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  1. HomeChevron Right
  2. Kitchen & HomeChevron Right
  3. What Chefs Know Best: Chefs' Value Guide

What Chefs Know Best: Chefs' Value Guide

By Food & Wine
Updated March 08, 2017
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Professional cooks need to be incredibly thrifty. F&W asked some of the best for spending tips—and came away with a hankering for stale bread, fish heads and bouillon cubes.
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Chef Tip: Inexpensive Entertaining

Wolfgang Puck
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"If someone gave me $25 for a party, I'd go to the farmers' market and buy the best vegetables, grill them, then set them on the table like a bouquet of flowers." —Wolfgang Puck

  • More from Wolfgang Puck

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Scraps & Freebies: Stale Bread

Chocolate-Bread Parfaits
Credit: © Antonis Achilleos
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Inspired by her grandmother, who used up bread "until the dear end," Italian master Lidia Bastianich of NYC's Felidia turns leftover loaves into creamy, nutty parfaits.

  • Bread Pudding Desserts

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Buy This Not That: Crawfish

Houston in 10 Plates: Cajun Spiced Crawfish at Crawfish & Noodles
Credit: Photo © Cedric Angeles
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Instead of a big, bland lobster, opt for tiny, tasty crawfish. Bryan Caswell of Houston's Reef prefers crawfish because it's more flavorful—and half the price.

  • Cajun and Creole Recipes

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Bruised Fruit

Watermelon-Strawberry Agua Fresca
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When he has less-than-beautiful fruit, Matthew Accarrino makes this Watermelon-Strawberry Agua Fresca with it.

  • Beautiful Fruit Desserts

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Scraps & Freebies: Broccoli Stems

Roasted Broccoli with Ancho Butter
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Ilan Hall cuts broccoli stems into slices, blanches and grills them, then tops them with sage butter while they're still warm.

  • A Thrifty Cook's Guide

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Picks For a Chef's Pantry: Pop Rocks

Salted-Caramel Squares
Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
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Chefs invest in high-end ingredients that can make a huge impact, even in small amounts. Michael Voltaggio slips gently fizzy "pastry rocks" into desserts.

  • Delicious Dessert Bars

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Buy This Not That: Domestic Truffles

Domestic Truffles
Credit: Photo © Earthy.com
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Matthew Dillon of Seattle's Corson Building loves local truffles, which cost one-third the price of imported.

  • Healthy Desserts

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Picks For a Chef's Pantry: Saba

Picks For a Chef's Pantry: Saba
Credit: Photo © Antonis Achilleos.
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Nancy Silverton of Los Angeles's Osteria Mozza finishes dishes with a little saba (cooked grape juice). She says its syrupy, sweet complexity is similar to balsamic vinegar's. $26 for 250 ml; ilmercatoitaliano.net.

  • Alternative Oils

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Bang for the Buck: Leftover Herbs

Chile-Cilantro Pesto
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Rick Bayless of Chicago's Frontera Grill keeps extra cilantro from going to waste by using it in this pesto, which can stay in the fridge for two months. Try it on fish or add a little to soup.

  • More from Rick Bayless

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Buy This Not That: Smoked Paprika

Paprika-Glazed Turkey with Pumpkin Seed Bread Salad
Credit: © Frances Janisch
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Saffron tops out at $315 per ounce. Traci Des Jardins of Jardinière in San Francisco uses only a pinch in paella, adding smoked paprika for color.

  • How to Cook with Spices

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Picks for a Chef's Pantry: Dashi Packets

Soba Noodles with Dashi, Poached Egg and Scallions
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For a late-night snack, Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago uses instant dashi to make a soup with yuzu juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and scallions.

  • Delicious Noodle Soups

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Bang for the Buck: Pickled Radishes

Pickled Radishes
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Charles Phan of the Slanted Door in San Francisco uses inexpensive radishes from Mon Chong Loong importers to give dumplings some zip.

  • Pickled Vegetables

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Chef Tip: Baking Powder

Crispy Cornmeal-Gruyere Muffins
Credit: © Frances Janisch
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"If you want to get into molecular gastronomy, bake a muffin. The fact that baking powder leavens batter is about as complex as it gets." —Grant Achatz

  • More from Grant Achatz

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Inexpensive Gadgets: Heatproof Spatula

Inexpensive Gadgets: Heatproof Spatula
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Saul Bolton of Brooklyn's The Vanderbilt buys spatulas that are stain- and heat-resistant.

  • Terrific Brooklyn Chefs

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Gadget: Rice Cooker

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Laurent Gras of Chicago's L20 makes this dish with a rice cooker and organic bouillon cubes.

  • F&W's Chicago Travel Guide

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    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

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    1 of 15 Chef Tip: Inexpensive Entertaining
    2 of 15 Scraps & Freebies: Stale Bread
    3 of 15 Buy This Not That: Crawfish
    4 of 15 Bruised Fruit
    5 of 15 Scraps & Freebies: Broccoli Stems
    6 of 15 Picks For a Chef's Pantry: Pop Rocks
    7 of 15 Buy This Not That: Domestic Truffles
    8 of 15 Picks For a Chef's Pantry: Saba
    9 of 15 Bang for the Buck: Leftover Herbs
    10 of 15 Buy This Not That: Smoked Paprika
    11 of 15 Picks for a Chef's Pantry: Dashi Packets
    12 of 15 Bang for the Buck: Pickled Radishes
    13 of 15 Chef Tip: Baking Powder
    14 of 15 Inexpensive Gadgets: Heatproof Spatula
    15 of 15 Gadget: Rice Cooker

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