Ready to start building your kitchen but not sure where to start? Maybe you’re looking for suggestions from professional chefs instead of a mysterious article writer. But maybe it’s this mystery writer who’s bringing you chef tips straight from Lewiston, Maine!

Interested in lobster gingerbread cookies? That was just one seemingly impossible combination of delicacies chef Paul Landry presented at his restaurant for the holidays. It took Paul a while to decide which appliance was his favorite, but he finally settled on “a good blender.” Paul highlights the versatility of a countertop mixer, saying that “a lot of today’s conventional mixers have accessory cubes that allow you to fit slicers, cubers” and many other accessories. Some mixers even allow ice cream maker attachments!

The Green Ladle is the culinary school for the small town of Lewiston. Led by chef Don Caron, The Green Ladle has graduated over four hundred students in fifteen years! Don Caron states that his favorite kitchen tool is the immersion blender. When it comes to blending, the immersion blender is called a motorized beater! Don also pointed out that buying a cheap immersion blender would be a mistake. The cost of a professional blender will be less than several immersion blenders that will break down in no time.

Want to guess what Lisa and her husband Tim of The Italian Bakery claim as their favorite cookware? Lisa answers the question without hesitation: a sharp bread knife. Lisa offers tips on choosing a good bread knife. “I’m finding that even when you buy an expensive one…you have to replace it anyway.” Don’t be surprised by Lisa’s advice. The product that costs the most is not always the most effective.

Chefs will always debate which is the most efficient, longest lasting, kitchen tool of any kind. When it comes down to it, opinion is formed by experience. Just because a chef tells you not to buy this or that, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Then again, if 4 or 5 chefs tell you not to buy it, maybe you should seriously consider it.