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5 Must Have Items for Every Chef

December 9, 2019 by contentadmin

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You’re a chef. So obviously you know what you need to work, right? The ol’ knife, spatula, apron, and maybe even the classic chef’s hat? With all of these kitchen weapons in your arsenal, there’s no way you’re missing anything. But wait! While the essentials are necessary and irreplaceable in the kitchen, there are a few tools that can help increase the efficiency of your kitchen and improve the quality of taste in your dishes.

1) The Mandolin

While a knife can offer more control over cuts, when speed is a priority, the mandolin is the better option. A mandolin is a cutting tool designed to provide fast, thin, and consistent cuts. Every professional chef recognizes the importance of this tool and has one in the kitchen. When time is of the essence and there are many dishes to prepare, whether night or day, the mandolin is the tool that will save you from your plight.

The mandolin increases the productivity of food assembly by decreasing the amount of time spent on cutting vegetables. It also maintains the consistency of the dishes prepared by producing similar cuts each time. It is essentially a mass production tool of kitchen warfare.

2) A Meat Thermometer

The meat may look done, but is it really? Sometimes the meat isn’t cooked all the way through and can make it unsafe for consumption and generally un-tasty.

A good quality meat thermometer can assure you that every meat dish served is cooked thoroughly and to perfection. Whether it be chicken, beef, or steak, if you serve meat in your restaurant then it is important that you make sure your meat is safe to eat. The best quality thermometers can even tell the precise oven temperatures.

Ensuring safe food helps prevent foodborne illness outbreaks.

3) Knife Sharpener

The knife is an essential tool for the kitchen and is almost indispensable. Given its importance, it must be taken care of properly. This means washing and polishing it, but most importantly, sharpening it.

A knife without a blade is just a stick. And while some foods can be prepared with a stick, that isn’t what we’re going for. A dull blade can make the cutting process harder and slower. This means the efficiency of the kitchen decreases drastically with a dull blade.

A knife sharpener is essential for keeping your knives ready for action. Sharp knives decrease the amount of energy needed for each cut allowing the chef to perform kitchen duties for long periods of time overall.

4) Employee Management System

On the more overall restaurant management side of things, an employee management system is a must! This is essentially a system that helps manages all things employee-related. This includes detailing employee schedule times and allowing them to clock in and out. An efficient clock-in system ensures that employees can come in and get straight to work.

This also decreases any confusion when it comes to payroll because the device will monitor exact times and provide accurate numbers on paychecks.

Also, this system can include employee information such as contact information. This allows you to get in contact with them if you need an emergency fill-in.

A good employee management system can help foster trust with employees and is crucial for improving employee engagement.

5) A Good Inventory Management System

The last item on our list is very, very important. Every chef needs to understand what comes into their kitchen and what is leaving. A good inventory management system is precisely the tool they need to ensure that the restaurant is running efficiently. Also, it is important to ensure that kitchen expenses are meeting the budget and to find out where improvements can be made. Keeping track of you par-level ingredients is important for ensuring that you don’t run out of supplies during peak hours as well.

Improving the efficiency and overall level of your kitchen is a chef’s #1 priority. With years of experience in the foodservice industry, FoodBAM is here to help you streamline your kitchen and optimize your time through technology!

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