I've realised that so far on The Greasy Spoon, I've written absolutely nothing at all about kitchen equipment. Well, it's about time that I started. I'm not a fan of the sort of people who pay many thousands of pounds for a swanky kitchen, and then never cook in it. It's the same with kitchen equipment. I recently threw away a trendy French "mayonnaise maker"- it was completely redundant, as it only made small amounts of the stuff, and I prefer to mix it up myself the time honoured way, in a large bowl.
The late Elizabeth David had the sort of kitchen I respect: everything in it was well used, scrubbed, and as a result, had a genuine aesthetic. What was it that William Morris said? "Do not own anything that you do not know to be beautiful or useful", or something like that.
Anyway, have you got a chinois? This is a conical sieve with a very fine mesh. You'll find it extremely useful if you're into making sauces. As it's so fine, it will remove all the nasty bits of fat and gunge, which could make your sauce bitter. And classic kitchen equipment like this needn't be too expensive. Okay, it's great fun to oogle the latest Divertimenti catalogue, but if you're clever, you should be able to find the same thing on the net, for half the price. Good Luck.
