The Easiest Way To Get An Affordable Chef-Level Pan, According To Anthony Bourdain

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While you can always get cheaper cookware from Costco and even Aldi pots give major retailers a run for their money, Anthony Bourdain had an unorthodox, easy method for getting chef-level equipment. In his book, "Kitchen Confidential," he suggested looking around for restaurants that have recently closed.

Restaurants close all the time, with only about 51% surviving past their first five years, and when they fail, offloading inventory is the best way to recoup their losses. Bourdain believed that there's no reason to buy heavy-duty cookware, like saucepans, stockpots, and saute pans, brand new because they're so durable. While you may not be interested in the 12-burner stoves or lowboy units found at most restaurant auctions, many also include plenty of this-and-that equipment from food torches to dishware to every last thing you'd need to cook. Plus, in the modern day, many of these auctions are held online, so you don't even need to leave your home to find the perfect tool.

While auctions let you buy better quality toys at a lower price than just about anywhere else, you'll still want to take good care of them. Auctions are unpredictable, so it's impossible to know when you'll next see a three-quart, stainless steel saucepan available, much less one from the specific brand you're looking for. Fortunately, taking care of durable cookware is more about not doing the wrong thing rather than knowing any fancy cleaning or care techniques.

Anthony Bourdain once wrote, "A proper saute pan, for instance, should cause serious head injury if brought down hard against someone's skull" (per "Kitchen Confidential"). Manufacturers know these tools need to survive being dinged, tossed, banged, cleaned, and used a thousand times a day if they want to sell any of them. But despite their durability, you can cause long-lasting, accumulating damage if you mistreat them.

When it comes to non-stick cookware, you've got to be particularly gentle. Harsh cleaning agents, like detergents, can erode the integrity of the coating, causing it to chip or peel off over time. However, this process speeds up exponentially if you use metal tools in it. Even if your coating is mostly intact, tiny scratches are a breeding ground for even the most well-washed cookware. Instead, opt for something softer like wood, silicone, or ceramic.

For stainless steel pots and pans, you can get pretty aggressive with their care. Ina Garten keeps her pots and pans sparkling clean with boiling water to remove stuck-on grime, something that could possibly harm non-stick varieties. While you can use detergent on stainless steel, exceptionally corrosive cleaners, like bleach, may damage chromium coatings that keep them in shape. The biggest thing to avoid is warping, caused by your tools going from hot to cold extremely quickly. Always let them cool completely before running water over them.