France has always been known for being the center of art, fashion, and culture. Culinary art is an integral part of that list and there are valid reasons behind its inclusion.
The process of preparing authentic French dishes requires the use of certain tools and equipment. While initially, those made in France pieces found use only in French kitchens, the past few decades have seen them gain global popularity. That’s partly because traditional French food has succeeded in impressing the taste buds of people around the world.
Today, top French cooking suites and tool manufacturers and sellers are not only doing good business in France but also have thousands of international customers. Capic has created French suite kitchens for some of the biggest restaurants in France and also partnered with several well-known restaurant chains abroad.
Are you looking to set up a restaurant that will primarily serve French dishes? If yes, then you must know what kind of kitchen tools you must have in your collection. Browsing capic.com should help you to understand what kind of items a commercial French kitchen must possess. The section below also presents some crucial information on the most useful kitchen equipment native to France.
French Kitchen Equipment Every Restaurant Must Have
1. Vegetable Peeler
This might appear extremely basic and slightly old-school to you, but the fact is that to prepare authentic French dishes you will need a vegetable peeler. This tool was invented in France way back in 1929 and is referred to as épluche-légumes in French. As a modern-day buyer, however, you’ll have the option of choosing between horizontal, vertical, and razor-sharp éplucheurs. You’ll also enjoy notable flexibility even when it comes to the price of vegetable peelers.
2. Food Mill
Chefs use food mills or moulin à legumes for preparing perfect purees. This machine was first used in 1932 and is a must-have for every French eatery. The modern-day food mills are of course more feature-filled and faster than the old models.
3. Sausage Cutter
The use of sausages is extremely common in French cooking. This makes a sausage cutter one of the most important kitchen gadgets for any commercial French kitchen. This tool makes the live execution of sausages and other forms of fried meats quicker and easier than ever before.
4. Plancha
The use of plancha is most common in French and Spanish kitchens. Chefs use these flat-topped griddles for searing meat and veggies to add slight smokiness to them. If you want to serve steaks and prawn dishes in your restaurant, make sure your kitchen has a few of these pans in its cupboard.
5. Static Oven
Static ovens are pretty versatile and adapt easily to different production methods. However, chefs need these ovens mostly when baking something with yeast.
Are you looking to make Brioche, Faluche, or a few strands of Ficelle? Whatever might be the type of French bread you want to make, having a static oven in the kitchen will make the job a lot easier for you. To be more precise, as the oven allows you to cook in slow heat, preparing leavened, fluffy recipes becomes significantly simpler. You can use the oven also for preparing sponge cakes, regular cakes, and perfect meringues.
6. Steam Kettle
The design of these kettles makes them perfect for industrial kitchens. You’ll find them in schools, military bases and ships, and of course restaurants. Restaurants need this type of kettle for preparing stew and soups in enormous quantities.
They also make boiling huge quantities of noodles and pasta easier. You can use steam kettles even for reheating food items, braising meat, and cooking desserts.
7. Bratt Pan
French people love eating slow-cooked food. So, if you run a French restaurant, you must have equipment that makes slow cooking easier and more effective. This makes buying a Bratt pan for your kitchen extremely important.
Bratt pans are large vessels that are perfect for various slow cooking techniques such as boiling, poaching, steaming, frying, braising, roasting, and stewing. Additionally, you will also be able to use it for shallow frying and deep-frying. All these make a Bratt pan one of the most versatile cooking units you’ll ever come across.
Unlike most kitchen equipment mentioned on this page, a Bratt Pan is a fixed unit. It comes with a dedicated section that you’ll be able to use for pouring off hot food.
8. Heating Drawer
Another piece of equipment you’ll find in most commercial French kitchens is a heating drawer. A warming drawer allows users to control its temperature according to the purpose they are using it for. You can use these special drawers for keeping food and plates warm and storing baking and roasting tins. People use heating drawers even to proof bread and slow cook certain food items.
How to Choose the Best Cooking Equipment Made in France?
A French cooking suite requires a big investment. You should not shy away from spending the amount if you want your restaurant to do good business. That’s because if you end up buying cheap, low-quality products, you’ll not get the results you have been hoping for.
Other than that, cheap tools and equipment are unlikely to be durable, which will need you to repeat your investment. This means you’ll end up spending more in the quest to save money initially.
Ideally, you should look for a company that has received impressive feedback from existing customers. Find out whether the products offered by them are cost-effective, durable, and functional. Never proceed to place your order if the items you are ordering lack any of the three qualities mentioned above.
Always have the head chefs by your side when buying cooking equipment for your restaurant. They know exactly what kind of kitchen equipment would be perfect for preparing French dishes.
Final Words
This write-up talks about the most widely used French cooking equipment. If you contact a company with this kind of tools, they will introduce you to a range of other innovative and functional cooking tools and equipment. So, you’ll need to choose pieces for your kitchen patiently and wisely.
Rhydian Choi 
Nicola Holder