5 Chefs Share the One Kitchen Gadget They Would not Buy Themselves

Walk via the kitchen aisle of nearly any retailer, and you will find a gadget for every part. There are instruments for slicing fruit, chopping vegetables, separating eggs and tackling all types of different small cooking jobs. Some might be genuinely helpful, however others are destined to spend most of their lives buried someplace in a drawer.

So, which of them are literally price bringing house? We requested 5 culinary professionals which kitchen instrument they would not spend their cash on and what they’d reasonably have of their kitchens.

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We spoke with Chris Melder, govt chef at Hilton Shreveport; Clark Hoskin, govt chef at Kenoza Hall; Dennis Littley, a classically skilled chef, culinary educator and founding father of Ask Chef Dennis; Kristin Bryan, chef and head of U.S. Culinary Innovation at HelloFresh; and Adam Gallagher, co-founder of Inspired Taste, for his or her ideas on all issues kitchen instruments—and so they had opinions.

We additionally requested how they really feel about single-use devices normally, as a result of having just one function would not essentially make a instrument ineffective. How usually you cook dinner, what you make and the way a lot area you could have all matter too. But when it got here time to call a gadget they may do with out, one very particular kitchen instrument got here up many times. See what kitchen instrument each chef we spoke with mentioned you may skip—and which instruments they mentioned are price clearing some kitchen area for.

The Big Reveal: Why 5 Chefs All Hate the Avocado Slicer

The avocado slicer is designed to make prepping avocados simpler, however our consultants stored coming again to the identical query: Why purchase one other gadget when a knife and spoon already do the job?

For Melder, there’s additionally the difficulty of how nicely the gadget truly works. He says avocado slicers are inclined to work greatest solely when the fruit is completely ripe and that it might probably battle when it is firmer or softer. “A regular chef’s knife does the whole job faster and cleaner, and you already own one,” he says. “That thing just ends up in the junk drawer.”

Hoskin factors out that you just already want a knife to open the avocado within the first place. “It’s one of the things that can be done simply with a chef’s knife, which you would already need to open the avocado,” he says.

Gallagher agrees. “I don’t use an avocado slicer in my kitchen, and I don’t see why anyone would need one,” he says. Once an avocado is ripe, Gallagher merely cuts across the middle with a knife, twists it open, removes the pit and scoops out or slices the flesh.

Littley has related reasoning. “A basic chef’s knife can halve, pit, peel and slice an avocado just as quickly, and it’s easier to clean,” he says.

And even Bryan, who eats avocados often, has by no means discovered a lot use for the gadget. “I love avocados and eat them constantly,” she says. “But I’ll never understand the need for an avocado slicer. A large spoon will scoop out a half just fine, and a good paring or vegetable knife will give you perfectly beautiful slices.”

Related: We Asked 3 Professional Chefs What the Most Underrated Kitchen Tool Is — They All Chose the Same Item

The ‘Unitasker’ Trap: When Single-Use Kitchen Gadgets Aren’t Worth It

A kitchen instrument having just one job would not make it a waste of cash. For Bryan, it comes down as to whether that one job makes sufficient of a distinction to justify the area it takes up.

“I don’t think single-purpose gadgets are necessarily bad. It really comes down to what you cook, and how often you cook it,” she says. Her personal exception is a cherry pitter, which she makes use of all through cherry season. “For me, the test is simple: Does this gadget save me enough time or effort that I’ll actually reach for it? If the answer is yes, it has earned its kitchen real estate.”

Littley feels a lot the identical manner. “I’m not against a kitchen tool just because it only does one thing. If you use it all the time and it genuinely makes cooking easier, then it earns its place,” he says. But if one other fundamental kitchen instrument can do the job simply as simply, Littley questions whether or not it is price the additional cash or drawer area.

4 Other Kitchen Gadgets Culinary Experts Say Are a Total Waste

The avocado slicer is not the one kitchen gadget these consultants would depart on the shelf. Here are just a few others they are saying you may most likely do with out.

