Kitchen Material Basic and Advanced

Here the asked LIST: the must have Kitchen Materials for aspiring cook, CAP/Commercial Cookery Cert III and Culinary Arts program! 

As requested by lot's of you here is the list and a good idea of the basic materials you need as an aspiring cook. If you later decide to pursue professional certifications, you will already have the right tools. How handy!

Revision: 2023

Photo by Oleksandr Kurchev 

As you may know already I pursue the Australian Cert III in Commercial Cookery and the French CAP (as a “candidat libre”) while becoming a chef. This list is a solid guidance inspired by professional institutions and additional equipments you will need to get and master during your training.

If you are interested in professional certifications, please have a look at my articles on French CAP (coming soon) and Commercial Cookery Cert III  for more information. 

Essential Kitchen Items:

• Kitchen Tools (The List bellow)
• (Professional) Non-slip Shoes
• (Professional) Uniform (recommend having two to avoid washing struggles)

Learning Materials:

• Computer
• CKA Notion Templates to stay organized in your learning (coming soon)
• Recommended Cookbooks

THE LIST: This is the minimum list of what you will need and not everything will be in offered starter kits that you may have access as part of your training program.

Don't get me wrong this is a budget. Buy as much as possible professional grade quality for long lasting materials.  You can get everything for approx 800$/1000$ ( you can go way higher depending of the quality of the product) but you need to budget for this if you are serious about your training and want to be efficient. 

I will also provide some entry level but good quality recommendations either you are based in Australia (AUD), France (FR) or US (United State) just click on the corresponding option.

