Essential Products for Novel Cooks
It’s 2026. Everything is expensive! Is cooking more at home on your list of goals? You go rockstar! You’ve come to the right place. Lets get you started with the necessary tools. Entry into the world of cooking can feel overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. With the help of a few kitchen essentials, cooking can be easy and fun! When getting started, pay attention to quality. While you don’t need to sell your kidney to buy cooking gear, there is reason behind some expense. Shelling out for quality items means you buy once rather than having to replace every year. Below you will find my list of items and the rational behind each. In thinking of the novel chef, these products met the following criteria, non-toxic, multipurpose, easy to clean, and most importantly cute. All these thinks will make you want to come back to cooking because they will help make it fun!
1. Chef’s Knife: A high quality chef’s knife will help with all things cooking. Most recipes require chopping/dicing/ mincing of some sort. The chef’s knife will do it all. Rather than have individual knife for different tasks, a chef’s knife can do it all. There are a wide range of costs for these knives. Be sure to pay attention to quality. That being said, spending hundreds of dollars is not necessary. A good chef’s knife can be sharpened and reused rather than needing to be replaced. And a sharp knife will take the pressure off of your hand during longer chopping jobs.
2. Cutting Boards: Closely behind a good knife falls a good cutting board or set. There has been plenty of talk about microplastic exposure. Because of this, I like the wood fiber options. The challenge with traditional wood cutting boards relates to cleaning. They require special attention including cleaning with lemon and salt and application of oils after. For the novel chef, wood fiber is less fussy. There has also been talk of glass and stainless steel; however, these will dull you knife quickly.
3. Mixing Bowl: A good mixing bowl is essential in my kitchen. I use my mixing bowl for purposes far beyond mixing. They can be used for prep, resting, mixing and serving. I always recommend finding a cute one or set of cute nesting bowls because they can also be used for serving. Having a bowl with a handle and spout makes managing viscous cooking projects far easier. The benefit of a nesting bowl set allows for use of different sizes and more than one bowl at a time, while not taking up too much space in storage.
4. Measuring cups and spoons: These are essential to a novel cook. I know you watched grandma through things in without measuring, but you’re not there yet young padawon. To ensure your meal is delicious, measure measure measure! Stackable sets are great as a space saving solution and assurance that you don’t lose one.
5. Cooking Utensils: Need to stir your mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery) or holy trinity (bell pepper, onion, celery)? Use a wooden spoon. Need to flip your fried egg, use a wooden spatula. These utensils are one more important area in the kitchen where attention to detail matters. The primary concern is exposure to microplastics. The secondary concern is protection of pots, pans and bakeware. For this reason, we use wood in our house. Wood checks all the boxes. It’s non-toxic and will not scratch your nice non-stick cook or bakeware. Additionally, they can multi-task as salad or brownie servers.
6. Pots and Pans: You don’t need a set of 30 different items. Think about starting with a few good ones. Then you can expand as needed. Start with a small and large skillet, a small sauce pan and a medium to large boiling pot (think soups, pasta water, boiled potatoes). When looking at different options, look for things that fall in the middle of the price range. And pay attention to stainless steel versus non-stick. The purists will argue that stainless is the way to go (durability, oven-safety, and high heat searing), non-stick has it’s advantages. Non-stick cookware is easy to clean and safe for delicate foods (i.e. over easy eggs or fish). The downside is that they require protection (think wooden utensils and non-scratch cleaning methods) and may have a shorter lifespan if not cared for properly. One final note, pay attention to your cooking surface. Induction cooktops require specific cookware.
7. Sheet Pans: In my kitchen, sheet pans are used daily. From sheet pan dinners, to toasting bread, or broiling some cheese on top of your tuna melt, these guys do it all. But not all sheet pans are created equally. The really cheap ones can warp with temperature changes in your oven or even over cook the bottoms of your cookies.
8. Glass storage containers: Look at you! You made the tastiest dish of all time. If you are like me, you have been running around the house making everyone else taste this thing you made. Yes, you are looking for happy dances and glowing words of affirmation! Don’t forget about calling your mom about it! Now it’s time to put that food away so you can taste the magic at lunch tomorrow and rub it in your co-workers faces! Get the glass storage! Non-toxic, safe for the microwave and cute enough to display the food art you made last night!
9. Veggie peeler: A good veggie peeler is a staple in my kitchen. I use it when I want my cucumbers to look fancy or when peeling a butternut squash. But be sure to find tools with a good handle! No one likes a tool slipping out of your hand and onto the floor mid-project!
10. Colander: From pasta to mashed potatoes to washing produce, the colander is a close friend in the kitchen. If you want just one, go bigger. I like mesh so that I don’t lose small noodles.
Ok home chef. You have the starter pack customized to fit your kitchen and cooking goals. Go fourth and make magic! And if magic doesn’t happen the first time, don’t give up! Lessons are learned in the mistakes!
