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Nancy Silverton is a culinary icon. She has always been a force, since her beginnings as the opening pastry chef at Wolfgang puck‘s Spago, to the creation of the cult artisan bakery La Brea Bakery, to his world-renowned restaurants Campanile, Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza and chi SPACCA. Silverton is also the author of nine must-read cookbooks. Talk about a culinary legend!
E! I had to ask the pioneering chef our burning questions, including which kitchen gadgets are worth it, how to give a great kitchen gift, and the best way to enjoy mozzarella. Nancy says it’s “buffalo mozzarella with Spanish anchovies,” by the way.
The exceptional chef even told us about an $18 kitchen item that changed her life.
Silverton is no stranger to life-changing advice. In 2023, the Los Angeles-born chef wrote the cookbook The cookie that changed my life. She now says there are two kitchen items that she says are “life-changing.” The first being the microplane.
“What I like about it is that it doesn’t plug in. I’m not a fan of any kitchen gadget that plugs in, so it’s right in my wheelhouse,” she explains.
“I love that there are now so many configurations for the holes themselves. So there’s a small one, a medium one, and a large one that all have their place. There are also ribbons and bars obliques. I probably own six of each type of microplane and I” ” she says.
The Osteria chef Mozza also discussed her long-standing love of the mortar and pestle, which dates back to her culinary school days at Le Cordon Bleu in London.
“It’s a porcelain mortar and pestle. I love making things with a mortar and pestle. I use them to make all my pounded sauces, like pesto and nut based sauces, to sauces greens, or even using only the heavy bowl of this mortar. with a whisk to make any type of emulsified or mayonnaise-based vinaigrette,” she explains.
The chef says heavy porcelain mortar is actually more ideal for mixing salad dressings, since lightweight mixing bowls tend to “crumble on the counter” if not properly secured. However, Silverton, who is one of Hexclad’s chef ambassadors, called Hexclad mixing bowls with rubber on the bottom a “great” option because they don’t tend to move.
Silverton is also a fan of the brand’s pizza steel, as well as its pans.
“I have always been anti-Teflon, I only had it for making scrambled eggs,” she reveals. “What’s great about Hexclad is that even though it’s Teflon, it’s stainless steel based, which makes a huge difference in terms of heat conduction. I think they’re really great, well made and guaranteed for life, and that’s a huge plus when it comes to pans.
Because Silverton is “not a big fan” of things that plug in, when asked what the most overrated kitchen gadget is, she laughs and replies: “The electric can opener. Does ‘They still make them?’
However, there is one plug-in item that’s worth it, and if you’re looking for a housewarming gift or even a wedding gift for someone you love, this device gets Nancy’s seal of approval Silverton. “I’ll make an exception, I love my KitchenAid mixer,” she says.
“When it comes to making batters and batters, it’s very difficult to get by without having a proper whisk for whipping egg yolk and that sort of thing. This is a great gift to to offer.”
And if you need more gift-giving inspiration, follow Silverton’s excellent gift-giving advice: “I find all kinds of things I like and I’ll give them.”
She calls her collection of wooden spoons “a beautiful gift to give to someone.”
“I really like sturdy flat wooden spoons, or I call them spatulas. I think they make great gifts. I recently found a brand of peelers that are really great. I also really like the rolling pins that have the right weight to them.”
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