Thermapen Mk4
Kitchen drawers are a scrap yard for cheapo thermometers – the ones with the broken dials, the bent-to-useless pot clips and the supposedly superior digital readouts that worked for all of a week. Thermapen’s Mk4 is what the world’s best chefs swear by. The British-made device isn’t just merely crazy-fast, simple to use and nearly as intelligent as an iPhone; it’s also all but indestructible. Among its features: instant on and off, a photosensitive backlight, a self-righting display (no more turning your head upside down to see if the chicken’s done) and a temperature range from -50 to 200 degrees Celsius, with dead-on readings in three seconds or less. It’s waterproof, of course, and comes in 10 different colours. You’ll never overcook a custard or ruin a prime rib roast again.
$100 (U.S.) plus shipping, from thermoworks.com
Porcelain spear mortar & pestle, by John Julian Design
Maybe you’ve already got a 20-pound molcajete or a basic granite mortar and pestle gathering dust in the basement, one that you haul out to make a party-sized guacamole once a year. This exquisite little mortar and pestle is sized for everyday tasks, and so drop-dead beautiful that you’ll never hide it away. It’s made by hand in Wiltshire, Britain, and designed not for muscular bashing jobs but for fine grinding. Think coarsely cracked pepper for cacio e pepe, just-toasted South Asian spices, or an anchovy, oil and garlic mash to make magic of Italian bitter greens.
$156, from herriottgrace.com
Gray Kunz spoon
Top chefs travel with their Gray Kunz spoons; many won’t leave home without one. Which you may find odd, if you think it’s just a spoon, but that’s only true in the same way that a great soufflé is just protein, processed flour and fat. The Gray Kunz has made-to-last heft and precision balance, and a deep, wide bowl that’s perfectly shaped for skimming, saucing, plating, ladling, quenelle-making and basting. It’s indispensable and a pleasure to use. $25, knifetoronto.com
Adjustable Tuscan grill
The Tuscans, bless them, don’t just gawp at their fireplaces – they use them to grill great slabs of beef, slowly roast chestnuts and toast oil-slicked bread over smouldering firewood. Their secret is a simple metal grilling apparatus that has become known as a Tuscan grill. There are basic, fixed-height versions as well as fancier adjustable ones; either way, they’re caveman-simple to use and just about the coolest cold-weather party trick there is (double points if you bring one to a friend’s cottage). Basic version is $45 at bbqs.com, adjustable version made in Tuscany is $190 plus shipping at spitjack.com.