FEATURES
of the
To ols
ESSENTIAL
PASTRY TRAD
E
Check out these can’t-live-without-it tools for pastry chefs.
By Robert Wemischner
WITHOUT talent and creativity,
kitchen tools mean nothing. How a chef uses
a tool, usually as an extension of good, deft
hands, is what really counts. However, in the
highly diverse world of pastry and dessert-making, whether low-tech, inexpensive and
purchased at your local hardware store, or
cutting-edge, tools engender fierce loyalties
among pastry chefs.
TOP FIVE
Michael Laiskonis, executive pastry chef
at Le Bernardin, New York, says his
favorite tool is an offset spatula. “This
little guy is always in my back pocket,
literally. Since I spend so much time
moving delicate objects from one place to
another, this tool is rightfully at the top of
the list.” Surgical tweezers come in a close
second. “I’ve only been using these for
the last year or two, but they’ve become
indispensable while plating desserts when
ultra-precision is necessary.”
He has a hard time deciding between these
top two and his next three favorite tools,
one of which is a digital scale with accuracy
down to a tenth of a gram. “Consistency, not
to mention whether a recipe will work at all,
depends on accuracy,” he says. Next on his
list is a laptop computer. “In an effort to cut
down on all those scraps of paper scribbled
with ideas and formulas—and paper recipes
altogether—I’ve begun to keep my computer
within reach, even in the kitchen. Not only are
all of my recipes and reference materials a
mere click away, so, too, is perhaps the most
efficient research tool, the Internet.”
And finally, he constantly relies on a digital
camera. “I find documenting one’s works-
in-progress helpful in the creative process
itself,” Laiskonis says. “So, too, it makes the
consulting work I do much easier. In the time it
takes to collect in an e-mail a few recipes and
a step-by-step photo tutorial, I can implement
a new dessert in another restaurant—down
the street or across the country.”
Chef Rubber
A digital scale that ensures precise
measurements is an important
player in the pastry kitchen.
