As an Amazon Associate, Modded gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
What’s better than cooking your own tasty food at home? From soups to sandwiches, an aspiring chef needs tools in their drawers, cabinets and countertops to make the magic happen. Getting professional chef supplies will increase your confidence when hosting dinner parties and making complicated meals. Here are the top 12 chef essentials you need in the kitchen.
1. Victorinox Swiss Classic Chef’s Knife
Making meals in the kitchen starts with prep work, and cutting meat and vegetables can be time-consuming. How can you make the first stage easier? Get a sharp knife that will cut right through anything in your kitchen.
The Victorinox Swiss Classic Chef’s Knife is ultrasharp with an easy-to-hold ergonomic handle. Slicing through meat becomes much easier with the blade, as it’s excellent for carving most cuts.
2. Kitchexcellence 3-Stage Knife Sharpener
Even the best knives will wear over time with dull blades, so a sharpener is one of the essential chef tools in any kitchen. This three-stage knife sharpener from Kitchexcellence provides comprehensive maintenance to your blades by repairing, sharpening and polishing them. Some aspiring chefs may worry about slicing their hands, so the kit includes a non-slip base and glove for protection.
3. KitchenAid All-Purpose Kitchen Shears
Sometimes, you don’t need a super-sharp knife to get the job done. If you’re cutting soft fruits and vegetables, you’ll get away with a nice pair of kitchen scissors. These KitchenAid All-Purpose Kitchen Shears are excellent gifts because of their versatility. You can break up large pieces of meat, slice pizza and cut through food packaging for an easier cooking experience.
4. Mueller 4 Blade Onion Chopper
While chopping food is a manageable task, slicing onions is a different story. These vegetables irritate your eyes and nose, causing you to shed tears to wash the chemicals away. Imagine inviting your partner over for a cooking session — the last thing you want to do is make them cry in your kitchen! How can you make cutting onions easier?
Mueller’s 4-Blade Onion Chopper easily cuts your veggies with one swift motion. The chopper sends the minced pieces into the container, thus preventing smells from irritating you and your guests.
5. Cutting Board Set
Another chef kit item that makes you feel professional is a cutting board set. Cutting boards are crucial to your long-term success in the kitchen, so get a reliable set for your cooking needs. They’ll help you avoid cross-contamination between meats and other foods.
This cutting board set from OXO is durable, with non-porous surfaces and different sides for your meat and veggies. Additionally, the non-slip feature keeps the board steady as you slice and dice.
6. Lodge 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
It’s the weekend and you want to start it right. You assemble your ingredients for a high-protein breakfast burrito, yet wonder how to make it taste even better. Your first step should be to get a cast-iron skillet.
These are famous chef essentials because they retain flavor and are more heavy-duty than your average pan. The Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet is versatile and seasoned with vegetable oil. You can stick it in an oven up to 500° Fahrenheit and easily remove it with the silicone handle holder.
7. Thermapen ONE
Some cooks worry about the temperature of their meat, whether in the oven or on the stovetop. The Department of Agriculture says cooked poultry should have an internal temperature of 165°F, but how can you tell just by looking at it?
Meat thermometers like the Thermapen ONE save the day with rapid temperature readings. This device only takes a second to tell you the temperature, making it one of the best aspiring chef gifts. Taking the guesswork out of cooking means you’ll feel safer about your food.
8. Escali Primo Digital Food Scale
Cooking meat and vegetables provides leeway regarding weight and other measurements, but baking requires more precision. How can a beginner chef stay on the money with their cakes and cookies? A digital scale provides the clarity they need.
The Escali Primo Digital Food Scale is an efficient device that provides almost immediate feedback when you place food on it. You can avoid messes by placing a container on the scale and subtracting its weight, thus increasing accuracy.
9. MasterChef Stick Blender Whisk
Sauces are fun to make and taste when experimenting with new flavors. Keep your ingredients in the pot without moving them to a blender or mixer by getting the MasterChef Stick Blender Whisk.
This immersion blender has a 400W motor that turns your ingredients into a silky-smooth mixture. Use the whisk attachment for frothy milk or making fluffy batters.
10. Rubbermaid Food Storage Container Set
Do you have ingredients you buy in bulk and use often? Keeping these products fresh can be challenging due to their packaging, so you need storage containers. This Rubbermaid Food Storage Container Set is an excellent chef kit item for flour, pasta, dry beans and other foods you want to keep for a long time. The tight seals ensure freshness and avoid spills, and you get excellent visibility with the clear bases.
11. Cuisipro 4-Sided Box Grater
Some say hand-shredded cheese tastes better because the packaged version contains cellulose, thus it doesn’t melt quickly. However, shredding your cheese can be laborious if you don’t have a solid quick-cutting device. The Cuisipro Grater quickly shreds cheese, apples, potatoes and other foods you find difficult to slice through. Use it for lettuce or cabbage when making salads, or coconut and butter when baking.
12. Farberware Meat and Potato Masher
Mashers have long been chef essentials when making mashed potatoes, but they’re more versatile than you think. This Farberware Meat and Potato Masher is excellent for ground meat, yams, bananas and carrots you need to break up quickly. The five blades make chopping easier than a spatula and the heat resistance withstands up to 450° F.
Aspiring Chef Gifts for the Next Gordon Ramsay
Cooking is an art and the kitchen is your canvas. How can you make the next Picasso-level painting on your stovetop? You need the right chef tools for tasty concoctions. Use these 12 essentials to level up your cooking and wow your friends.
Stay up to date with the latest by subscribing to Modded Minute.
Author
Jack Shaw is a senior writer at Modded. Jack is an avid enthusiast for keeping up with personal health and enjoying nature. He has over five years of experience writing in the men's lifestyle niche, and has written extensively on topics of fitness, exploring the outdoors and men's interests. His writings have been featured in SportsEd TV, Love Inc., and Offroad Xtreme among many more publications.
