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Ómós Digest #192: Things (24) I learned this week

Ómós Digest #192: Things (24) I learned this week

The kitchen series. By Cúán Greene.

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Ómós
Aug 02, 2025
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Ómós Digest #192: Things (24) I learned this week
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Dear Readers,

I am unapologetically obsessed with kitchen equipment (aren’t most chefs?) and have spent years compiling an aspirational wishlist for Ómós. The list, which any archivist would be impressed with, has been gathered through a culmination of research, organising and collating. I’ve shared a selection of these items for you below. It includes THE BEST tool for a perfect sear, the most satisfying ice cream scoop and the machine to achieve real gelato fast - certainly not a Pacojet. It also lists a couple of my favourite storage containers to satisfy your OCD needs (and mine). The list is not exhaustive, however, as I’ve left out items like the iVario Pro, simply because I doubt you will ever buy your loved one a 100L pressure tilt pan - but just in case, here's the link. 

For this list, my experiences working in kitchens across the world have been invaluable, as well as the pop-ups I’ve done in Chenin in Bangkok, Fulgurances in New York and Slippurinn in Iceland. I’ve seen how the best chefs work and collaborating with them has given me an insight into their processes. Dining out is another critical method of learning. Open kitchens provide the means to determine how other chefs work without the need to stage. I’ve watched chefs set up an open grill framed in fire brick and learned how they control the embers with a purpose-built fan or even the lid of a container. I’ve seen them mist charcoal with a spray bottle of oil to transmit smoke into the protein, or directly mist the meat with Verjus to add flavour and moisture during cooking. These are techniques I’ve adopted into my own cooking. Similarly, in Thailand, I learned that by using a heat gun, that’s typically used to remove paint from a wall, one can achieve ‘peking’ crispiness on the skin of a duck, before allowing the sweet smoke of a wood-fired grill to bring the meat up to the perfect cuison. There are infinite things to learn for those who want to.

YouTube has been another great educator, in particular watching Mise en Place by Eater, which documents daily life inside a high-profile kitchen. The programme is like a distilled internship, where one sees how other kitchens are run. I always pick something up, whether it's a process, a flavour combination, or of course, a new piece of equipment. By virtue, my phone is awash with screen grabs of these moments, fuzzy and pixelated from capturing mid-video. When the brand name of the product is identifiable, it's a clear road to defining the product, otherwise it can lead to countless hours searching the internet. 

24 must-have kitchen tools

  1. The Chef's Press Frying Weight - Bruce Hill - 8oz

I saw this on Eater’s Mise en Place episode when they visited Kato restaurant in LA. The presses were sitting next to the BBQ, causing me to pause and zoom in on the make. I now use the Chef’s Press all the time. A meat press is used to enhance the contact between the meat and your pan, resulting in an increased sear. What differentiates the Chef’s Press from other meat presses is the clever design: the gaps in each press, along with the handle, means the product beneath doesn't sweat, causing a better sear. You can also double up the weight by placing one press on top of the other. 

  1. Alpack Clip Top Jars

I find these to be the best and most affordable jars. It limits the need for vacuum bags when preserving food. I typically buy the 2.5kg and 4.5L jars. 

  1. Yakumi Pans 

Besides looking so good, these rectangular storage pans are very desirable. They’re used to store mise en place during service and for more long-term storage if required. They’re neat and tidy, and for chefs who like a nice service setup, they’re irreplaceable. Like a lot of cooking ware, however, they are not cheap, but are also fairly indestructible - unlike plastic.

  1. Heinzelmann 

This machine has replaced the Thermomix in professional kitchens. I have never heard a chef say “I love the new Thermomix”. Most loathe its touch screen and mechanised system. In contrast, the Heinzelmann avoids all of that. It still heats up and blends with the power as the original Thermomix but has real buttons, rather than something that will talk back at you. 

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