The skill of the chef is more important than the equipment.

A highly skilled chef knows how to overcome many of shortcomings of poor equipment.

However,some techniques require more precise tools.

If not restaurateurs would buy cheap builder grade appliances.They are business people not buying based on prestige of appliances but performance.

And it is more than just about speed. High end restauranteurs are about results.

deeageaux makes good points.

It is common for MotoGP racers to not ride street bikes. They'll tell you you're crazy to ride a motorcycle on the street with everyone else.

I know a lot of people that work in high tech that don't have much technology at home.

If you spend 15 hours a day around the best equipment money can buy you don't have so much need/desire for it at home.

I also read an article about how Daniel Boulud loves Grey's Papaya hot dogs. :)

-Stooxie

It's entirely possible that his wife does a lot of the cooking at home, at least the day-to-day cooking for herself and the kids. The appliances might be ones Grant's wife is most comfortable using, or, as stooxie said, Grant might not find it necessary to have the same equipment at home that he has in a restaurant kitchen. Our neighbor's son is a chef and except for his days off, he's rarely around to cook dinner for his family.

This is reminiscent of another recent thread which discussed Mark Bittman's tiny, low-end NYC kitchen. I'll make the same point here. I think in many ways, the better the chef, the less he/she is reliant on good equipment.

As I related, one of the most impressive meals I've ever had was one cooked for us by a friend, who was also a classically trained head chef and owner of a restaurant. He prepared a phenomenal meal on a 20 year old range and a cheap Walmart grade charcoal grill. The crowning achievement was a perfect souffle baked in the oven with no reliable means of temperature control and a door that would not fully close.

There is no way in the world that I, or any typical amateur cook, could have done what he did on that equipment. And that's where I can justify the high end equipment we have in our kitchen--I need all the help I can get! So for me, a great stove and oven, and great ventilation, are ways I can compensate.

Another point: I suspect that Achatz cooks relatively infrequently at home, and when he does, it would typically be simple family style food. Indeed he says his favorite foods at home are a simple pasta with capers, scrambled eggs, and toast. I could make those in his kitchen too. I can't imagine he does any over the top "show off" cooking there--why, when you have Next to do that?

For the rest of us, though, if we like to entertain and make interesting, challenging food at home, then we really do need more equipment--an ice cream maker, a deep fryer. We don't have line cooks prepping for us, so a food processor is great. No staff to wash dishes, so a top notch dishwasher (or two) helps. In many ways, folks who love to cook as amateurs are really trying to do "restaurant cooking at home." Therefore it almost makes sense that we should be comparing our kitchens to professional restaurant kitchens, more than to kitchens of professional chefs, who don't do fancy cooking at home. And restaurant kitchens have great ranges putting out mega BTU's.

Great thread to get you thinking.

I totally agree, none of the equipment make anyone a better cook. But, it might make their cooking tasks easier. Before my kitchen renovation, it was mostly simple meals. Now, with all the amenities, I can get more elaborate meals in the same time or less. What used to be reserved for the weekend can now be done during the week. I'm not a better cook, talent-wise. but I'm more efficient now.

My father was a chef and he rarely cooked at home. He only cooked when my mom wasn't around, because someone had to feed us kids. And when he did cook, he never made restaurant food. It was always the simple stuff. And even then, mom did it better. One of my fondest memories of my dad was that his hands always smelled like garlic, but in a good way. :)

I agree with Clinresga. Thanks to Jkom for posting--it's an interesting article, but for me the interesting thing wasn't the appliances. Or, if it was, it was the espresso machine for creme brulee. It does sound like Achatz does cook at home, and entertain at home, which a lot of chefs don't do, as others have noted. He values the counter space so the family can prep together, which makes him a wonderfully sharing guy, rather than a cranky, let-me-do-it, you're-doing-it-wrong kind of pro. What's more important to him than appliances that do the work for him, is being able to stock rosebuds and a whole cabinet of starches, along with the "real people" Hellmann's mayonnaise, Heinz ketchup, French's yellow mustard (same as I have!).

Most chefs, even celebrated ones, aren't wealthy. It looks like Achatz has a nice, normal kitchen, as opposed to the pokey holes that a lot of less well rewarded chefs have at home. But he also values Little Caesar's and the $4 sandwich shop for food on the go. We don't have Little Caesar's where I live, but I bet it's a better value for the money than Wolfgang Puck Express, which may be fancier and pricier, but isn't all that. I wouldn't be surprised if LC were the more fulfilling pizza experience, too.

See, what I take from it is that this guy is the real deal, who shares his passion with his family, and has his kids participating before they're old enough to be trusted with real knives, and stocks his kitchen with enthusiasm for foods and flavors rather than snobbery.

Not only does he have young kids, but he values life because of his bouts with cancer. He's lucky to be alive, and knows it. That's why I enjoyed the article and posted it, even though I have absolutely no interest in ever eating at Alinea.

But again - I think sometimes we on the forum get too caught up in "what's the best XXX appliance?" Richard Olney, the great food writer, used to cook amazing meals for his guests at his little cottage in France, using battered pots and pans and a tiny 2-burner stove.

Good food is love. Simple as that, really.

I used to entertain with a gas ring and a baking pot. I actually baked in the baking pot, and made interesting and complex meals. For 6. I couldn't produce enough hot food for more people, and even at that, most of the food wasn't hot. I produced hot meals for dozens in my old kitchen with the oven that didn't have any particular temperature, but I was very limited in what I could do--mostly braises and similar things where temperature doesn't matter.

Absolutely, it's the cook, but I've got to tell you, having the best possible appliances makes it SOOOOOO much better. I have so many more choices of what to do!! A more valid comparison in my mind would be to give one of these top flight chefs $100K for a kitchen remodel, plus enough extra to cover the taxes, and see what they choose for themselves.

I think you nailed it, Plllog. What would the guy (or gal, for that matter) with the opportunity (or tortuous chore) of outfitting a new kitchen select for herself? Unless one builds a house or dives into a big renovation that includes new appliances, we are mostly stuck with what we bought into or accumulated piecemeal.

We make the best of it.

But I'll bet he doesn't make blackened fish tacos indoors very often on that setup of his. Having better gear gives you options.

I will say Grant Achatz seems like a thoughtful guy and a generous dad, and I love that he gets the guests in on the cooking fun. But Little Caesar's? That stuff is vile: cheap cheese on a greasy wheat sponge. Yuck!

Out of curiosity, I asked the chef of a local fine dining restaurant what he likes to eat and the answer was "anything made by someone else".

His wife, a grade school teacher, planned their home kitchen. His kids say the best thing he makes is pancakes.