Quality Chef Workwear and Kit

The magazine Waitrose Food Illustrated brought together a panel of 33 leaders in the world of food, including Jamie Oliver, Raymond Blanc and Prue Leith. They voted upon a list of the most useful gadgets in the kitchen, and without further adieu here’s a run down:

1 Wooden Spoon

The humble, inexpensive wooden spoon tops the list!

I guess it’s because it’s just so useful, just think what you can do with one; mix, stir, taste, sprinkle, spread, bash, etc

It’s hygenic, hard wearing and easy to clean too. A classic kitchen tool that you just can’t do without. Spoon shown is made by Typhoon and is stocked by John Lewis.

2 Microplane Grater

Another inexpensive kitchen gadget.

Microplane graters are available in both fine and coarse cut and are designed to work as a zester for citrus fruits, grater for cheese, chocolate and nutmeg or to puree ginger or garlic.

Made from durable stainless-steel with rubber handle for easy grip and comfort. Dishwasher safe. Stocked by John Lewis.

3 KitchenAid Mixer

The KitchenAid Mixer is a design classic!

A regular favourite for those wanting a professional mixer and also for those just wanting to adorn their worktop with something smart.

This mixer has both classic good looks and high-quality craftsmanship - it’s also available in a range of finishes. It’s robust all-metal construction, powerful 10 speed motor and tilt-up head design make mixing large batches easy. It also features a unique mixing action that ensures faster and more thorough blending. Guaranteed for 5 years for parts and labour. Stocked by John Lewis.

4 Wand Blender

Stick / wand blenders are made by a wide range of manufacturers such as Kenwood, Braun, Breville and own label brands.

I personally like this Dualit Hand Blender set. If it’s anything like the build quality of our Dualit toaster and scales then it’ll last for years.

Look out for features such as variable speed and pulse button blending.

5 Magimix Food Processor

The Magimix Food Processor is, like the KitchenAid mixer above, a more expensive item but should last you years of use.

It’s available in two models; the 5200 (pictured) and the cheaper 3200. Both are stocked by John Lewis. These powerful food processors mix, grate, slice, chop, whisk, knead and liquidise your ingredients. Aside from the main bowl it has an integrated mini processor for processing smaller quantities such as dips, mayonnaise or baby food, while the midi bowl can be used for slicing and shredding ingredients. All the bowls and blades are dishwasher safe. The commercial grade induction motor is guaranteed for 12 years, with an overall parts guarantee of 3 years; there’s just one speed, which operates quietly at the optimum speed for the job required.

Devon based chef Ed Chester found himself in the news today due to the fact that he’s put squirrel kebabs on the menu!

He says about the common grey squirrel:

They are very good meat, they are abundant and they are cheap. It’s as free range as it gets.

Mr Chester also serves squirrel pate and fillet of squirrel - and these new dishes sold out in around 90 minutes (90 portions).

Not something I fancy eating myself - how about you?

The Fat Duck is the restaurant belonging to celebrated chef Heston Blumenthal - a chef known for his, shall we say, unusual culinary experiments. To compliment his other cookery books Mr Blumenthal has published the weighty Big Fat Duck Cookbook (available and discounted at amazon). It’s a monster of a book, weighing in at some 12lb and coming in it’s own duck feather embossed box.

The book gives you the chance to try out his unusual dishes for yourself. Dishes like:

• smoked bacon and egg ice cream
• snail porridge
• salmon poached with liquorice
• hot and iced tea

It’d be great to hear from you if you try out some of his recipes!

I last mentioned Marco Pierre White when he was on TV with his Great British Feast

Well Marco is back with one of his latest ventures - he’s endorsing 96 Degrees Coffee and more specifically the 96 Degrees Tin (pictured).

Whilst the official 96 Degrees Coffee website currently doesn’t tell you much, you can see that the company is promoting 96c as the precise temperature for the perfect cup of Espresso Italiano.

