37 replies to this topic

[Fat Guy]

The favorite cutlery thread got me thinking about what's in a professional chef's toolkit. Chefs use the term toolkit to refer to their personal knives and gadgets, as opposed to the things the restaurant owns and lets the staff use. I believe Malawry listed the contents of the toolkit that the cooking school required each student to have, so maybe she'll post a photo here.

As a home cook, I don't have a toolkit per se because I don't travel to cook. My stuff is in drawers, cabinets, and elsewhere scattered around the house. It occurs to me, though, that if I were to assemble everything in my inventory I'd learn that I have too many non-essential items while I actually lack a few essential ones.

Anyway, here's a photo of a real professional chef's toolkit, taken at my house one day when he came over to cook dinner:



Obviously, this guy is not a pastry chef.

What's in your toolkit, be it a real toolkit or a theoretical one?

[polly]

That looks like a good kit.
Three sharpening stones seems a bit excessive though.
Mines pretty similar but without the stones and only one set of scissors.
I don't usually carry around stuff like spoons, b/c restaurants have them, but if you were going to someones house...

My basic list is:

20cm cooks knife
long salmon/ham knife
serrated knife
boning knife
sandwich knife
paring/ turning knife
cleaver
steel
peeler

by far the most used one is the cooks knife, which I can fillet, bone and peel with if necessary.

[Basildog]

To add to the pretty picture


Tongs..gotta have tongs
Small Zester
Small Fine Sieve
Plasters (band aids)
Butchers String
Nozzels and Bag
Blow Torch

Reminds me off my relief cheffing days...have tools will travel

[Vanessa]

what's the cream-coloured thing that looks like a mini paint palette?

v

[Fat Guy]

Flexible bowl-scraper.

[Basildog]

I'd say its a bowl scraper....for getting every last bit out.

and i forgot the little tool that looks like the peeler in the photo, but has little blades on it for cutting strips..i like it a lot, but will make your thumb base look like you went 3 rounds with Bruce Lee if you get careless

[Fat Guy]

I think the designation for that is swivel-bladed parer.

[chefette]

10" French knife
2 razor sharp paring knives
3 serrated paring knives
large serrated knife
planer zester
small handheld zester
peeler
3 sizes of melon ballers
2 whisks
50 ml ladel
wooden spoon
large kitchen spoon
3 flexible bowl scrapers
1 metal bench scraper
disposable plastic pastry bags
1 small pastry bag
3 large pastry bags
10 round piping tips (graduated size)
10 star piping tips (graduated)
assorted tiny piping tips for decorative work
parchment triangles and cornets
Xacto knife and extra blades
Craft shop extruder and set of plates for various shapes
Round cutter set
Scalloped round cutter set
microcutter set
Wand mixer
Paint brushes
Rubber tipped brushes
Sharpie
candy thermometer
digital meat thermometer (never used in meat)
wine opener
digital scale & batteries
various rubber spatulas
2 half sheet silpats
plain plastic sheeting
gloves
ice pick
small wax carving tools
various other amusing things depending on the project

I also normally carry
modelling chocolate
chocolate
sugar paste
my digital camera
edible food color powders
As you can see, I use a large tool box

Oops, forgot some stuff
swiss army knife
large offset spatula
small offset spatula
straight metal spatula
slotted spoon thing
fine strainer
tea strainer
digital clock
lemon reamer
marzipan tools
extension cord
refractometer
12 tartlet molds
gelatine sheets
vanilla beans
ruler

[Fat Guy]

Wow. That's some list. No question you're a pastry chef!

Let me re-post my image with numbers, to facilitate the discussion. Anybody else have a photo to post?

[Nick]

Theoretical one. 10" cook's knife, paring knife, boning and/or fillet knife, carving knife, steel, spatula, scraper, meat fork, tongs, large and small spoon, ladle, can opener?.

For sure the pepper mill and maybe some salt.

Can't imagine the need for stones.

Then once there, remember all the other things you should have brought. I like to travel light.

Edit: Brush for cleaning roots. Good thread FG. Gets you to thinking.

[Fat Guy]

Can't imagine the need for stones.

Extended travel.

[Nick]

Extended travel.

I thought this was a one night trip. Weekend at most.

[chefette]

I too would love to travel light alas, that is rarely possible. For instance going to the national pastry competition last year we shipped a ton of equipment plus each carried two large suitcases and carry on bags.

The pastry championship represents the absolute worst case scenario in terms of tools. Because you need to demonstrate skills in all areas: chocolate, sugar, petit fours, entremet, frozen desserts, bon bons, and plated desserts you have to bring just about everything AND the cabinetry to put it in.

