# One kitchen tool you can't live with out?



## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

Other than your chef's knife what is the one tool you just can't live without in the kitchen?

Mine would be the radio and the robo-coupe.


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## mattyb (Mar 10, 2007)

Hey there, 

Mine would have to be the speed peeler because they save so much time:smiles:


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

No fair, Nicko. You excluded the one absolutely indispensible tool.

I'd have to agree with Chad, though. Tongs play an increasing role in my kitchen, and I'd be lost without them.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

I thought the one indispensible tool would be the radio....


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## powers (Dec 7, 2006)

............waitresses.......i mean towels. ok towels and waitresses :talk:


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## cacook (Jan 18, 2006)

Yeah definitely towels. They're like gold.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

cutting board
though cuisinart came to mind.....
nope radio wasn't on the short list...
whisk, boning knife....
fun toys: microplanes, emersion blenders.....


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## the_seraphim (Dec 25, 2006)

microwave.... im sorry to say, and thats only because of the kitchen i work in... 

the chargrill is too hot so when i ask for a chicken breast its either burned or still raw in the middle so i nuke it...

of course if im doing the chicken for someone i like i use the frankie grill, now ive only been cooking for around 6 months proff but the old chef who has been cooking for 9 or more years proff, whos partner is the manager who has been cooking for 14 years proff... she likes my food better because she knows ill screw the company procedures and make nice food... (frankie grill is cheaper to run than a chargrill anyway)


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## ras1187 (Oct 3, 2006)

stainless steel mixing bowls

Extremely versatile


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## bigblue250 (Mar 27, 2005)

Beer; because I am no longer active in the profession, definatly beer:beer:


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## joebot (Mar 11, 2006)

Hmm... lets see yea, towels from above ! without those things can really come to a grinding halt lol!!
After that I guess the combi-oven and the buffalo chopper  


JB


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## egirl2214 (Apr 18, 2006)

I Could Not Live With Out Tongs!


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## jayme (Sep 5, 2006)

Meat thermometer (how did I ever cook meat without one?)

and scale (use quite a few international recipes- would be lost tryng to find conversions for each food) 
Towels are on the list too- I go through a lot of them!


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## ras1187 (Oct 3, 2006)

Would saute pans count?


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Plastic wrap!


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

it's those little things in life that leave you frustrated......lolol plastic wrap....hard to work without it.

Through the years I've demoed out on the street w/o water, electricity....you can make dishes without heat....cutting boards are pretty important....hmmmm bowls are pretty important if you're not using a skillet/pot.....fire extinguisher is not used often if ever but if you need it, you need it.


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## bluedogz (Oct 11, 2006)

Not a professional, but I couldn't live without my Oxo chopper:

Oxo Good Grips Chopper 1057959

and my cutting boards with spikes. Otherwise I look like a goon chasing onions around the kitchen after they make a bid for freedom.


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## ldzpapa (Mar 11, 2007)

I swear to god this isn't a plug, but I'm gonna have to go w/ my kuhn rikon peeler, even if it is just a cheap piece of plastic, I've had mine for 5 years, the blade rusted due to someone else's misuse twice, and it is still hands down the sharpest peeler I've used and it won't break like a ceramic.


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## powers (Dec 7, 2006)

I just thought of so many more.....caper peeler, steam shifter, bacon stretcher, sheet pan extender and my trusty double edged chef knife.


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## cacook (Jan 18, 2006)

Saute pans...aka ladles/spoons/roasting pans/lids/drums/tennis racquets/goosenecks.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

ok I followed along until goosenecks. ??????


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## ninja_59 (May 2, 2004)

The radio, music is esential for me


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## heber_1 (Apr 6, 2007)

for me it would be my KA Stand Mixer, it save me alot of time, i can mix whatever i want while doing other important things, and another very important thing in my life and in my kitchen SALT!!!!!!!!:lips: Sorry i think salt is not a tool


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## cacook (Jan 18, 2006)

Well...it's more appropriate to put sauces or dressings in goosenecks when you're doing a tasting, but a pan works just as well.


