Kitchen Tools a Head Chef Uses Every Day

From the kitchen: Gerzsi once judged whether a steak was done by poking it with his paw, the way the old cookbooks say. “Feels like the base of your thumb,” they say. Beavers do not have that kind of thumb. The steak came out somewhere between “rare” and “still mooing,” the guest was very polite about it, and the next morning an instant-read thermometer appeared in Gerzsi’s apron pocket. It has lived there ever since.

Professional kitchens run on a surprisingly short list of tools. Here’s what Chef Tamás reaches for every day, what he’d skip, and the tested versions of each that are worth your money.

Chef Tamás’s note: Every day: a stainless skillet, a cast-iron skillet, a nonstick skillet, an instant-read thermometer, a digital scale and tongs. If he could give a home cook just one thing besides a good knife, it would be a good pan.

Quick picks

Skillets

Instant-read thermometers

Kitchen scales

Tongs

The core kit, priced

Skillets

Tool	Start with	Upgrade	Key facts
Stainless skillet	All-Clad D3 12″, $100–200 · Check on Amazon	—	Tri-ply, oven-safe to 600°F, limited lifetime warranty
Cast iron	Lodge 12″, $25–50 · Check on Amazon	Smithey No. 12, $200–300 · Check on Amazon	Lodge 8.08 lb; Smithey about 8.7 lb, made in USA
Nonstick	T-fal Experience 12.5″, check price	All-Clad D3 nonstick 12″, $100–200 · Check on Amazon	All-Clad: oven-safe to 500°F

Thermometers

Tool	Start with	Upgrade	Key facts
Thermometer	TempPro Lightning TP622, $25–50 · Check on Amazon	Thermapen ONE, $50–100 (on sale) · Check on Amazon	TP622: quick, accurate, backlit. Thermapen ONE: ATK’s winner

Scales

Tool	Start with	Upgrade	Key facts
Scale	Ozeri Pronto, $25–50 · Check on Amazon	OXO 11 lb pull-out display, $50–100 · Check on Amazon	OXO: 1 g increments, removable platform

Tongs

OXO Good Grips 12″, Under $25 · Check on Amazon

Price ranges based on list prices in October 2026; tap the button for today’s price. The spec and price pages, and America’s Test Kitchen’s test results, are linked in Sources at the end.

1. Skillets: one of each, for a reason

Chef Tamás’s note: Each pan has a job. Cast iron is for steak and hard searing. Stainless is for pan sauces and deglazing. Nonstick is for eggs and fish. In Tamás’s kitchen you need all three, but if you can only buy one, buy stainless. (Gerzsi learned the nonstick rule the hard way, after an omelet that had to be removed with a chisel. Beavers are good with chisels. It still wasn’t breakfast.)

Stainless (buy this first): All-Clad D3 Stainless 12″ Fry Pan

This is America’s Test Kitchen’s top 12-inch stainless skillet. Fully clad construction heats quickly and browns evenly. The broad cooking surface has low, flared sides that help moisture evaporate, the pan weighs a manageable 2.8 lb, and the handle stays cool on the stovetop. The testers found that spending in the $100–200 range bought noticeably better performance than budget pans under $100 (America’s Test Kitchen).

Cast iron: Lodge 12″ (value) or Smithey No. 12 (upgrade)

America’s Test Kitchen’s Best Buy, the Lodge 12-inch (in the $25–50 range at WebstaurantStore in October 2026), performed about as well as premium pans. It was rough at first, but it quickly built up seasoning and released food well. The winner, the Smithey No. 12 (in the $200–300 range at Smithey), was silky-smooth from day one and held heat for excellent, even browning (America’s Test Kitchen).

Lodge 12″ · Good for: a tight budget. It performed about as well as premium pans. Not for: anyone who wants a smooth surface on day one. It starts out rough.

