We have all watched far too much of the Food Network than is good for us. Faux foodies know the names of all the celebrity chefs and the names of all the ingredients and techniques that we never use in practice. We know all about mise en place and wish more than anything that we have an opportunity to use it in a sentence while sounding perfectly natural. Good luck with that. And that is about as close to foodie culture as most of us will ever come.
Then, there are the “real” foodies. They know the names of the gourmet chefs in their city. They have spent over $500 to dine out with the family. And they absolutely do have all the spices and special ingredients that most people wouldn’t know what to do with.
You know who you are. You have the kitchen of a real foodie because you are a real foodie. You eat to live and you live to eat, and cook, and talk about food, and learn about food, and leave your mark on food culture. Since you already have the kitchen, here are a few more things you will need to go with that kitchen:
An Outdoor Kitchen
Do you know what’s even better than a great kitchen? Another kitchen. Get rid of that useless trampoline in the backyard and replace it with stainless steel or a brick outdoor kitchen. If you have a lot of outdoor events, you should have an outdoor kitchen. Cooking and eating are social occasions. If you have an outdoor event, you are the one who is left out of the fun because you are indoors doing the cooking and food prep. It is a little like the one taking the pictures being the only one who is not in the pictures. The people working with the food deserve to also be a part of the fun.
When cooking outside, there are things to consider that are not big issues for an indoor kitchen. Insects are a big one. You probably don’t have an indoor infestation of bugs that rivals what’s going on in the backyard. You can’t just go around spraying aerosol poison around food and open flames. Be sure you factor in a solution for that. You will also want to make sure that any open-flame cooking accounts for flying sparks that could catch nearby objects alight. There are solutions for all these concerns. Just be sure to implement outdoor cooking safety when doing your outdoor cooking.
Professional Pans
If you have a professional kitchen, you need professional pans that can take the heat. Some of those pans will be making the trip from a hot stovetop to an even hotter oven. In those pans, your steaks will rest before being served. They have to maintain and distribute heat evenly.
A lot has been made of non-stick technology. However, that is not the highest priority for professional chefs. The key is to buy the highest quality pan you can afford and take good care of it. You can’t just toss it into a dishwasher and call it a day, or give it a good wipe with a paper towel. Your focus should not be on how easy it is to clean the pan, but on how well the pan cooks. Proper care will keep your pans useful for many years.
Better Ingredients
Better ingredients don’t stop with upgrading the spice rack. You need better cuts of meat. Your discount grocery store might not stock the meat served at your favorite restaurant. If you want to cook like a chef, you have to shop like a chef. You will also want to stop depending on canned items and transition to buying fresh fruits and vegetables. Use a knife and food processor to prepare your favorite sauces. Your dishes will be instantly elevated. When you shop fresh and cook fresh, you will also eat fresh. And that makes all the difference.
You don’t have to be a professional chef to enjoy the foodie lifestyle. To get the most out of it, what you do need is an outdoor kitchen, professional cookware, and the highest possible quality of ingredie