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## jackbutler (Jan 11, 2007)

After my knives the one tool I insist be present in any kitchen in which I work is a fire extinguisher. I've never needed it so far, but I've always required it.


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## chefdan09 (Oct 6, 2005)

fish spatula.

i dont know where you guys work, but i hate tongs.

and no place i worked allowed me to use them. it bruises meat and rips apart fragile objects.


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## crazytocook (Oct 27, 2006)

side towels.......couldnt live w/o them in my kitchen.


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## letevic (Apr 9, 2007)

depends on what i'm cooking.

but i guess i'd say my chopping board.


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## chefderrick (Apr 4, 2007)

cant go a day without tongs or radio i gotta know what events are happening in the city on the weekends lol


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## cacook (Jan 18, 2006)

So what do you use on the grill for filets or chicken?


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## fadeaway (Apr 11, 2007)

u forgot about the left handed saute pans.


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## bart (Apr 11, 2007)

I think now days with the amount of paperwork required it is probably a pen. We (chefs) are permanently fighting with the waiting staff over them. Very IMPORTANT


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## mead (Jan 24, 2007)

Refrigerated storage. Without it we wouldn't be able to serve but a fraction of what we do now.

Although for individual use, I'd have to go with the towel.


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## mikeyman2 (Apr 19, 2007)

A french knife and my fingures!:lol:


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## fisherman (Apr 27, 2007)

A sharp paring knife.


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## cheforion (Apr 27, 2007)

I think I would have a hard time running my kitchen without a computer these days. Working in a corporation...dam paperwork!


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## leopoldk (Apr 27, 2007)

Towels...hands down. Oh, and waitresses...yeah, I guess they could be hands down too...did I cross the line?


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## chefgrackle (Apr 30, 2007)

Wow.

I cannot believe no one has mentioned the million dollar tool.

Spatula.

Other than that, those ****ing towels. Its always a war with our wait staff over those.


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## lenny (Apr 30, 2007)

Greetings all! New here and seems like a fun forum

I'd say tongs and towels


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## brianthecook (May 2, 2007)

Besides the knife, the food of course. Just give me the knife and the food and I can make a pretty plate.


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## brianthecook (May 2, 2007)

Ah..... the things we dont have that we need the new guy to go fetch for us at the next place over.:smoking:


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## vapour (May 3, 2007)

a sharpie!! or jiffy, whatever youguys call it. i'malways labelling things and if i dont have my sharpie, its impossible to label things clearly.

yes towels are likegoldin any kitchen.. some ppl just hoard too much of it. i'd also have to add my small offset spatula. i keep it in my pocket all day,for tasting anything in a jiffy,or flipping anything when i cant find tongs.


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## chef_oz (Mar 7, 2006)

pen and paper!


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## lum0 (Jun 26, 2008)

Self cooking center from Rational. And if you know what it is you´ll know that I am right


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## chefbigdog (Jun 12, 2006)

Don't know if you want to call it a tool or not but I thank god everyday when the dishwashers walk through that door.


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## yorvo (Jun 11, 2008)

An old resurrected thread? I'm new I'll bite. For me the one HAND tool I use more frequently now days is a Teflon spatula. For me they are the only real improvement in cooking utensils I've seen in years. I can saute with them without leaving bits of rubber in the food and still scrape bowls and pans. I keep plenty handy when I cook. There's always one more serving in that pan. Scrape it.


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## cinnamon (Nov 3, 2007)

towels are important, but don¨t forget the apron.

love my spatula, love it like a baby, and i use it for anything, fish, meat...


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## damack (Feb 21, 2007)

tongs and towels with out both of these we would all be burned and we know half of us have burns on our hands now( including me ) anything to try and prevent from getting burned.