Nonstick: T-fal Experience 12.5″ (value) or All-Clad 12″ Nonstick (upgrade)

America’s Test Kitchen’s Best Buy, the T-fal Experience (in the $25–50 range), is lightweight, induction-compatible and has a comfortable handle, though its slightly domed surface lets oil drift to the edges. The overall winner, the All-Clad Stainless 12″ Nonstick (in the $100–200 range at All-Clad), offers a spacious surface, gently sloped walls and reliable release (America’s Test Kitchen).

T-fal Experience · Good for: a light, induction-compatible nonstick on a budget. Not for: cooking with a thin film of oil, since the slightly domed surface lets oil drift to the edges.

2. An instant-read thermometer

Chef Tamás’s note: What matters is that it reads in a few seconds, it’s accurate, and it’s waterproof and easy to clean. It doesn’t need to be expensive. It just needs to be in your pocket, not in a drawer.

• Best value: TempPro (ThermoPro) Lightning TP622. America’s Test Kitchen rates it Highly Recommended: quick, accurate and backlit, though the folded probe is a bit hard to grab (America’s Test Kitchen). ATK’s budget pick from ThermoWorks isn’t sold on Amazon, so we list this one.
• Upgrade: ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE. ATK’s winner. It reads in about 1.1 seconds, is accurate to within 0.07°F at 125°F, and is waterproof (America’s Test Kitchen).

3. A digital scale

Chef Tamás’s note: Look for a tare button, accuracy to the gram, and a flat top that’s easy to wipe clean. For baking, a scale is essential. Gerzsi once measured flour “by paw” for a bread dough. The result could have been used to build a dam.

• Top pick: OXO Good Grips 11 lb Food Scale with Pull-Out Display. America’s Test Kitchen’s winner. It’s accurate, the display pulls out nearly 4 inches so big bowls don’t hide it, and the platform comes off for easy cleaning (America’s Test Kitchen).
• Best value: Ozeri Pronto. The Best Buy. It’s accurate and easy to use, with a bright display, though the platform doesn’t come off for cleaning (America’s Test Kitchen).

Ozeri Pronto · Good for: accurate weighing on a budget, with a bright display. Not for: anyone who wants a platform that comes off for cleaning.

4. Tongs

Chef Tamás uses tongs every shift, and for a cook with paws like Gerzsi, they’re basically extra fingers. America’s Test Kitchen’s long-running favorite is the OXO Good Grips 12-Inch Tongs. The pincers are precise and feel like an extension of your hand, and you lock them by tapping a metal tab (America’s Test Kitchen).

What Chef Tamás would skip

Chef Tamás’s note: Two things people buy that are a waste: single-purpose gadgets like avocado slicers, and big knife sets in a block. One good chef’s knife does most of the work. Gerzsi’s gadget drawer once got so full it wouldn’t close, so he did what beavers do best: he cleared it out and built something useful instead.

Start with the knife. See Chef Tamás’s best chef’s knives under $100, pair it with a good cutting board, and learn how to keep it sharp.

The bottom line

Skip the gadget drawer. Build a short list instead: one good knife, a stainless skillet, then cast iron and nonstick, an instant-read thermometer, a scale and a pair of tongs. That’s the core of a professional kitchen, and it fits in yours. No paw-poking required.

Chef-picked. Beaver-approved.

Sources

• America’s Test Kitchen: The Best Stainless-Steel Skillets
• America’s Test Kitchen: The Best Cast-Iron Skillets
• America’s Test Kitchen: The Best Nonstick Skillets
• America’s Test Kitchen: The Best Instant-Read Thermometers
• America’s Test Kitchen: The Best Digital Scales
• America’s Test Kitchen: Editors’ top kitchen tools
• All-Clad: D3 12″ fry pan
• All-Clad: D3 nonstick 12″ fry pan
• WebstaurantStore: Lodge L10SK3 12″
• Smithey: No. 12 skillet
• ThermoWorks: Thermapen ONE
• Kohl’s: OXO 11 lb scale
• Home Depot: Ozeri Pronto
• Fante’s: OXO 12″ locking tongs