Big-ticket kitchen equipment: is it worth the eye-watering cost?

“If I only had that eye-wateringly expensive piece of kitchen equipment, I would be a better cook, save myself a lot of money, and I might even get a new career out of it. My life would be better.”

All sorts of positive affirmations can be used to justify a big-ticket purchase, if need be. But in some cases those claims actually turn out to be true. Investment buys can pay off, especially when it comes to culinary equipment.

Pat Lalor: Gozney Roccbox pizza oven (€469)
Lalor, a chef, was working in a college kitchen when the pandemic struck, and the school moved to online education.

"After being a busy chef for over 35 years I was left with all this time, and no idea what to do," he says. On one of his daily walks with his partner Debbie Gartland, a sales, marketing and events manager, the pair hatched a plan to put the Gozney pizza oven they had just bought to work for them.

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From selling pizzas from their garden in Arklow, and feeding frontline workers in gratitude for their work, they now have three of the portable, gas-fired ovens that each cook a pizza in just 60 seconds, and have a mobile pizza stall that can be hired for parties or events.

“I loved the idea of creating a self-contained unit, requiring no power source or building access,” Lalor says. There is a learning curve involved in mastering these type of ovens. They reach temperatures as high as 500 degrees, and the pizzas have to be rotated to cook evenly during their 60-second bake.

I have played around with steak and I found it works very well, prawns pil pil comes out perfect too

“It takes a little time [to learn how to use it], but when you get it right, there is no pizza like it .”

Lalor is now an ambassador for the firm, and helps new owners of the oven learn how to use them. The ovens are not confined to making pizza.

“I have played around with steak and I found it works very well, prawns pil pil comes out perfect too. It’s all about controlling the heat and understanding when to turn a certain food and when to take it out.

“The Roccbox is worth the investment if you are passionate about making good pizza at home.”

The couple still sell pizzas from their home, by click and collect, 5-9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as catering at events. See patspizzakitchen.ie.

Jess Murphy: Fingal Ferguson knives (cost depends on materials used but an average spend is around €400)

Chefs can be fanatical about their knives, but Jess Murphy, who owns Kai in Galway with her husband, David, has taken her obsession to another level. Fingal Ferguson, whose day job is running Gubbeen Smokehouse in west Cork, has a sideline crafting kitchen knives, with meticulously finished and customised features, for connoisseurs of the craft. Murphy’s collection runs into double figures, and is worth thousands of euro.

“My interest in knives started at a very young age. Killing pigs with dad, gutting fish, a good knife was always important,” Murphy says. Her knives are all unique in their design and have different uses.

“As I’m getting older, I need lighter knives. There are some I use only for game season and fish, whereas most of my choppers get saved for summer cooking. But I do have favourites, they all have their own personalities and attitudes. My favourite is the paring knife Fingal first made me.”

Where some women spend money on Alexander McQueen, Jimmy Choo or Gucci, with me it's Fingal Ferguson knives

Murphy uses her knives every day, both at home and in her restaurant kitchen. “My mother always said that to be creative you have to make your surroundings beautiful. There is absolutely no love in a plastic knife handle.”

Do they reflect her personality?

“Goddamn right they do. Where some women spend money on Alexander McQueen, Jimmy Choo or Gucci, with me it’s Fingal Ferguson knives. My knife collection was built over a timeframe of a 10-year solid friendship.”

For the rest of us, not in Ferguson’s friendship circle, obtaining one of these knives can be a bit of a challenge. The waiting list is legendary.

“I closed my books in 2017 when I had hit 1,000 on the wait list. I have worked it down to 350,” he says.

Katia Valadeau: Thermomix (€1,359)

A Thermomix is a kitchen appliance with 20 different functions, from food processing to cooking. You can, for example, use it to weigh the ingredients for a dish, chop them, cook them and then keep the finished dish warm. Digital models come pre-loaded with recipes you can select from and the machine will do the rest.

"I bought mine in March this year, when I realised that there was a special offer on, which meant you could pay monthly over 12 months," says Katia Valadeau, who writes the food blog and culinary website properfood.ie.

“The appeal has always been the fact that this machine has a powerful motor, it is compact and has multiple functions that I could see myself using.”

Valadeau used to frequently buy ready-to-roll pastry, but now makes her own in the machine.

“I would not have considered making pastry before as I never found those cold and light fingers you always hear you need for pastry.” She also uses it for custard and sauces. “Hollandaise sauce is now a doddle, and I can whisk up spur-of-the-moment sauces for our evening meals without having to stand above the heat and stir. It allows me to use my time differently.”

“The price is considerable and the intellectual gymnastics to justify the purchase were interesting, to say the least, but I love it.”

Adrian Shanahan: ECM Elektronika II Profi Switchable Espresso Machine (€2,500 plus VAT)

“When I purchased my coffee machine it was very early into the first lock down of 2020. Both I and my then partner – now fiancee – were working from home. I had recently celebrated my 40th birthday, Barbara had given me a new coffee grinder and a Chemex brewer as part of my birthday gift. I got really into all things coffee, and one YouTube video too many and I was self-gifting myself a new espresso machine.”

The machine is a semi-professional one that “would be as comfortable in a small café as it is on my counter top at home”, says Shanahan, who is a senior project manager at Duke McCaffrey Consulting.

I've got such use and joy out of learning to use it and exploring coffee, I would say it's been great value

“It’s handmade and weighs a whopping 32kg, covered in stainless steel and chrome – it’s ostentatious and completely over the top. I bought it in April 2020 from Park Lane Espresso based in Terenure, Dublin. The guys there really know their stuff and have since serviced the machine for me.

“I won’t pretend it was cheap, and it’s certainly not for everyone, not to mention that I also had to buy a grinder. However, I’ve got such use and joy out of learning to use it and exploring coffee, I would say it’s been great value. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

When it comes to buying a bean to match the machine’s excellence, Shanahan favours Imbibe Coffee Roasters, in Dublin 8. “Their Kaleidoscope is so consistent when it comes to espresso.”

Is there a lot of skill involved in using the machine?

“Honestly, it was and is difficult, but that is why I went with this kind of set-up. Anyone who goes down this kind of route doesn’t want the push-button convenience of a bean-to-cup machine or a Nespresso. The results absolutely justify the efforts.”