Equipment: Machine Age | Thermomix and Cocktailmaster

Restaurant or lab? It's getting hard to tell as European technology finds its way into American kitchens—including those of two F&W Best New Chefs 2003.

Angel Palacios, chef at Miami's La Broche, swears by the German Thermomix, a combination blender, food processor, steamer and cooker that makes impeccable sauces ($899; 888-867-9375 or www.thermomix.com).

Then there's the Cocktailmaster, from France, a favorite of chef Cornelius Gallagher of New York City's Oceana. This hourglass-shaped device separates liquids of different densities. Gallagher uses it to make his foie gras soup layered on top of chilled mango juice ($40; 011-32-81-470-334).

—Carla Ranicki