N ormally when I want recommendations for the best kitchen kit, I ring a chef and ask what they’ve got. It often throws up interesting things: Phil Howard going full geek over his Mannkitchen Pepper Cannon; Raymond Blanc explaining in minute detail why he rates Waring blenders. Frying pans, not so much.
The problem is either that chefs view their batterie de cuisine the same way 19th-century mine owners did their pit ponies — to be abused and discarded, hence not worth investing proper money in — or that they are so up to their necks in commercial tie-ins that they can’t be trusted. So when I wanted to find out what the well-heeled amateur should be cooking with, I turned instead to the man who sells more high-end pots and pans than anyone else I know: Justin Kowbel, the co-founder of the five Borough Kitchen shops across London and tinker to the stars..