Everything I Threw Out of My Kitchen After I Went to Culinary School — Personal History

The best part about going to culinary school? You get a brand-new, shiny set of knives! Okay, sure, you also get to fulfill a lifelong dream of mastering mother sauces, shimmying the airiest of omelettes, and dicing impeccable mirepoix. But I was honestly very excited about the knives. On the first day of class, when they handed me my kit full of kitchen tools, however, I flipped it open like a book, and did a little bounce in my clogs. Perusing the contents, there wasn't a ton in there — just a few essentials.

This was the first of a series of revelations: Professional cooks don't have more tools. They don't even have more expensive tools. Honestly, they just have the right tools for the job.

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