How the Kitchen Corner Came About

The truth is that good kitchen gear is a great pleasure; the right tool for the job and all that. But we at Culinary Underground also have a modicum of restraint; we think each piece of equipment should work for more than one purpose.

I remember taking the Culinary Underground Very Basics Series and being enchanted by the salt pig, the gnocchi paddles, the melon ballers that we used to core pears. Cool, simple tools I didn’t really, REALLY need but after taking the VB series I would surely be doing more cooking and didn’t that justify their acquisition?

Well, you know where this leads. Before long I upgraded from a hand mixer to a refurbished stand mixer (be still my heart), from a 30-year-old food processor bought used to a 12-cup Kitchen Aid. Every now and then when I can’t resist any more, I’ll indulge in a fabulous pot, like the 3-quart saucepan I coveted and now use for just about everything.

Students in our classes are always asking, “Where can I buy this?” We can and do send them to the nearest kitchen store, but we’ve always kinda wanted to have a little kitchen store ourselves.

Back in Lori’s home, there was no room at all for merchandise. But now! Now we have space – a really cozy corner where we are slowly accumulating all our favorites. As Lori says, “You don't need a lot of expensive gadgets to cook well, just quality items that work well and last.”

We’ve had a lot of fun selecting the goods for the store and discovering new good stuff in the process. Like USA Bakeware and Regal Ware's American Kitchen pots and pans we use in classes; Fissler knives that sharpen beautifully but are unbelievably comfortable in the hand; sustainable bamboo cutting boards that look and feel great - and are dishwasher safe.

Currently, I have my eye on a 10” Regal Ware American skillet. With a pan like that, I could do almost anything.