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## voodoo_sopa (May 26, 2008)

well to me besides my knife it wud be my marker pen...
coz anytime if we hav any catering heavy or not thats d only tools dat i really need to organize & get organized all my brigade...

its ok without d whiteboard coz i can alwez write it down on the bench or any working table.. :smoking:

i dun really mind bout d towels coz i hav my apron or i can alwez wiped my hand on my brigades towel..hehe


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## sweetjames (Dec 26, 2007)

my boss is kind of strict about radios.
he doesn't want them on durring hours of service, which i understand because they can be distracting to some, and can make it so your co-workers can't hear you calling out things. 
if we're prepping, or we're slow, then its usually ok at low volumes.
i'm a musician, and music is my first love (cooking a close second, but a much better career choice for me), so i'd give anything to be able to have one of those i-pod dockable boom boxes at my station, but that'll never happen. other wise i'd say that. 

as far as the tools go, i think we'd all be lost with out side towls and cutting boards, so those don't count. 

for me, its the glass rack that i put between my prep table, and my cutting board. it elevates my cutting board like 8 inches off the table.
i'm 6ft 3, so it makes it so my back doesn't have to suffer from hunching over to comfortably do my prep for the day.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

i can't cook without tongs and high heat rubber spatulas..life would definetly suck without a food processor, not to mention the lowly priestess, the colander


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Chef's knife, towel.

BDL


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## lollarossa (Feb 22, 2006)

Extern's.........and towels to snap them with.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

lol....
each response is reflective of the kitchens....those with lots of staff, those with good new functional equipment, those on shoestrings, fine dining, fast food...


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## chef_oz (Mar 7, 2006)

a spoon or a spork


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## quinn01 (Apr 22, 2006)

My french knife and my mise cups. :lol:

Id be such a mess with out my mise cups. Itd be more of a mess in place..........


HEY, I RESENT THAT!!!! (being an extern)


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## lollarossa (Feb 22, 2006)

:smoking:

I give them an opportunity to snap back. But then again I am a GOD when it comes to towel fights.


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## chef.esg.73 (Dec 10, 2007)

Rolling racks for me are the best invention and the rack bags, love them!!!!


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## juliet (May 9, 2008)

My votes go for:

towels - cleanliness
tongs - multipurpose
little mise en place bowls - to keep organized 
wine opener - because, well, you know.....


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## chef.esg.73 (Dec 10, 2007)

O ya,ROCK-n-ROLL MUSIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

A must have for me.


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## [email protected] (Mar 16, 2008)

My Wok...kitchen towels of course, my laptop and my husband...:lol: or else I will just have cereals if I do not have anyone to cook for.


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

for me it would be my handy dandy $2 shop rubber non skid mats for under my board, my tasting spoon, chopping board, my fingers, mise en place bowls, my towels, wiping down/spillage cloth,


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Good call!

BDL


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## lollarossa (Feb 22, 2006)

Why would you need a tasting spoon if you already have your fingers? I mean, that's 8 tastes without burdening the dishwashers with more to wash before you have to wash your hands.


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

because people forget to wash their hands inbetween putting something in their mouths and touching the food they are preparing for others, if you have a jug of boiling hot water that is changed regularly you can keep your tasting spoon sterile and clean and not putting extra bacteria in to the food. Its a strict rule at school about not using fingers and always using a tasting spoon .


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## lollarossa (Feb 22, 2006)

= sarcasm = joking around.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

In order to maintain sanitary conditions, I touch my elbow into the sauce and taste off of it. Afterwards, I lick my elbow completely clean before using it to clean my ears. Of course, I spray my tongue with bleach first.

BDL


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

ohhh ok i thought it was a strange comment coming from a chef:crazy:

so doesnt the bleach leave white spots on your tongue:crazy:


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## bbay (Nov 22, 2007)

ha! you guys are funny 

People keep saying radio/music. I keep finding myself turning the music down when I walk into the kitchen. 
Then it finally dawned on me: _OMG! I am *that* guy! _
Guess I got old... ?

Anyhow, besides the obligatory tools, I need a food mill. 
You can keep your Robot Coupe and your immersion blender, just give me a food mill, please.


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## fishstix (Jul 20, 2008)

Saran wrap haha. It's amazing how much sushi chefs use saran wrap.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Great call!

BDL


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## coosie (Feb 22, 2008)

My silicone spoonula. Oh, and towels. Mandolin. Cutting boards. Ok, that's it. Oh, and my scale. That's really it. No it isn't -- garlic press and micro plane. Ok. I need it all. I admit it, I'm a kitchen gadget junkie. My two K.A. mixers are proof.


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