I think it’s a very catchy brand name and from the images available the tins look very classy and premium brand. It’s a registered design too apparently. The Telegraph reports that the 96 Degrees Tin is available exclusively in Selfridges.

Just the reason to visit kitchkof.com for a shiny new bean to cup coffee machine. And maybe pay Whittards a visit too to view their own range of coffee beans.

Have you tried 96 Degrees Coffee? What do you think- let us know in a comment!

I’ve just been watching Gordons F Word and during the ad break watched an advert for the French lager Kronenbourg 1664. I think it’s quite clever with the slicing and prepping of bubbles. Take a look and let me know what you think:

oh, by the way the song in the background is The Beat Goes On by The All Seeing I

The renowned chef Marco Pierre White returns to our screens on ITV this week with his brand new show: Marco Pierre White’s Great British Feast.

We last watched Marco in Hells Kitchen were he took over from former pupil and fellow bad boy of cooking, Gordon Ramsey. Expectations were high that Mr White would not be able to contain his legendary temper but having watched some of the show personally I thought he came across very well.

In this latest TV programme Marco Pierre White shows how to find and catch the best food, from mushrooms to salmon, and then what to do with those ingredients to make truly stunning food without spending hours preparing it.

As always with celebrity chefs there’s a new book to promote the programme (or does the programme promote the new book?), containing over 100 recipes, many of which I expect will be shown in the TV show. If you fancy a copy of the book then treat yourself to a (discounted) copy of it from amazon.

The Tefal Actifry deep fat fryer is proving to be very popular at the moment - and that’s probably due to the small amount of oil it needs. This revolutionary new fryer allows you to cook enough chips to feed a family of four with just one spoonful of oil and only 3% fat!

By using just one spoonful of oil you can make 1kg of homemade chips, which is enough to feed a family of four. That one spoonful is 100 times less than a traditional deep fat fryer, which not only means that your food is substantially more healthy, but it is also more economical and is also 100% safe, unlike some traditional methods of frying.

Here’s some of the features of the Actifry:

• No preheating required ready to use when you are
• Large viewing window to observe cooking
• Non-stick, removable bowl
• 1kg food capacity
• 1 spoonful of oil is enough for 1kg of chips
• Odourless filter
• Automatic cover opening/closing
• Timer
• Audible warning at end of cooking period
• 1400W
• Includes Recipe Book
• Part of the Tefal Nutritious & Delicious range

So where can you buy it from (offers may expire at anytime!) ?

• At amazon for £115.99 (delivery from free).
• At John Lewis for £149 (delivery from free).

We’ve published a new page here at Chef Uniforms that’s about an essential kitchen utensil - the chopping board. We’re going to add a list of online retailers that offer chopping boards and worktop savers as there’s an ever growing choice on offer. If you can recommend a particular board then please leave a comment or get in touch.

ProCook are currently running a limited time promotion on a range of their popular knife sets. There’s some good savings to be had - so chop, chop!

These popular knife sets are ideal for everyday use. They handle a full range of cutting tasks whether you are slicing carrots or carving a roast. Stone ground and forged by hand with only the highest grade of carbon stainless steel to give remarkable strength and durability with a long-lasting exceptional cutting edge.

5 Piece Set - Block plus one of each, 3.5″ paring knife, 5″ vegetable knife, 6″ cooks knife, 9″ bread knife, 10″ carving knife.

7 Piece set - Set includes: Block plus one of each, 3.5″ paring knife, 5″ vegetable knife, 6″ cooks knife, 7″ Japanese knife, 9″ bread knife, 10″ carving knife and sharpening steel.

Click here to read more about this limited offer.

Here’s a bestselling product - the butchers apron, which is great for all day cover and comfort. Sometimes called a bib apron, the blue and white stripe is an instantly recognised style.

Made from quality 100% cotton fabric that is hardwearing and easy to clean. The apron also has sewn in black ties and comes in the size 28″ x 38″. They are inexpensive and a bulk order discount is available too.

Click here to order yours today.