I am an avid wood worker and do a lot of my own remodeling and maintenance around the house, in doing so I read a lot of DIY magazines and web sites. One thing that that I see a lot of in the DIY community is people asking for, and getting, descriptions of basic starter kits, or tool boxes. In the cooking world, not so much. So I thought I would give it a shot here.

Just as in the DIY world tools costs can add up fast. So you may need to acquire these items over time, unless you have a big wad of cash lying around with nothing to do. My best suggestion on where to purchase this stuff is your local restaurant supplier. In the Midwest, where I live, we have Gordon Food Service. They have retail stores where you can purchase almost anything you might need. If they don’t have it in the store they will order it from their warehouse and have it for you the next day.

One nice thing about using a restaurant supplier, everything is NSF approved. (National Sanitation Foundation) Another nice thing is that if purchase it from the restaurant supplier you will probably never need to purchase the item again. This stuff is heavy duty, meant to take years of use and abuse. So as the saying goes “you can pay more now or pay more latter.”

Another place you can try is the local thrift stores or maybe some garage sales. I’m sure you could find someone selling Granma’s old cast iron cookware.

How to purchase:
The best way to purchase, as I stated above, is at a local restaurant supplier. If that is not an option for you, try typing the item into Google then click the shopping link.

While doing some preliminary searches I found three fairly comprehensive online purveyors of cooking supplies:

Globe Equipment Company: free shipping over $250

Instawares free shipping over $50

CPAPC no free shipping

So here we go…

Pots and Pans:

1 – 12qt Stock Pot with Lid

2 – 6qt Pots 1 – 2 ¾ qt Sauce Pan w/ Lid

1 – 3 3/4 qt and 1 – 4 1/2 qt Sauce Pan w/ Lid

1 -8 in and 1 – 12 in Sauté Pan w/ Lid Non Stick

1 – 12 in Cast Iron Skillet

1 – 12 in Wok

2 – ½ Sheet pans 18 x 13 inches

2 – 13 x 9 Cake Pans

2 – 9 in Round Cake Pans

2 – Loaf Pans

2 – 12 in Pizza Pans

Knives:
1 – 10 in Chefs Knife

1 – 12 to 14 in Slicing Knife

1 – Paring Knife

1 – Boning Knife
Cutting Board:
2 – Large White Plastic, one for raw meat one for cooked meat and vegetables

If you really have a load of money lying around Rubber Maid sells a 6 color set of cutting boards so that cross contamination is completely eliminated.

1 – Small for Cheese and Bar Fruit
Large Utensils and Support Ware:
1 – Large Colander

1 – Set of Nesting Mixing Bowls (you will need 2 of the largest bowls)

6 to 12 – Small bowls for Recipe Prep

Glad Plastic Storage Containers

Small Utensils:
1 – Instant Read Thermometer

2 – Large and 2 Small Rubber or Silicone Spatulas

2 – Long and 2 Short Spring Tongs

1 – Short and 1 Long Wire Wisk

1 – Slotted Spoon

2 to 4 – Wooden Spoons of Varying Lengths

1 – Plastic Spatula for the Nonstick Sauté Pans

1 – Metal Spatula for the Cast Iron Pan

1 – 8 in Wire Screen Sieve

1 – 3 in Fine Wire Sieve

1 – Tomato Shark

1 – Box Grater

Power Tools:
Immersion Blender

Hand Mixer

Food Processor

That should just about get you through pretty much any recipe you come across. Most recipes will let you know up front if you need any special tools to comlete the cooking process..