The World's 8 Best Stores For Home And Professional Cooks
The world's best stores for cooks sell unstoppable souvenirs and cool takeaways for your most deserving friends and family. (Bonus: they also provide opportunities to say things like, "Oh, this? It's just a tea towel designed by Dutch art school students that I picked up the last time I was in Holland. NBD.") No mail-order encounter can compare with two centuries of Parisian copper pots at E.Dehillerin, kitchen surplus in New York's Chinatown or the latest Montreal mapleware at Les Touilleurs. Whether you're traveling around the world or down the block, here's where to stock your global kitchen. (And if you have a favorite kitchen store that's not listed, post it in the comments!)
8. Town Cutler. San Francisco
Former Quince sous chef Galen Garretson runs this temple to steel in Nob Hill, where he sells and lovingly sharpens an impressive selection of cutlery for local chefs and home cooks. Pieces by Wusthof, Masamoto and Northern California cutlers like Wilburn Forge are displayed for sale behind a glass-walled counter, lending a somewhat dangerous quality air amid otherwise incredibly warm and attentive service. 1005 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA
7. Les Touilleurs. Montreal
The definition of a clean, well-lighted place, Les Touilleurs' glossy white interiors and marble countertops display an orderly array of high-end equipment like Revol ceramic bakeware, Guzzini utensils and pieces by Quebecois designers Tom Littledeer and Atelier Orange. In 2005, the shop doubled its posh Mile End digs, and now offers cooking classes led by local chefs. 152 Avenue Laurier Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H2T 2N7
6. E.Dehillerin. Paris
This haute culinary institution is so unabashedly French, its logo is a rooster in brushstrokes. E.Dehillerin has occupied the same family-owned space in the 1st since 1820. In the market for a brass duck press? You're in luck. Two stories of packed shelves have enough copper kettles, steel whisks, soufflé pans and Déglon knives to make both Julie and Julia weep. 18-20 Rue Coquillière 75001 Paris
5. Bowery Restaurant Supply Co. New York, NY
Much like the congested Chinatown intersection it occupies, this kitchen emporium is more utilitarian than it is glamorous. The somewhat chaotic interiors stock all manner of well-priced kitchen equipment, from $2 rolling pins to $3 meat thermometers. Savings are so steep, you'll want to pay in cash in order to avoid the otherwise mandatory 3% credit card fee. 2 Delancey St., New York, NY
4. A+R Store. Los Angeles
This diminutive Venice kitchen design shop opened a second location in Silver Lake in August 2012. Both branches stock a carefully curated mix of surprisingly functional and affordable modern pieces by Japanese, French, Dutch and local design collectives. Equally beloved but double the size of the Abbot Kinney original, the spacious new branch also hosts design events and sells larger pieces like Dieter Rams' Universal Shelving System and furniture by Denmark's mod Hay brand. 1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd. and 171 South La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA
3. Duikelman Kookgereedschap. Amsterdam
Part Hoarders episode, part grandma's attic, this charmingly crowded store in the Pijp stocks 10,000 kitchen gadgets, obscure utensils ("Why, I do need a new spoon auger!"), funky linens designed by students at the Dutch Art Institute and gorgeously practical ceramics. The branch directly across the street has professional-grade appliances like Smeg refrigerators and Bertazzoni stoves. Ferdinand Bolstraat 66-68 and Gerard Doustraat 54, Amsterdam 1072
2. Sia Huat. Singapore
Singapore's once-sordid Chinatown is now home to hip wine bars, the Art Deco chic Hotel 1929 and expansive culinary warehouse Sia Huat. Spread across three adjoining stores, this Asian cooking emporium sells some 30,000 pieces, ranging from high-quality woks to KitchenAid mixers, to local chefs, restaurant owners, home cooks and the very occasional, utterly discerning international traveler. (Ahem. Your move.) 11 Temple Street, Singapore 058559
1. Persepolis. London
Dedicated to bringing "a taste of Persia to Peckham," this South London corner shop sells everything from fresh dates to delicately carved shishe pipes to a handheld falafel maker for just £2.99. Owner Sally Butcher sells her own well-reviewed cookbooks — such as the spectacularly titled Veggiestan: A Vegetable Lover's Tour of the Middle East — alongside other English-language guides to Iranian and Middle Eastern cuisine. 28-30 Peckham High Street, London SE15 5DT
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