn’t easily live without it. It’s easy to see why Sherman loves his Y-peeler, also called a Swiss vegetable peeler, so much.
Kunz Spoon – The Legendary Kitchen Tool
Here’s something that’ll make you sound like a kitchen insider: mention the Kunz spoon to any professional chef and watch their eyes light up. Chefs have a spoon fetish, and if there’s a spoon you could draw from a stone and hold it into the sky while people cheer your name as you perfectly anoint something with sauce it’s the Kunz spoon. Named for the chef that designed it (Gray Kunz), and originally only given to professional chefs who worked in his kitchen, the Kunz spoon has a cult following among chefs. You don’t use a Kunz spoon, you wield it.
Named for the chef that designed it (Gray Kunz), and originally only given to professional chefs who worked in his kitchen, the Kunz spoon has a cult following among chefs. You don’t use a Kunz spoon, you wield it. This isn’t just chef snobbery – the unique shape and balance make it perfect for saucing plates with precision.
It’s not just one of the best utensils for cooking, either: legend has it Kunz spoons were tested so that two chefs, both holding a spoon by the bowl, could pick up a filled, 20 gallon (approximately, read as huge) stock pot, using just the spoon’s handles. There used to be a gold plated model, too. Knock-off brand Kunz-style spoons will bend and aren’t as good.
Professional-Grade Winco Tongs – Your Metal Extensions
Forget those rubber-handled tongs from the home goods store. You can judge a cook by their kitchen tongs. If someone’s tongs have rubber handles, grips and/or hands on them, I know it’s amateur hour, and I won’t be expecting anything special from dinner. That might sound harsh, but there’s a reason professional kitchens use specific equipment.
Winco is a no-frills, rugged, restaurant industry standard, and these metal arms of precision will become an extension of your body like a dextrous crab-claw-tong-hand you never knew you were missing that feels so right. They’re built to last through thousands of uses in commercial kitchens.
Tongs are like your extended hands and are super useful in the kitchen! Not only are they used to flip big pieces of food, but they also help move ingredients around in a frying pan or on a sheet pan without the risk of burns. The all-metal construction means they won’t melt, break, or lose their spring tension like cheaper alternatives.
Instant-Read Thermometer – Take the Guesswork Out
A must-have tool for anyone that cooks is a probe. It takes the guesswork out of cooking any protein. You will never overcook another steak or undercook chicken ever again. Food safety isn’t just about following recipes – it’s about knowing exactly what’s happening inside your food.
I never have to worry if the chicken breast I’m roasting is cooked through or if the pork sausages I’m grilling have come to a safe temperature. Aside from being an important tool for food safety, it’s also great for checking when cakes and breads have finished baking. Most breads are finished baking when they come to 190-200ºF, and most cakes are finished when they reach 200-205ºF. While it’s an important skill to know when your pastries are done by sight and smell alone, the instant-read thermometer is a sure way to know when your cakes are ready to come out.
There’s no need to second guess if red meat is cooked through thanks to the Thermapen. Not only is it ideal for achieving moist, tender meat (it works for chicken and turkey, too!), it’s also a safety precaution. Here’s more on why you need an instant-read thermometer.
Offset Spatula – The Pastry Chef’s Best Friend
You might think offset spatulas are just for cake decorating, but that’s missing the bigger picture. I first discovered the small offset spatula in culinary school when we entered the pastry portion of my program. However, I quickly realized that this tiny tool is incredibly useful in savory cooking as well. Once I started working at a restaurant at the end of school, I immediately purchased one of my own; it’s been true love ever since.
It’s obviously great for frosting a cake or easing a pastry from its baking dish. However, I also love using my offset spatula for shmearing soft goat cheese on a crostini and flipping small ingredients, like tofu, in a frying pan. It’s flexible for sliding under delicate pastry dough, but sturdy enough to slice through chilled butter. I guarantee you’ll find uses for this tool in many different aspects of cooking.
The angled blade gives you leverage and precision that straight tools can’t match. It’s like having a tiny crowbar designed specifically for delicate kitchen work.
Microplane Grater – Zest and Texture Revolution
A microplane is a fine grater ideal for zesting citrus, shaving hard cheeses, or grating nutmeg and garlic – adding bright, finishing touches to any dish. What started as a woodworking tool has become indispensable in professional kitchens, and once you use one, you’ll understand why those cheese shakers in your drawer feel so inadequate.
The razor-sharp teeth create fluffy snow from hard parmesan, extract aromatic oils from citrus peels without the bitter pith, and can even handle chocolate, ginger, and whole spices. It’s the difference between flat, one-dimensional flavors and dishes that sing with bright, fresh notes.
The texture it creates is impossible to replicate with regular graters – instead of chunky pieces, you get fine, delicate shavings that melt on the tongue and distribute evenly throughout your dish.
Salad Spinner – Beyond Just Lettuce
A colander may be sufficient enough for drying lettuce, but a salad spinner is a whole lot more efficient. Salad dressings have a difficult time adhering to lettuce that is still wet and people have a difficult time with soggy tacos and sandwiches. A salad spinner is the answer to your problems because it will help you get rid of water in a matter of seconds and save on paper towels. You can also use this tool to dry fresh herbs. And you’ll have another colander if your primary colander is in use!
Professional kitchens don’t have time to pat lettuce dry with paper towels, and neither should you. The centrifugal force removes water more effectively than any other method, and properly dried greens stay fresh longer in the refrigerator.
But here’s the secret – it’s not just for salads. Use it to wash and dry berries, remove excess water from blanched vegetables, and even to dry herbs that you want to preserve. The inner basket becomes a colander when you need it, making this tool work double duty.
The Tools That Transform Your Cooking
These twelve tools represent the gap between cooking like a home cook and cooking like a professional. They’re not gadgets or gimmicks – they’re precision instruments that have proven themselves in the most demanding kitchens in the world. Every second counts in a high-pressure kitchen, and the right chef cooking utensils make all the difference. High-quality tools aren’t just convenient – they’re essential to maintain: When chefs are working the line or preparing multiple dishes simultaneously, ergonomic, sharp, and dependable tools help streamline tasks. A high-quality knife slices faster and cleaner. A heat-resistant spatula moves from sauté pan to plating without pause.
The beauty of these tools isn’t just in what they do – it’s in how they change your relationship with cooking. When you have the right equipment, cooking becomes more intuitive, more efficient, and ultimately more enjoyable. You stop fighting your tools and start working with them.
Everyone’s kitchen and cooking styles are different, but there’s one thing these chefs agree on: the best tools are the ones you use all the time, not the ones gathering dust at the back of a cupboard. These aren’t impulse purchases that’ll clutter your drawers – they’re investments in better cooking that will pay dividends for years to come. What surprised you most about these professional kitchen secrets?
