Restaurant supply stores are a home cook’s dream

  • By Daniel Neman St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  • Thursday, June 12, 2014 5:22pm
  • Life

For people who love to cook, it’s like Disneyland.

We walk through the aisles, eyes agog, mouths agape. As with children, our hands reach out to all the shiny objects on the shelves. “I want,” we say. “I want.”

For chefs, restaurant supply companies are part of the job, where they go to pick up the kitchen equipment, plates and assorted whatnots that they need for work. It’s fast, available, convenient and above all, cheap.

Those same attributes are what make the stores Christmas to the home cook. There, spread out in front of you, is a wondrous array of delights, all shining and sparkly and well within your budget.

The pots and pans you might buy at a typical kitchen store are sturdier and hardier than you will find at a restaurant supply company, and they are certainly more attractive. But why buy a gorgeous, heavy fry pan at one of those high-end mall stores for $150 when you can pick up a perfectly serviceable pan at a restaurant supply store for $12.95?

And it’s not just serviceable, it is literally what the pros use. Chefs in working kitchens who cook food all day long use these same pans. The best food you’ve had at the best restaurant in town was cooked on a pan that costs less than 13 bucks – though, admittedly, the top-of-the-line pans go for a little more than that. Maybe $20.

It is true that restaurants use their pans so much they wear them out. A cheap nonstick pan in a restaurant might only last six months, but that is with near-constant use. At home, if you use it a lot, you might get five years out of it. But so what? It costs $12.95. In 25 years, you’ve spent only 65 bucks, less than half of what a more prestigious brand would cost you.

I recently bought my brother a cook’s knife for his birthday. It might be a weird birthday gift, but he needed a good knife that stays sharp, and besides, I’m a bit of a knife geek. So I went to a restaurant supply company and picked him up an 8-inch Dexter Sani-Safe cook’s knife. It only cost — well, I don’t want to say how little it cost, because there is a possibility he could read this column. But let’s just say it was cheap enough that I bought myself one at the same time.

Together, they cost less than a third of my next favorite knife, a Zwilling J.A. Henckels chef’s knife that is heavier than most but that fits my hand the best.

If you’re looking to stock up on your saucepans, you can pick up a 1 1/2-quart model for just $9.95. If you’d like a baking sheet (technically, it’s a half baking sheet – you won’t be able to fit a full size sheet in your oven, unless you have a BlueStar), you can buy one for $5.50. You might as well buy two. And if you plan to make a lot of frozen drinks, you can get a professional Waring blender for less than $75.

Admittedly, some of the offerings at a restaurant supply company actually cost more than you would spend on a similar item elsewhere, particularly if you like to bake, because the pros need a higher quality than the home cook. A springform pan at one company, for instance, costs a hefty $31.50, about twice what a decent version for residential use will set you back.

But the ones you use at home are relatively flimsy because they are never going to get too much use. A professional baker cranking out cheesecakes every day is going to need the sturdier version.

Most restaurant supply companies are happy to sell to the general public, though some (including Restaurant Depot and B&J Peerless) deal only with restaurants.

To answer the burning question that some of you serious cooks have, yes, restaurant supply companies do sell commercial stoves. But they will try to talk you out of buying one for your house. Commercial ranges are less insulated than residential ones, and they get much, much hotter. If you buy one, you will almost certainly lose your homeowner’s insurance. Even if you surround it in heatproof material, there is still a frighteningly good chance you will burn down your house.

Stick with the knives and the pots, the ladles and the strainers, the whisks and the metal mixing bowls. You’ll be glad you did.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.