I’m not above an impulsive social media-fueled purchase. I bought this “TikTok” booty leggings (and a young man yelled at me from his car while I carried them) and I bought an scrub (for my butt too) but I’ve never bought any cookware because I saw it on Instagram. However, I am getting a lot of cookware ads on my feed, including those for Great Jones, a company that sells (sells?) a very photogenic line of pots, pans, and baking trays.
If you keep up to date with cookware news – and who doesn’t? – you’ve probably seen the company recently imploded, mostly due to a feud between the two girl bosses who started the company with family money. Cant comment on the quality of Great Jones cookware as I have never used any of it, but it is very pretty and I assume some people will be sad when it goes away.
Thankfully, Great Jones isn’t the only place to buy pots and pans, and it never has been. If you need a saucepan, pan, cookie sheet, or even a knife, do what the pros do and go to restaurant supplies.
Why shop at a restaurant specialty store?
We got over ours. written Essentials for restaurant supplies before – we’re big fans of the soup containers– but my obsession has grown beyond this original list. In addition to soup containers, I recently purchased a $ 10 kiwi herring, a huge soup pot for poaching chicken, and several large Cambro containers for sous videing.
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Some restaurant supply stores also sell groceries, and you should get some. I often buy in embarrassing amounts of hash brown patties and white American cheese the store formerly known as “Cash & Carry”, because it is only about “embarrassing amounts”.
Every store is different, however according to Twitter and in my personal experience, the common theme between all of them is affordability, shelf life and standard size, which may not seem that important, but nothing is more annoying than baking a cake only to realize that you are incredibly photogenic.Cake pan is one or two Inches smaller than what your prescription calls for. There are also sheet pans in every imaginable size, from quarter to gigantic, and you can never have enough sheet pans.
What can you buy in a restaurant supply?
In terms of quality, the things that are sold in restaurant supply stores are made for restaurants, which means that they are expected to find a lot more uses than they would experience in your home. During my time shopping in specialty restaurant stores, I’ve found that the items for sale typically fall into two categories: made to last or not quite as durable, but so cheap you don’t care if it breaks. Basically, if something is good enough for a restaurant, it’s good enough for your home kitchen.
Do you need a preparation table, a kegerator or a rolling storage trolley made of stainless steel? Restaurant supply stores usually have them. Some of them also have furniture, ashtrays, and cool neon signs. Again, every store is different and I’m sure there are some overpriced restaurant supply stores out there, but once you find a good one you will never look back.
If you want cast iron they usually wear Lodge, a brand that I’ve been using for years and that I have no complaints about. (I can’t compare it to Le Creuset because I’ve never been able to afford anything from Le Creuset other than a ceramic roaster I bought at an outlet mall, but lodge cast iron works the way cast iron should.)
If you want something “sweet”, restaurant supply stores usually have these cactus-shaped margarita glasses, but you can also just stop at the thrift store. Some of my most adorable and unique pieces were bought at Goodwill, usually for less than $ 10. I found punch bowls, copper cookware, cocktail glasses, teak cheese domes, tons of vintage pyrex, and a yellow enameled cast iron casserole, all in thrift stores. Not only are these pieces cute – and usually cheap – but they’re way more unique than any millennial pink roasting pan you can find on social media. I’ve also had good success buying pieces on Etsy, eBay, and (more recently) Facebook Marketplace, which is technically social media, but you’re buying from another user, not a company that advertises on the platform.
How to Find a Restaurant Supply Store
If you don’t know where to find a restaurant supply store, search the internet for a store near you (there is a few Online stores) or ask someone you know who works in a restaurant and ask for pot and pan recommendations while you’re at it. Cookware is intended for cooking, not photography, and who better to ask than the people who cook a lot of rigorously.
