If you, like us, watch the Food Network, you’ll no doubt have noticed all the nifty gadgets and high-end cookware the star chefs are using. It’s pretty, and we’re sure it sells well after Bobby Flay chops his omnipresent mango chutney next to it, but do you really need all those copper pots and $100 knives? Nope. Hooray! According to Mark Bittman, you can equip a kitchen for $200, and nicely equip one for $300. That’s less than we paid for a semester’s worth of text books in college. (Goddamn you, Art History degree.) So what did Mark buy?

A knife. $10. Instant-read thermometer, $5. Three stainless steel bowls, $5. You get the idea. The trick? Mark did his shopping at a restaurant supply store, (Bowery Restaurant Supply, 183 Bowery Street, for you New Yorkers out there.) Check out the New York Times article for his complete list. And step away from the bread machine. Shhh. It’ll be OK.—MEGHANN MARCO

A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks [NYT via Get Rich Slowly]
(Photo: Tony Cenicola/New York Times)

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