One kitchen tool you can't live with out?

[chefbigdog]

Don't know if you want to call it a tool or not but I thank god everyday when the dishwashers walk through that door.

[yorvo]

An old resurrected thread? I'm new I'll bite. For me the one HAND tool I use more frequently now days is a Teflon spatula. For me they are the only real improvement in cooking utensils I've seen in years. I can saute with them without leaving bits of rubber in the food and still scrape bowls and pans. I keep plenty handy when I cook. There's always one more serving in that pan. Scrape it.

[cinnamon]

towels are important, but don¨t forget the apron.

love my spatula, love it like a baby, and i use it for anything, fish, meat...

[damack]

tongs and towels with out both of these we would all be burned and we know half of us have burns on our hands now( including me ) anything to try and prevent from getting burned.

[voodoo_sopa]

well to me besides my knife it wud be my marker pen...
coz anytime if we hav any catering heavy or not thats d only tools dat i really need to organize & get organized all my brigade...

its ok without d whiteboard coz i can alwez write it down on the bench or any working table..

i dun really mind bout d towels coz i hav my apron or i can alwez wiped my hand on my brigades towel..hehe

[SweetJames]

my boss is kind of strict about radios.
he doesn't want them on durring hours of service, which i understand because they can be distracting to some, and can make it so your co-workers can't hear you calling out things.
if we're prepping, or we're slow, then its usually ok at low volumes.
i'm a musician, and music is my first love (cooking a close second, but a much better career choice for me), so i'd give anything to be able to have one of those i-pod dockable boom boxes at my station, but that'll never happen. other wise i'd say that.

as far as the tools go, i think we'd all be lost with out side towls and cutting boards, so those don't count.

for me, its the glass rack that i put between my prep table, and my cutting board. it elevates my cutting board like 8 inches off the table.
i'm 6ft 3, so it makes it so my back doesn't have to suffer from hunching over to comfortably do my prep for the day.

[durangojo]

i can't cook without tongs and high heat rubber spatulas..life would definetly suck without a food processor, not to mention the lowly priestess, the colander

[boar_d_laze]

Chef's knife, towel.

BDL

[LollaRossa]

Extern's.........and towels to snap them with.

[shroomgirl]

lol....
each response is reflective of the kitchens....those with lots of staff, those with good new functional equipment, those on shoestrings, fine dining, fast food...

[chef_oz]

a spoon or a spork

[Quinn01]

My french knife and my mise cups.

Id be such a mess with out my mise cups. Itd be more of a mess in place..........

Originally Posted by LollaRossa

Extern's.........and towels to snap them with.

HEY, I RESENT THAT!!!! (being an extern)

[LollaRossa]

Originally Posted by Quinn01

HEY, I RESENT THAT!!!! (being an extern)

I give them an opportunity to snap back. But then again I am a GOD when it comes to towel fights.

[chef.ESG.73]

Rolling racks for me are the best invention and the rack bags, love them!!!!

[Juliet]

My votes go for:

towels - cleanliness
tongs - multipurpose
little mise en place bowls - to keep organized
wine opener - because, well, you know.....