11/16/2023
Hi everyone!
I recently watched a YouTube video of restaurant food hacks, and it got me thinking that it would be nice to share with everyone some of the tools of the trade we could not live without. These are items we would have even if we did not own a catering business and they are perfect for a home chef.
Perhaps you have a foodie in your life and you're looking for the perfect gift, or maybe you just want to treat yourself!
(This is in no way a sponsored email and, while the links are to Amazon (mostly), that's just for convenience. Please do shop local!)
Without further ado, I present to you our most loved and used kitchen items, priced from low to high.
These Exact Vegetable Peelers ($15 for 3) – a.co/d/6fFAXmT
We’ve found the best veggie peelers are not the more expensive peelers with the ergonomic handles. Instead, these have a nice wide blade that quickly and easily gets the job done and the wide handle means you can hold it in different ways if your hand starts to cramp.
Herb Mincer ($20) - a.co/d/g0QNf04
Fresh herbs take food to the next level, and this mincer makes it incredibly quick and easy. We keep one at home and one in our commissary kitchen because it makes a mundane task so much better.
12”x18” Cutting Boards ($30) - a.co/d/ggOwxiD
We have a four pack of these cutting boards and just love them. They have a non-stick grip so they don’t slide around and they stack perfectly.
Bluetooth Grill Thermometer ($50) - a.co/d/461WSR7
While is great for smoking meat, we also love it when cooking food in the oven! When making something like meatloaf, rather than guessing on the time, you can just stick a prod in it, attach the monitor to your oven, and set the temperature. Since this operates through an app on your phone, you can monitor the temperature of your food from anywhere.
18”x24” Cutting Board ($65-75) - a.co/d/gENSoXp
Having a large (huge!) cutting board is a game changer! We use this all the time for carving large sides of meat or rolling out dough.
Sous Vide Wand ($80-$200) - anovaculinary.com/pages/find-your-anova-precision-cooker
This magic tool is so amazing, we now own three! We vac seal all types of food before using the sous vide, but the internet tells me you can use Ziploc bags if you don’t have a vac sealer. We take raw meat, add aromatics, seal it, and sous vide it to our desired temp. Then we let it rest before charring the meat on the grill. We also love stocking our freezer with soups, rice pilaf, potatoes au gratin, etc. and throwing them in a sous vide bath to heat for dinner. When we have extra cooked meat (ground beef for tacos, chipotle chicken thighs, etc.) we vac seal and freeze it, and later can throw it in the sous vide for a quick and no-mess dinner.
Headphones ($130) - a.co/d/9NTmCHZ
A good pair of headphones is a game changer. These Aftershokz headphones are wireless and you can use them when talking on the phone as well. Plus, if your hands are messy, you can answer your phone just by pushing the button with your shoulder (if you’re so inclined!). They’re also bone conducting, so you’ll be able to hear the noises around you while still hearing your music or podcasts. Chris and I have been using them for several years now. I think it’s safe to say we both use our headphones 4+ hours a day, we love them so much!
Bar Sealer ($400+) – a.co/d/2aEPsYT
It’s no secret we love our sous vide wands, but we also are obsessed with our vacuum sealers, and the two go hand-in-hand. We have both a bar sealer and a chamber sealer, but a home chef will find a bar sealer to meet their needs. (We don’t have experience with the less expensive FoodSaver brand that is so popular so we cannot vouch for that. However, judging by reviews, I suspect it would work perfectly fine.)
The bar sealer we use is currently for sale on Amazon for $400. Bar sealers are nice because, in addition to bags, they also sell ‘cut to fit’ bags that work well when packaging larger, longer cuts of meat like brisket. If you do buy a bar sealer or chamber sealer, make sure to buy bags with it. We are happy to share recommendations on that.
Chamber Sealer ($900+) - a.co/d/12pEgLf)
If you do want to crazy with vac sealing because it’s so satisfying, this chamber vac sealer is a newer model to the one we have. We’ve used ours hundreds of times with no issues. It weighs a million pounds so be warned!
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If you have any questions on any of these items, please reach out. Some of them may seem intimidating at first, but trust me, they will make your time in the kitchen so much better! And I promise they're all easy to master!
We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! Please keep us in mind for your catering needs! Emails can be sent to [email protected] or give him a call at 614-354-9778.
Best,
Leah McCue, Bulldog Catering
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