Make home cooking a breeze
We asked our new Executive Chef Matthew Bilinski for just three kitchen essentials that will make creating meals in your home a bit less difficult. Working in kitchens since a very young age and travelling around the world cooking for high profile clients in exotic locations, Chef has garnered a wealth of knowledge on equipment, technique and presentation. Executive Chef Bilinski states these are the top three must haves in your home kitchen and that with these essentials, weekday meals, entertaining and romantic dinners can all be made easy.
Knives
Chef Bilinski believes that a good set of knives are the foundation for a successful kitchen creation. “You don’t need to go crazy, but get a set of knives you can rely on” he says. Even to start with only two knives, an 8 or 10 inch chef’s knife and either a small paring or utility knife would be great to get you started. Chef prefers Japanese made knives to German as they are lighter however be warned they are often thinner and therefore chip more easily.
Pots & Pans
“Always have a nonstick pan on hand” is what Chef Bilinski says for this kitchen essential. Having a good set of pots and pans allows you to make wonderful sauces, soups, pastas, stir-frys and more. Chef is a big fan of cast iron pans for searing, braising and breakfast skillets. He recommends Lodge cast iron and claims Lagostina pots and pans are great caliber for a home kitchen.
Blender
Chef says that the third kitchen essential to have on hand is a quality blender. Blenders have an incredibly wide scope of options for the home cook ranging from smoothies to pancakes. Soups and sauces are simple to combine and a blender is also a great tool to make pestos and dips. Chef Bilinski highly praises the Vitamix brand of blenders, although they are not the cheapest, they are of the utmost quality and processing power.
*The brands noted in this article are Chef Bilinski’s personal preference and reccomendation. Taboo Muskoka nor Chef Bilinski are affiliated or endorsed by any brands mentioned in this article.
