From fish spatulas to paring knives to bench scrapers, these are the must-have kitchen tools recommended by culinary school teachers across the country
Every time I see a meat tenderizer, I think of my mother. Specifically of the way in which she, as someone wary of emotional vulnerability yet full of affection (classic boomer combo), decided to make Austrian pork schnitzel her love language — and the meat tenderizer her translator. In hindsight, that steel hammer was one of the best, most essential cooking tools in our home; it was also a beginner-friendly tool for me, a Montessori kid used to playing with saws at recess and expressing my feelings via dried bean art.
That tenderizer has become a staple of my kitchen ecosystem today. But one person’s tenderizer is another’s hand-me-down whisk, Japanese chef’s knife, or grill press. So what do other people consider their ride-or-die cooking tools? What are the baseline peelers, knives, and spatulas that are in constant rotation, the tools that make you feel like a culinary John Wick?
I decided to ask not just chefs, but chefs with culinary school teaching experience (aka, endless patience and a knowledge of novice-level skill sets) about what they consider to be the best beginner cooking tools. I picked the brains of four teachers with experience in a variety of programs, from Hot Bread Kitchen — a New York City nonprofit that helps immigrants break into the food industry — to the legendary Institute of Culinary Education, all in the hopes of answering the inherently relative question of what constitutes an essential cooking tool for beginners.
Whether or not your new kitchen workhorse is destined to become an heirloom, some dos and don’ts for your search — Do: Look for tools that don’t just do one thing. Do: Read product reviews. Don’t: spend more than you need to on a pair of tongs. And if you’re lucky enough to have a grandpa with a sick filet knife, maybe ask him about it.
Now, let’s talk tools.
The best beginner cooking tools, according to Hot Bread Kitchen culinary teachers
Hot Bread Kitchen is a NYC-based culinary institute whose goal is to “uplift women, gender-expansive people, immigrants, and people of color” by helping them launch their careers in the food industry through intensive culinary training. Culinary instructors Kandy Williams and Charlene Johnson are two of the organization’s many acclaimed teachers, and they had some choice advice on the best beginner cooking tools.
Spatula
“Spatulas are often one of the first tools that I introduce to my kids to learn to use when cooking because they’re safe and easy to handle,” says Williams. “It’s your all-in-one tool — perfect for flipping, stirring, and scraping every bit of batter from a bowl.”
“I love to use a silicone spatula to gently fold ingredients like egg whites into batter,” Williams goes on. “As a baker this is one of my favorite tools in the kitchen. I use it all the time when I prepare my buttercreams, cakes, and alfajores (Peruvian macarons). This keeps the mixture light and fluffy.”
Johnson seconds the tool’s utility for not only whipping up meals, but also allowing you to store your leftovers and ingredients. “It will allow you to get every bit of your food from containers,” she says, “to where they need to be — in your belly!”
Reach for a BPA-free silicone spatula such as this high-rated option that costs less than a bougie avocado toast. It’s heat-resistant up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, has a stainless steel internal frame, just like RoboCop, and a slightly curved blade for scraping and folding with precision.
Peeler
At home, Williams relies on a high-quality peeler to prep everything from mashed potatoes to causa peruana with her kids. It makes prep work much faster for her students and more efficient for her as a culinary instructor. “I always show how to use a peeler safely by peeling away from the body and using short, controlled strokes. They use it to peel potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, and more vegetables. It’s also a great tool to introduce them to different textures.”
Johnson also swears by the power of the classic Swiss peeler, specifically — and not just for veggies. “It’s efficient and precise,” she says. “Use it on chocolate, cheese, or citrus. Get creative. FYI, the purpose of the protruding circle to the side of the peeler is to remove potato eyes.”
Williams Sonoma’s straight swivel-action, steel blade peeler contours to the shape of whatever potato, pear, or state fair butter sculpture you’re peeling:
For a classic Swiss peeler, you can’t go wrong with a Victorinox straight blade, which has been GOATed by many. It’s peeler is lightweight, is made with a nonslip textured handle, and is on sale right now for under $10 on Amazon.
Paring knife
As Williams says, a paring knife is “small and versatile, perfect for tasks that require precision, like peeling, trimming, or slicing small fruits and veggies.” She introduces the tool to beginner students to use for more delicate tasks — such as cutting strawberries, scoring tomatoes, or trimming herbs — in order to build their knife skills safely. “In classes my students use a paring knife to practice the concasse technique,” she says, “They love to prepare ratatouille. The paring knife is often called the ‘extension of the hand’ because it’s so maneuverable.”
Quality knives can be a costly investment, so it’s worth checking out the new knife line of Quince, a San Francisco-based, direct-to-consumer luxury brand that just started making more affordable knives in the past year. The brand’s 3.5-inch paring knife is made out of 33 layers of Japanese Damascus stainless steel — which helps it achieve excellent blade balance — and features a naturally water-resistant Pakkawood handle.
Offset serrated knife
Johnson says her serrated knife is key for cutting bread, slicing tomatoes, and more. “It’s great for anything that has a tough exterior and soft interior,” she explains. “The offset handle provides space so that the blade hits the cutting board before my hand. Efficient and delivers stellar results. 10 out of 10.”
This 9-inch offset blade sports an ergonomic handle and a serrated blade that does the job of the fancier versions at an entry-level price.