	Material	Description
	Cooks Knife 21cm US / FR / AUD	Couteau de chef This is the most versatile knife in a cook's kitchen, used for chopping, slicing, and dicing.
	Paring Knife 9cm US / FR / AUD	Couteau d'office A smaller knife used for peeling and precision cuts, commonly used for fruits and vegetables.
	Turning Knife 8cm US / FR / AUD	Couteau tournant A small curved knife used for making decorative cuts, usually in fruits and vegetables. (for professional training you will need it to succeed your "tourné" cut)
	Boning Knife 15cm US / FR / AUD	Couteau désosseur A thin and flexible knife used for removing bones from meat, poultry, and fish.
	Cleaver Knife US / FR / AUD	Couperet It is a heavy, rectangular-bladed knife used generally for chopping meat and bones.
	Pastry Knife 26cm US / FR / AUD	Couteau à patisserie A serrated knife used for cutting delicate baked goods such as cakes and bread.
	Sharpening Steel 25cm US / FR / AUD	Fusil à aiguiser A rod used for realigning and maintaining the edge of kitchen knives.
	Bowl Scraper US / FR / AUD	Corne A flat, flexible tool used for scraping and cleaning bowls.
	Y Shape Peeler US / FR / AUD	A handheld tool used for peeling skin from fruits and vegetables. This perler make it easy to manoeuvre around curves and contours, making it ideal for removing the skin from more complex shapes.
	Straight Peeler US / FR / AUD	Econome  Straight peelers feature a straight blade for peeling the skin of fruits and vegetables in an upward motion. This type of peeler is best for tougher skins, such as potatoes, and can also be used to remove eyes from potatoes.
	Wooden Spoon US / FR / AUD	Cuillère en bois A classic kitchen tool used for stirring, mixing and serving. (Recommend 2)
	Stainless Slotted Spoon US / FR / AUD	Ecumoire Spoon with holes, used to remove and drain small or delicate foods from boiling water, hot oil, or sauce.
	Stainless Spoon US / FR / AUD	Cuillère en acier inoxydable  Multi usage spoon used to manipulate, mix or remove delicate foods with sauce.
	Kitchen Spider US / FR / AUD	Araignée  The Kitchen Spider is wider than a slotted spoon, it is a round, long-handled strainer with a wide metal basket that resembles a spider's web. Handy to collect many ingredients in a bowl of boiling water or for frying
	Whisk US / FR / AUD	Fouet  A tool used for whipping and blending ingredients, often used in baking.
	Fish Bone Tweezers US / FR / AUD	Pince à arêtes  A small tool used for removing bones from fish.
	Skewers US / FR / AUD	Pique à brochette Thin, pointed rods used for grilling food items.
	Measuring Spoon Set US / FR / AUD	Cuillères doseuses A set of spoons used for measuring ingredients.
	Measuring Cup Set     US / FR / AUD	A set of cups used for measuring liquids.
	Measuring Jugs    US / FR / AUD	Un bol à mesurer A Jug used for measuring liquids. I recommend 1L and 250ml version
	Small Cup Set US / FR / AUD	Petits conteneur de mesure  Small cups that will be used to store and reserve ingredients, liquids, spices during the mise en place and while cooking. It will become very handy
	Sharpening Whetstone US / FR / AUD	Pierre ponce A flat, rectangular block used for sharpening knives.
	Tea Towels  US / FR / AUD	Torchons     An absorbent cloth used for drying dishes and cleaning up kitchen spills.
	Anti Slip Mat      US / FR / AUD	Tapis Anti-dérapant A mat used to prevent slipping and sliding on countertops during food preparation.
	Digital Thermometer  US / FR / AUD	Thermomètre  A tool used for measuring the temperature of food.
	Dual Grater  US / FR / AUD	Thermomètre  A kitchen tool used for grating cheese and other food items.
	Lighter  US / FR / AUD	Thermomètre  A tool used for lighting stoves and grills.
	Tongs  US / FR / AUD	Thermomètre  To manipulate food
	Long Food Tweezer  US / FR / AUD	Thermomètre  Handy for manipulating delicate food or for frying
	Small tweezer  US / FR / AUD	Thermomètre  Small Food presentation tweezer
	Kitchen Scissors  US / FR / AUD	Ciseaux de cuisine  Believe me, you will find many uses of a kitchen scissor in your kit. They are different from normal scissors usually more robust and resilient steel
	Piping bag with standard pits sets  US / FR / AUD	Poche à douille  You need the tips sets, you can use reusable piping bag however as they can be hard to clean properly, disposable is usually recommended to avoid any risk.
	Double Ended Melon Baller  US / FR / AUD	Cuillère parisienne / boule à melon Presentation tool to mold beautiful spheric spheres out of a fruit or vegetable
	Scale  US / FR / AUD	Balance Scale to measure ingredients
	Precision Scale  US / FR / AUD	Balance de précision  Scale more precise for grams (highly recommended for precision)
	Baking Mat  US / FR / AUD	Scisceaux A non-stick mat used for baking and pastry making.
	Colander  US / FR / AUD	Passoire   This is a kitchen tool used for straining liquids from solids.
	Conical Strainer or Chinois  US / FR / AUD	Chinois This one is usually quite expensive for a good quality chinois. This is a kitchen tool used for straining liquids from solids very precisely with the technique .
	Ruler 20 or 30cm  US / FR / AUD	Régle Help with precise cut and measuring especially at the beginning
	Brush (silicon)  US / FR / AUD	Pinceau Heat and Stain resistant, ideal for basting, coating or greasing
	Round Cookie Biscuit Cutter Set 12  US / FR / AUD	Versatil tool, will help with mise en place (round shapes) cutting pastry or helping elements to hold together
	Digital Timer (Magnetic)  US / FR / AUD	Minuteur Help with timing, easier to manipulate than a phone, Ideally have 2
	Marker  US / FR / AUD	Feutre  To date and mark food
	Knife Case 17 piece    US / FR / AUD	A protective case used for storing and transporting kitchen knives.

If you are learning from home and don't have access to commercial kitchens, you will need chopping board, pans, pots, bowls, fryer and cooking equipments. This list exclude this but let me know if you need any recommendation I will add it to this article. 

Comments:

- For Aspiring choices I tend to recommend fair quality / fair price / longevity products. If you are interested in ultimate recommendations then let me know in PM.