Kitchens: Top chefs reveal their favourite gadgets and utensils
It’s a special knife that keeps Takashi Miyazaki’s food prep skills sharp. Picture: Prashant Wadhawan
During a January flurry of cupboard clearing, I came across a garlic crusher dating back to when I did a spate of writing reviews of kitchen gadgetry.
It’s all coming back to me now: The glut of juicers, blenders, vacuum cleaners, irons, vegetable peelers, tin openers and even fake Christmas trees at one point. The only ones I still use today are some random kitchen knives.
Among them a beauty by Japanese brand Global and another by German maker Wüsthof, which, according to a Google search, currently retail at a stiff €200 each.
It’s probably a bargain price for a pro chef, but high for an amateur cooking enthusiast, so I’m glad to have them and at the same time testify to just how efficient they are as all that is needed is an infrequent trip to the cobblers for sharpening to keep the blades like razors.
In fact, the Global knife can cut through tomato skin like ice cream, it’s that good.
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Inevitably, the whole episode prompted an assessment of all my kitchen utensils for genuine usefulness and indispensability, and the notion of asking the pros to tell me what kitchen gadgetry they just can’t be without.
It turned out to be a comforting exercise: Even though we live in the age of electronics and the craze for air fryers, manual items and traditional ones generally turned out to be the utensils of choice.
Rory O’Connell, cookbook author, co-founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School, and presenter of RTE’s , answers: “Oh, where to start,” when I ask for his favourite kitchen kit, which includes a chopping knife by Fingal Ferguson from Gubbeen Farm in Schull, a Victorinox bread knife, a small balloon whisk, and a wire basket used for skimming and straining called a spider.
But his standout choices range from vintage items to the more modern.
First up is a heavy stone pestle and mortar he bought at Mr Bells stall in Cork’s English Market.
“It sits on my work counter all of the time and is both beautiful to look at and to use,” Rory explains. “I use it all the time for grinding roasted spices, mashing nuts for savoury nut sauces, bashing together a quick pesto — wild garlic, of course, at the moment. There is something about grinding in a stone with a piece of stone that yields a very special and, in my opinion, very correct texture, regardless of whether the result is to be a dry powder, a coarse mash or a creamy purée."
Rory also cites something very modern but still manual. It’s a microplane which he describes as a “perfect piece of engineering that does exactly what is required, which is to yield certain ingredients such as ginger, horseradish, citrus skins, garlic to a very fine puree.
"However, I don’t use it to grate parmesan; for that, I use another essential piece of kit, the old-fashioned box grater. I bought it, actually them, yes, three of them, in Dean & DeLuca in New York about 20 years ago. The reason they still work perfectly is that I always return them to their plastic protective sheath which frankly is unlike me.”
But there’s also a touch of nostalgia in his choices and what he describes as “an emotional entanglement” with a rather aged-looking enamel colander that was gifted to him by his mother.
“She had used it for decades before passing it on to me,” he says. “It is entirely efficient and is wide and deep enough to make straining vegetables, or whatever ingredient, simple and straightforward with none of the ingredients falling out the sides and going rogue.”
Belfast-based Suzie Lee, winner of BBC’s , author of , and regular cook on , makes no bones about what she can’t do without.
“I love my KitchenAid,” she says emphatically. “I received it as a wedding present from my cousins and that was over 10 years ago. It costs approximately £500 now, about £100 dearer than a decade ago.”
But it seems to have been value for money as “it’s one well-used piece of equipment,” she says, “from baking cakes, making my bao bun dough, pizza bases, whipping meringues. The list is endless. It’s the workhorse in my kitchen and I would be devastated if it packed in. Fingers crossed I haven't jinxed myself.”
Restaurateur, author and teacher Neven Maguire likes some of his gadgets so much he’s made them into a range sold through Dunnes Stores.
“I have a hand grater for cheese and zesting lemon that I use every single day,” he tells. “And I think a potato ricer is fantastic for really smooth velvety mash. Just add a little Irish butter, or milk, or cream.”
It turns out he’s frequently asked what pots and pans and kitchen knives to buy, so to give us a steer if we’re starting out and looking to fit out the kitchen, he says: “We put a great deal of care into choosing the ones in my range. All are tri-ply Japanese steel and they get a very thorough testing in the restaurant and cookery school.”
Japanese chef Takashi Miyazaki, owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant Ichigo Ichie and celebrated Cork City takeaway Miyazaki, cites just one essential item.
“It’s my knife because it makes beautiful sushi and sashimi for my guests and it is the best quality, and I maintain it carefully to be able to use it for my whole life.”
Known as a Yanagiba Bouchou, the knife is made by the Aritsugu brand which was founded as a sword-making business in 1560, even providing swords to the Imperial Court of Japan, but evolved with the times to make kitchen knives and utensils.
“I ordered it about 15 years ago when I was working in Japan,” Takashi says, “just before I came to Ireland, and they customised it for me. It was about €1600.”
According to Catherine Fulvio, chef and owner of Ballyknocken Cookery School, it’s her Magimix food processor she can’t do without.
“I saw a demonstration of it in action at the BBC 'Good Food Show' absolutely years ago,” she says, “and I was tired of the less sturdy food processors breaking on me in my cookery school. It’s such a versatile piece of equipment. It can do slicing and dicing, grating, juice pressing, whisking, and even kneading.
“I use it, though, to make pastry, to make pesto and for my bread dough. It has three bowls - large, medium and small - so you can use it for small jobs such as making hummus and larger jobs such as even whisking egg white for meringues.
“What I love about it is its stability,” she adds. “It’s a very strong piece of kit and if there’s anything broken, generally, the parts can be replaced. I appreciate it’s an investment but it’s a workhorse in the kitchen. I got it in Harvey Norman and it’s priced currently at €449.”
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