Cityscape turns to the experts to find out what every kitchen really needs.

Fads and fashions come and go but for Sandra McLay of Total Food Equipment, on Moorhouse Avenue, the real kitchen essentials are “a good knife, good cookware and a good food processor”. It’s 10 years in November since Sandra opened her store. After several shifts due to the earthquakes, TFE settled into its Moorhouse Avenue spot six years ago. As things have settled and people have stocked their rebuilt or replaced homes, she has noticed increased demand for quality.

“People are realising that if you skimp on something, you’ll regret it. Buy once, buy right – and a lot of the younger generation are starting to realise that.”
TFE is both a retail and commercial store, meaning everything it stocks, including high-end products intended for restaurant kitchens and the like, is available to the public. It also means commercial customers can access the store’s range of retail products. “Sometimes for a café or restaurant, people prefer the retail products, just for something different,” she says. “Because not everyone wants the commercial-looking stuff sitting on the tables in their café.”

TFE’s wide range means its staff are able to recommend to customers the equipment best suited to their needs, rather than just the most expensive one. The staff’s wealth of experience helps there: “We’ve all got a few years under our belt. We’re all foodies, we all love to cook,” Sandra says. Knowing the equipment they sell also means staff can show customers how to use it. “People ask to see things out of the box, how they work. We can do that, our spiralisers and mandolines and so on. I’ve got demo products so we can actually show people how they work.”

Back to that list of essentials. Sandra says the right knife comes down to personal preference but a good place to start is the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Four Star knife set and block. The German manufacturer is also Sandra’s recommendation for cookware, along with WMF, also German-made. For food processors, she recommends either Magimix – “still made in France, still with a 30-year guarantee” – or Vitamix. The latter has a new model, the E310, coming to market. This is based on the original machine and is still handmade but comes with a redesigned jug for ease of use.

So whether you are outfitting a commercial kitchen or are just after a new seal for your trusty stove-top, TFE has the experience and range to help you get cooking.

tfe.co.nz