The best beginner cooking tools, according to Celine Beitchman of the Institute of Culinary Education
The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) was founded in 1975, and is ranked as the no.1 culinary school in the United States, with locations in New York City and Los Angeles. Celine Beitchman, director of nutrition, tells me that she has been “teaching health-promoting culinary arts for about a decade,” and “became a chef over a 20-year period working in prep kitchens, restaurants, catering, and as a private chef,” first at the Natural Gourmet Institute and now within ICE’s Plant-Based Culinary Arts program.
Chef’s knife
If you don’t know where to begin with your own knife drawer, Beitchman recommends starting with an 8- to 10-inch chef’s knife. As she says, “It’s vital to handle most of the essential vegetable cuts, and for slicing everything from cheese to cake. A good knife will last, and it’s worth investing in one that you are comfortable using — one that’s not too long or heavy for you.”
One of my first kitchen knives was a Made In blade, and I remember thinking, Wow, so this is what it feels like to hold a knife with its own backbone. Or maybe what I was feeling was the single rod of stainless steel that extends from tip to handle, which is what the brand claims sets it apart. Years later, my 8-inch Made In chef’s knife still chops everything from ripe tomatoes to tarte tatin with ease, despite my less-than-perfect knife skills.
If you’re shopping on more of a budget, I also can’t recommend Imarku’s chef’s knife enough. This 8-inch stainless steel blade cuts with as much precision as some of my friends’ fancy Wüsthof knives, but it costs under $50. I do need to sharpen it more frequently (around every two months), but you really can’t beat the bang for your buck on this sucker. Plus, it ships in a secure, velvet-esque-lined box that makes for a thoughtful (last-minute) housewarming gift.
Spring-loaded tongs
“Spring-loaded tongs with metal or rubber-coated tips in a range of lengths can be used to toss salads in dressings or vegetables in seasonings before they hit the oven,” says Beitchman. “When I started cooking, tongs were almost an extension of my own hand and they let me reach further down the stove or up to the salamander.”
These stainless 12-inch long steel tongs come from one of my favorite affordable cookware brands, Oxo. Scalloped edges are a big plus for me when it comes to tongs, because they allow for better precision and grip when I’m flipping whole padrón peppers on the grill or prodding my veggies around in a skillet. Plus, the slight concave of the tongs make it easy to ladle excess oils or sauce from a pan, (which I love to do when I’m frying eggs in chile crisp).
Bench scraper
Finally, Beitchman stands by the power of the bench scraper. “They are amazingly versatile,” she says, “and can be used to move and lift food off of cutting boards and trays, to scrape flours and shape loaves before baking,” and more.
Crate & Barrel has gone the extra mile with this stainless steel bench scraper, which includes not only a soft-touch plastic handle that won’t slip from your grip, but a sweet little built-in ruler. It’s always a plus when a kitchen staple can combine more than one tool or function, and being able to measure out and chop your dough with one hand is a clutch time saver.
The best beginner cooking tools, according to chef Vanessa Seder
Vanessa Seder has worked as a chef, food stylist, cookbook author, and associate food editor at Ladies’ Home Journal — to name just a handful of her culinary accomplishments — in addition to teaching for many years at the storied Stonewall Kitchen Headquarters in York, Maine. She, too, sang the praises of sharp chef’s knives and different-sized spatulas, but she also recommended a few more less-obvious tools.
Wood cutting board
It seems easy enough to remember, but a quality cutting board can sometimes go overlooked when you’re outfitting your kitchen with beginner cooking tools and equipment. Seder recommends John Boos & Co., one of the oldest manufacturers of butcher blocks in the country. She says that she loves the sturdy feel of her Boos board, which is 1.5 inches thick and perfect for rolling out dough while baking or making pasta, and also gives the board a bit of a height boost — a plus that she appreciates, she says, given that she’s on the taller side and doesn’t want to slouch while chopping or rolling herbs. It’s also quite a looker in terms of items that can take up precious real estate on your kitchen counters. As Seder says, “I use it sometimes as a cheese platter when we have guests over.”
Whetstone
Those paring and chef’s knives aren’t going to sharpen themselves. As Seder says, “Learning how to sharpen your knives will save you money and time in the long run. A sharp knife is safer to use in that it prevents slippage, which can result in injury.” But getting your knives sharpened professionally can really add up in cost, she adds, so throwing down for a whetstone can be a great long-term investment. Consider this Japanese-made ceramic whetstone by King, which only costs about $50. There’s a dedicated Eater guide to sharpening your knives like a pro, but suffice to say this kit comes with everything you need: a 1000/6000 grit combination whetstone (with the former for main sharpening and the latter for finish sharpening), an angle holder for blade-sharpening accuracy, and a quick-drying cloth.
Fish spatula
Seder says that she still has her fish spatula from culinary school, a trusty Wüsthof that continues to go the distance. This 6.5-inch slotted fish spatula from the German brand is about more than just fish, and acts as a flexible tool for cooking anything delicate. The Wüsthof version has earned heaps of praise for its being lightweight, angled, and slotted, which allows excess oils to drain through when you’re moving things around. Or as one reviewer writes, “Sometimes it is the small things in life that give you the motivation to be a better cook.” Our thoughts exactly.