1. Herb Scissors

Bryan and Littley each name out herb scissors as one thing most house cooks do not want. Littley says a chef’s knife “will chop herbs extra evenly with out leaving items trapped between a number of blades.”

Bryan would reasonably use common kitchen shears, which might deal with herbs, together with loads of different jobs.

2. Egg Separators

Littley additionally places egg separators on his skip record. “You can separate an egg utilizing clear palms or the shell,” he says, including that the gadget would not save sufficient time to make shopping for and storing one other instrument worthwhile.

Bryan agrees that you do not want a particular gadget for the job, noting that separating an egg takes simply seconds with out one.

3. Electric Salt-and-Pepper Grinders

Melder is not offered on battery-powered salt-and-pepper grinders. “They look fancy until the batteries die mid-service or the mechanism jams,” he says.

His choice is way easier: an everyday grinder you flip by hand, which he says “lasts forever and never needs charging.”

4. Garlic Presses

Melder would additionally skip the garlic press, particularly when a knife can deal with the identical job with out one other instrument to wash afterward.

“They mash the garlic into a paste that’s stronger and more bitter than what you get from a knife, the little holes clog constantly and cleaning them is a pain,” he says. “Just smash the clove with the side of your knife and mince it.”

What To Buy Instead: The 4 Multipurpose Tools Every Chef Vouches For

So, the place must you spend your kitchen price range as an alternative? The cooks we spoke with pointed to instruments that may deal with far multiple job. Here are 4 price making room for.

1. A Good Chef’s Knife

Rather than shopping for a separate gadget for each slicing and chopping job, Melder recommends spending that cash on a superb chef’s knife.

“It’s not glamorous, but it’s the one tool that handles 80 percent of the work in any kitchen,” he says, including {that a} chef’s knife can deal with “chopping, slicing, dicing, mincing garlic or herbs, breaking down chicken, cutting avocado, even smashing garlic cloves or scooping stuff off the board.”

Bryan additionally recommends investing in a top quality chef’s or vegetable knife, together with a superb knife sharpener and durable cutting board.

2. An Immersion Blender

Littley recommends an immersion blender for house cooks who need loads of makes use of with out one other cumbersome equipment taking on the kitchen.

“It’s compact however can purée soups and sauces immediately within the pot, emulsify mayonnaise and dressings, mix tomatoes and deal with small batches that do not justify pulling out a countertop blender,” he says.

Littley additionally makes use of his immediately within the container when puréeing tomatoes for spaghetti sauce, which suggests much less cleanup afterward.

3. Kitchen Shears

Bryan additionally recommends a superb pair of stainless-steel kitchen shears as an alternative of shopping for separate scissors for particular jobs.

“They can do everything from snipping herbs and cutting small vegetables to opening food packages,” she says. “You don’t need a separate pair of scissors for every task.”

Just make sure to hold a pair devoted to cooking, which is what Bryan recommends for the kitchen.

4. A Food Processor or Blender

For a bigger-ticket buy, Hoskin recommends placing your cash towards one thing you should use in multiple manner.

“Big-ticket objects can be a superb meals processor and blender,” he says. “Both can be utilized for many applications.”

They might take up extra room than among the smaller instruments on this record, however for Hoskin, their versatility makes that kitchen area simpler to justify.

Final Thoughts

Kitchen devices are simple to purchase on impulse, particularly once they promise to make an annoying process sooner. But earlier than including one to your cart, take into consideration how usually you’d realistically use it. Something you pull out each week is one factor. Something you would possibly want twice a 12 months might be going to spend so much extra time within the drawer than in your hand.

Sources:

• Dennis Littley is a classically skilled chef, culinary educator and founding father of Ask Chef Dennis.

• Kristin Bryan is a chef and head of U.S. Culinary Innovation at HelloFresh.

• Adam Gallagher is the co-founder and recipe developer at Inspired Taste.

Related: This Sleek Kitchen Essential Will Make Everyday Meal Prep Feel Like a Gourmet Meal

This story was initially printed by Parade on Sep 25, 2026, the place it first appeared within the Food & Drink part. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.