Tongs are the favorite gadgets of Matt Cavanaugh

Tongs are the favorite gadgets of Matt Cavanaugh, executive chef and owner of Matteo's in Lawrenceville. Cavanaugh, 33, of Crescent, uses tongs to stir, flip steaks and chicken, and plate entrees."When stuff's flying, they're pretty much an extension of you," Cavanaugh says. "On a Friday or Saturday, we'll have six pairs of tongs on the line; by the end of the night, I end up with all of them."Another "pretty basic" chef is Kevin Hunninen, executive chef at Park Bruges in Highland Park. His current favorite gadget is the immersion blender, which he and the rest of the kitchen staff have discovered can make larger batches of hummus than a food processor.Chefs kitchen knives wholesalers The immersion blender is also useful in preparing vegetable purees, such as the parsnip puree served with Park Bruges' short rib entree, says Hunninen, 37, of Highland Park.

Scott Moonan, executive chef at Up Modern Italian in Shadyside, says his favorite gadget is low-tech and low in cost: the so-called "slingshot" Kuhn Ikon peeler, shaped just like David's in his Biblical battle against Goliath. The peelers cost $10 for a three-pack."It's easier to use; it's the Cadillac of peelers," says Moonan, 28, of Troy Hill.Sandra Fischione Donovan is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.
When director Nora Ephron tried to illustrate the intensity of chef Julia Child's French culinary training for the movie "Julie and Julia," she had Academy Award winner Meryl Streep slash an enormous pile of onions to shreds with a chef's knife. When Disney studio artists showed French chef Louis coveting the tender flesh of Sebastian the red Jamaican crab in "The Little Mermaid," they drew the somewhat mad Louis wielding a cleaver.

Knives are the chief tools of a chef, allowing cooks to debone chicken, slice sushi and make a rose from a radish. Local chefs have their favorites, from German to Swiss to Japanese varieties.Kevin Watson of Savoy in the Strip District favors a German J.A.professional Chopping knivesboning suppliers Henckels brand chef's and boning knives. Selecting a knife, Watson says, is all "about the steel. It's about knowing there's a weight, there's a feeling" to the heft of the knife in one's hand.A chef's knife, the most popular and oft-used knife, is anywhere from 6 inches to 12 inches long and is curved to allow the chef to rock the knife on the cutting board for a precise cut.