Kitchen Essentials

Perfect for all-around food prep, this versatile 8” workhorse is both incredibly useful and beautiful to behold. Shun is a Japanese brand, affectionately known for making wide, durable stainless-steel blades. The Swiss-Army knife of the kitchen, this all-purpose beauty is perfect for everything from preparing fruit to slicing fresh cuts of meat. It’s easy to use too. The contoured Pakkawood handle offers great grip for those sweaty palms. If you’re looking for something versatile, yet serious, this chef’s knife is one of our kitchen must-haves.

When serious chefs see the Wusthof name, they know it means business. Paring knives are all about precision. While this German masterpiece may look small, the man who wields it will instantly feel like a total bad-ass in his kitchen. Check out this line in the official product description: “Precision forged from a single blank of High Carbon Stainless Steel Tempered to 58⁰ Rockwell.” We haven’t a clue what this means, but we’re in love. For the novice chefs among us, the Wusthof has a handle designed for control and safety. The bold red-trident logo on the blade makes this top-of-the-line paring knife stand out.

This knife is sharp as hell — in more ways than one. Not only is this high-end Japanese blade one of the sharpest cooking knives (out of the box) that we’ve bought, but the Rosewood handle looks good on display in any kitchen. Because the weight is toward the tip of the blade, this knife is ideal for chopping. The angled edge of the blade helps this everyday-knife stand up to the wear and tear that comes with everyday kitchen use. Check out the dimpled edge. This subtle design touch makes this knife perfect for cutting (and releasing) those hard-to-slice breads and fruits.

Not only do you get one of the best classic chef’s and utility knives on the market, it also comes with a great paring knife and a honing steel to keep your blades at their best. Plus, the Slimline bamboo block adds a touch of high-end chef’s elegance to any kitchen, with additional slots, so you can add to your collection.

Le Creuset’s colorful (and heavy) enameled cast-iron skillet is hands-down the most indispensable piece of cookware a man can get. If you look around the internet, you’ll see a handful of comments about this particular skillet either (1) getting too hot or (2) being hard to clean. Pay these comments no mind, good reader. A good cast iron takes some seasoning early on, but this pan does an excellent job distributing heat, meaning stuff cooks evenly. Plus, you can pop it from the burner straight into a piping-hot oven in temperatures up to 500℉, which makes it good for everything from eggs to potatoes to chops to that soon-to-be famous white bean and duck cassoulet.

Le Creuset makes yet another appearance on our must-have list, thanks to its incomparable (and insanely versatile) braising dish. With its wide surface area and domed lid, the braiser is half cast-iron skillet, half dutch oven. As its name suggests, this pan is great for braising those thick cuts of meat. But its overall handiness in the kitchen hardly stops there. Its ample base makes it a must-have for baking items like breads as well as casseroles that require a healthy mix of sauce and ingredients and its oversized handle — 45% larger than other pans in the category — make it easy to hold with oven mitts. Just how good is this pan? This incredible piece of cookware has become a permanent fixture atop our Viking range. It literally doesn’t move, except to be cleaned. We use it weekly, often for making chili. Like other Le Creuset pans, it comes in a bold range of colors. We think the dad in your life will love the Cerise, featured here.

Nothing says confidence in the kitchen like stainless-steel cookware. This AllClad brushed (and dishwasher-safe) saucepan is no exception. The 5-ply bonded construction features a strategic combination of stainless steel and aluminum, resulting in an even cooking surface with no unwanted hotspots. With its high, straight sides, the AllClad 1.5-quart saucepan uses a smaller surface area to hold heat, while putting a lid on unwanted evaporation. Its heat-resistant handle aims to keep home-chefs safe from burns, while its stainless steel rivets make for efficient and spill-free pours. A fitted top and brushed finish make this pan a good-looking and capable option for the man who sees his mushroom marinara as healthy validation for his station in the kitchen.