All That Fancy Kitchen Clutter

My funky coffee grinder

I’m not really into all these fancy kitchen gadgets that are popular today. In true ‘hunter gatherer’ style, I try to stick to the kitchen basics. In a way I am forced to, coz I’ve got a really small kitchen without a single cupboard, so clutter is an issue, I mean, why have a special avo scooper when a spoon will do the trick. The other day, I saw on the telly, one of those celebrity chefs making gnocchi, he had the little ribbed paddle to groove the gnocchi to create more surface area for the sauce to cling to. I thought to myself ‘that’s cool’, I can be rather cunning and get an off-cut of decking plank at the local hardware store and that would do the trick. When I proudly showed my ingenious gadget, to my mate The E-man, he politely nodded and told me his ‘Mamma’ used a fork. I felt like a right idiot. 

All I’m saying is that with a bit of common sense, creativity, time and some elbow grease, you can achieve a tremendous amount in a basic kitchen. In a professional kitchen, I guess a few machines that zizz and go ping are really useful, but I don’t really know much about professional cooking.

I take great pleasure scrounging cooking stuff from alternative spots. All my pots and pans are ‘hand me downs’ or have been bought at second hand catering shops, but my favourite place to buy kitchen stuff is my local weekend flea market, which is now known by my friends as ‘Charlie’s Shopping Centre’, in fact, most of my kitchen comes from there.  It’s cheap, you are reusing stuff and you can find some funky practical goodies (check out my coffee grinder). Don’t get me wrong, if ‘le Cruest’ sponsored me some kit, I’d have such a huge smile that if I didn’t have ears my whole head would be an island. 

I think there are a few things that even a basic kitchen should have. A good knife and heavy and textured mortar and pestle are two of my best friends in the kitchen. Every now and then I even use my immersion blender, more affectionately known as the ‘kitchen dildo’. Your best friends may be very different, who knows, your most trusty mates could even be an avo scooper, a gnocchi paddle or even a chocolate tea cosy. We are all different and what you serve up on the plate reflects your personality, even the plate.

The Anti Clutter Wheel. Note the funky old school potato masher. A top find.