Back Burner No. 3: The Kitchen Appliances You Actually Need, According to a Chef

I'm not taking away your air fryer, but I'm not giving you one.

Hi! I’m Clare Langan, a professionally-trained cook and culinary retail veteran. I spent years running the teaching kitchen at Sur La Table before consulting on content for with brands like KitchenAid, Breville and as Culinary Trend Director at World Market. Recently, I was the Director of Content at Williams Sonoma, where I worked with every major kitchenware brand on product launches, collaborations, social media and video.

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On my first day with a new private chef client, they had every countertop appliance imaginable laid out—electric griddle, sous vide machine, vacuum sealer, stand mixer, hand mixer, blender, mini blender—you name it. They even had a handheld truffle shaver at the ready. Mind you, there weren’t any truffles on the menu (and probably never will be).

I only need one kitchen electric to make mostly everything.