Professional Chefs Reveal Their Most Essential Kitchen Pans
While professional chefs often treasure their personal knife collections, the cookware they rely on daily in restaurant kitchens tells a different story. These workhorses are typically practical, affordable, and readily available – the kind of equipment that can handle the demanding pace of professional service without breaking the bank.
However, this doesn’t mean culinary professionals lack strong preferences about their everyday cooking vessels. In fact, their choices offer valuable insights for home cooks, as restaurant-grade equipment is often surprisingly accessible and reasonably priced.
Each chef’s specialty and restaurant style influences their pan preferences, creating a diverse range of recommendations. Following the guidance of these ten culinary experts from acclaimed restaurants and bakeries can help create a well-rounded kitchen arsenal.
Five-Quart Saucier Pan
Direct-to-consumer cookware brands rarely gain recognition in professional kitchens, but Made In has successfully penetrated the restaurant industry. Jackie Carnesi from Kellog’s Diner champions her substantial Made In saucier, acquired during a personal transition several years ago. She praises its versatility for whisked preparations like caramel and tasks requiring rubber spatulas. The pan’s relatively lightweight construction makes it excellent for tossing and flipping ingredients with ease.
Japanese Carbon Steel Skillet
Carbon steel cookware is standard in professional environments, though hand-forged Japanese versions are less common. Fredrik Berselius, executive chef at Michelin-starred Aska, favors Kama-Asa carbon steel skillets despite their substantial weight. He appreciates how the extended handles create perfect balance, making these heavy-duty pans manageable during service.
Commercial Hotel Pan
Those unfamiliar with professional kitchens might not recognize hotel pans – the deep rectangular trays commonly used for large-scale steaming operations. Chef Mary Attea from the Musket Room values these versatile vessels for their remarkable durability relative to their light weight. She employs them for starting large rice batches on stovetops and creating quick smoking setups using heavy-duty foil.
Enameled Cast Iron Braiser
Le Creuset’s appearance on professional favorites lists surprises no one familiar with the brand’s reputation. Chef Neal Kajalle of Adda utilizes a compact braiser for both cooking and serving purposes. He highlights the cast iron’s superior searing capabilities and excellent heat retention properties. Kajalle also employs Le Creuset’s magnetic trivets, which attach to pan bottoms to protect tables when serving directly from hot ovens.
Vietnamese Pancake Wok
Unless you possess extensive Vietnamese culinary knowledge, Nhu Tahn’s preferred pan might be unfamiliar: a lightweight aluminum bánh xèo wok designed specifically for creating ultra-thin Vietnamese pancakes. This singular piece accompanied Tahn’s move to America and now serves as the primary workhorse at Bahn Ahn Em. She values its light weight, which allows easy batter manipulation and heat adjustment – capabilities unavailable with heavier materials like cast iron or carbon steel.
Traditional Cast Iron Skillet
Chef Maria Barriga of Oxomoco appreciates cast iron for the same reasons home cooks do: exceptional versatility across temperature ranges, from gentle low heat to intense high-temperature searing. She addresses common maintenance concerns by emphasizing cast iron’s accessibility: simple seasoning with salt and fat, combined with regular use, naturally develops non-stick properties over time.
Professional Sheet Pan
Miro Uskokovic, owner of Hani’s bakery, depends heavily on reliable sheet pans for both his famous cinnamon buns and daily staff meal preparation. He recommends seeking 14 or 16-gauge pans, often labeled as heavy-duty, for superior longevity and warp resistance.
Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Skillet
All-Clad skillets earn recommendations from culinary professionals just as they do from home cooking experts. Atsushi Kono of Kono incorporates his All-Clad skillet into the preparation toolkit for his acclaimed yakitori omakase, which earned recognition on prestigious best restaurant lists.
Non-Stick Cookware
Despite recent controversies surrounding non-stick coatings, several professional chefs defend their utility. Ceramic-coated non-stick pans, when properly maintained and replaced when necessary, serve as valuable tools in professional kitchens. Alec Horen from the Musket Room relied on non-stick pans to produce 60-70 fried mashed potato portions nightly – a task impossible without proper non-stick performance.
Additional Professional-Grade Options
- Compact cookware sets that maximize efficiency
- Daily-use stainless steel skillets for versatile cooking
- Lifetime-quality cast iron skillets for enduring performance
Photo by Barbara Burgess on Unsplash
Photo by Cooker King on Unsplash