Meet the crew · Fellow apprentice · otter
Pippa’s story
Fast, funny and full of opinions. Pippa can juggle three pairs of tongs. She can also drop one in the fryer.
- Favorite tool: tongs, obviously.
- Can turn a single scallop with kitchen tweezers without looking.
- Has never once walked into the kitchen. She slides.
Pippa grew up in a big, loud otter family on the lower river, where dinner was always a race and nobody ever waited for the sauce to finish.
She arrived at the Riverbank Inn on Gerzsi’s third day, slid across the kitchen floor on her tail, and asked who was in charge of the fun. Chef Tamás said nobody was. She took the job anyway.
Within ten minutes she was juggling three pairs of tongs. Within eleven, one was in the fryer. Chef Tamás fished it out with a fourth pair and said, “Tongs are for turning food, not for showing off.”
Pippa has since learned that he is right. She still juggles them. Just not over the fryer.
These days she guards the scraps bucket with Gerzsi. She guards it like a goalkeeper. He guards it like a dam.
🛍️ Pippa’s pocket picks (all under $20)
- OXO Good Grips 12″ Tongs: America’s Test Kitchen’s winning tongs. The pair Pippa is not allowed to juggle. (about $18) · Check on Amazon
- OXO Good Grips 9″ Tongs: ATK’s pick for smaller jobs and smaller paws. (about $14 on sale) · Check on Amazon
- 12″ stainless kitchen tweezers: For the jobs tongs are too clumsy for: one scallop, one herb leaf. (usually $10–20) · Check on Amazon
Test results from America’s Test Kitchen, explained in the full guide: 4 cheap tools a head chef uses every shift. Prices checked October 2026; they change often. Affiliate links: how we make money.
Read Pippa in the adventures: Stop 3: The Scraps Bucket · Stop 4: The Old Mill
Pippa is made up, like everyone on the river except Chef Tamás. The gear is real.
