American-Chef-in-Paris David Lebovitz on the Kitchen Gear Worth Schlepping Across the Atlantic
This kitchen timer has a big readout and few buttons. According to Lebovitz, it excels at its only task.
The CDN Extra-Big Digit Timer TM15 is simple, easy to use, and just the right size, according to Lebovitz. “It has three buttons … one is start-stop, and the other is minutes and seconds,” he explains.
The only problem: Lebovitz is pretty sure it’s the same timer sound that goes off on The Bear, giving him flashbacks to chaotic kitchen life every time it goes off when he’s watching the show.
“When I used to work in a restaurant, when the timer would go off, if I didn’t turn it off within a quarter of a second, people in the kitchen were like, ‘David, the timer’s going off. David, your timer is going off,’” he says.
Though Lebovitz is a trained chef living in one of the most famous food cities in the world, his recipes shed away layers of complexity from an art that often feels impenetrable for most people.
No matter if a recipe is French or American (or neither), and even if the process is time-consuming or the ingredients are difficult to find, behind it all are elements of craft. And with the right tools — even those as ordinary as a kitchen scale or timer — you, too, can cook excellent desserts.
This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Catherine Kast.