Sugar equipment would include sugar lamp, sugar warmer, torch, denatured alcohol, sugar pump, neoprene mats, large silpats, spray oil, sugar gloves, scissors, sugar cabinet, cardboard, foam core board, wood, freezer spray, colors... sugar
sandpaper, airbrush, airbrush colors, air pump, pointy things, silicone leaf presses

Chocolate: molds, caramel bars, scrapers, chocolate, chocolate colors, a guitar (to cut chocolates or pralines, cocoa butter, stuff for fillings... rubber spatulas, silpats, plastic sheets, paint brushes. They provided chocolate warmers

Bowls, lots of bowls, plastic wrap

molds, cake rings, plus everything listed above.

Fortunately most of the time you don't have to bring all that stuff with you places. But you can rarely count on being able to get most of the small tool you need at off site locations so... it is an exercise in planning and packing.

Many times when we travel, we have done some things in advance so we need to be very careful about temperature and handling. I always like coming home best. Always lighter.

[Nick]

Jeez Chefette, you ever think about getting into meat and vegetables, with a little bread (aka grains) on the side?

[chefette]

Seems to me you can cook meat with just a bit of fire, salt pepper, and some stones maybe.

[tony h]

I don't understand the difference between knife 16 & 17. Look very similar to me - what the benefit of having both?

Also - no sieves?

[Suzanne F]

I don't understand the difference between knife 16 & 17.  Look very similar to me - what the benefit of having both?

Also - no sieves?

Both are "French knives" aka Chef knives: 16 is of French manufacture, maybe Sabatier? 17 is German. The difference is (obviously) in the curvature of the blades. Both will chop anything you want; I prefer German design for the easier rocking motion.

Stones: coarse, medium, and fine? This guy must REALLY care about his edges!

As for the sieves, my guess is that he doesn't feel the need to carry any because 1. they're bulky; 2. most likely, wherever he's going will have one; 3. you can get along without one: you can drain pots without one, and you can improvise a strainer for liquids with a cloth napkin.

The one item I can't figure out is #26 -- looks like an IUD And of course #1 is THE most important: the opener for the post-service beer.

[Fat Guy]

BLH, probably in an academically derived toolkit you wouldn't have both 16 and 17, but experienced cooks tend to personalize their toolkits. Given that the chef's knife is the most heavily utilized knife in most any non-pastry-chef chef's toolkit, I'm actually surprised more don't double up on that piece of equipment. Same for paring knives. So in this toolkit you see two chef's knives and two parers. In both cases, a new one replaced an old one but the old one stayed as backup and can also be used for edge-abusive tasks like on-the-fly butchering and such.

Regarding the IUD, there will be special recognition for the first person to identify the device correctly.

[jciel]

Regarding the IUD, looks more like a piece of a spring, but I have no idea why one would want that in a kit.
My Kit:
12" & 8" Chef's knives
12" Grantin edge slicer
12" Sashimi slicer
10" Serrated
8" curved boning knife
6" flexible utility
4" deba
4" paring
2 zesters
fish spatula
melon baller
sommelier
diamond steel
ceramic steel
Japanese mandolin and spare blades
silpat
needle nose pliers

[Malawry]

Item 26 looks to me like a circular mold, as for making stacked foods or cutting rounds of pasta, that type of thing.

Another good reason for having two chef's knives: it's the one I'm most likely to need a duplicate of if somebody else shows up who can help me.

[ngatti]

Item 26 looks to me like a circular mold, as for making stacked foods or cutting rounds of pasta, that type of thing.

Another good reason for having two chef's knives: it's the one I'm most likely to need a duplicate of if somebody else shows up who can help me. 

Yeah, from the photo, I also go with ring mold

Nick

[jaybee]

1 Beretta Model FS92 Elite (for people who don't like my food)

[Malawry]

[jaybee]

Just kidding. The result of a rained out weekend....

The essentials for me are a 14" chef's knife, 6" chef's knife, 4" paring knife, small, large and balloon whisks, 1/2 and 1/4 cup ladles, set of measuring spoons and cups, zester, peeler, serrated bread knife, 16" smoked salmon/ham slicer, diamond steel, large fish spatula, heavy steel griddle spatula, long and short tongs.

[Louisa Chu]

1 Beretta Model FS92 Elite (for people who don't like my food)

THAT'S what I was missing for a jerkoff chef at school yesterday!

I have a question please. How do you pose your tools at your workstation? At school we work elbow to elbow. Thanks.

[awbrig]

[Suzanne F]

Item 26 looks to me like a circular mold, as for making stacked foods or cutting rounds of pasta, that type of thing.

I mostly agree, now that I've looked at it again. EXCEPT: it has a rolled edge, so stacks yes, cuts no. Oh dear, stacks are so passé (unless you're still Alfred Portale).

[tommy]

just the basics for me. and you can't underestimate the value of helpers...

[Suzanne F]

Oh, Tommy, they're beautiful ...















especially that great big fat Allen wrench.

[tommy]

oops, sorry, wrong board.