Everybody (the people I know in food circles, anyway) dreams of owning a good set of chef’s knives. These are very expensive and it is not always possible to have them at the top of your list of priorities, especially if you have children who need school fees, camping fees and pocket money. However, you should make sure you always have sharp knives – ask someone to sharpen them for you. For me there is no greater frustration than struggling with a blunt knife. If you’re trying to gut or fillet a fish with a blunt knife, you’ll end up with fishcakes.
A friend of ours is always joking and saying: pots come in ‘small’, ‘medium’, ‘large’ and ‘Timm-sized’. With a nice big pot and pan, there’s always room for another hungry soul at the table. I like pans with metal handles as they can go straight from the stovetop to the oven when I’m making something like steak, fish or frittatas. You can find these pans in the catering department of large chain stores. I prefer working with heavy-based pots and pans as they regulate heat much better than the thin, light pots and pans.
To me, a griddle is almost a necessity, so make sure it’s on your birthday or Christmas list. Steak, chicken, fish and even vegetables are just so much tastier if they have lovely caramelised ‘lines’.
I know half of you are ready to throw in the towel when you read this, because a gas stove is very expensive. I do most of my food demonstrations on small, one-plate gas stoves. They are cheap and, depending on the style of cooking, sometimes gas is just better; here I’m thinking especially of the Thai method of cooking. You can buy these stoves at any shop that sells gas fittings.
I prefer glass bowls because they are sturdy if you’re beating eggs or making cake batter or bread dough. If you are going to marinate meat, it’s also preferable to do so in glass or stainless steel rather than other metals such as aluminium. Perhaps it’s also the nostalgia of Grandma’s glass bowl with dough in it, covered with a clean cloth that makes me cling to this way of doing things.
If you don’t have a food processor ready and plugged in on your counter, a whisk is your best friend. By the time most people have taken their hand beaters and mixers out of the cupboard and plugged them in, my egg whites are already whisked. It’s cheap and indispensable to me!
This is probably the cheapest but most used piece of equipment in my kitchen. All the juices in chicken and steak are lost if you poke holes in them with a fork to turn them over. These tongs are ideal for the job.
Open your heart to change, read other people’s recipes and take note of the comments made by your family or guests. Then try out some new ideas, tastes, spices and methods. Great flops in the kitchen have become iconic recipes – just think of the classic Tarte Tatin!
Constantly taste your food. I know this goes against the advice of every diet guru, but if you don’t know what your food tastes like, how can you expect your guests to enjoy it?
Relax – white sauce and cheese can cover up a multitude of your food disgraces! Be innovative, give the dish a new name and voilà – you have a new recipe.