Fish Aren't The Only Ones Who Have Scales

    When I was still in cooking school, learning the basics of French cooking,
one thing I took for granted was all of the equipment that was there. I didn't
even think about it. I just went about my day; chopping and peeling and
weighing and measuring all of the prep for that day's service. That's just
how it was, I didn't have to think about it. I just did it, and the equipment just
seemed to magically appear when I needed it.

    Fast forward a few years and I found myself purchasing equipment for our
many, rather large, restaurants. At first I didn't like it. It wasn't cooking, and
that's what I was damn it, a cook. That was until I got involved with the actual
costs of opening a restaurant. I had to think about every step the cooks were
going to take while cooking, to make sure they had the right equipment when
they needed it. I must have opened 18 or 19 restaurants in my lifetime, many
of them from the ground up. And to say that I would spend over $100,000
equipping some of the kitchens, wasn't unusual. From the stoves, ovens,
prep tables and the small wares, it was a small fortune. And I became good
at spending a small fortune.

    Since I retired from all that glorious work, I'm now in the process of scaling
down all of my recipes to more manageable amounts, so I can share them
with all of you fine folks. In professional kitchens we weigh everything. But
now I'm putting things in measuring cups or measuring spoons. It sounds easy,
but it's not. I had to break down a recipe that I have for making 14 Key Lime
Pies, to making just one, while changing the measuring techniques to boot.
It's a very tough life being a chef. You don't understand the stress I'm under.

    One of the most important thing's that I've bought for my home kitchen was
an Oxo Electric Scale. I got it at William Sonoma for about $29. I should have
done my homework though, because at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I could have
used one of those 20% off coupons that they're always giving out and saved
a few bucks. Oh well. Anyway, if I could convince everyone to use a scale,
then maybe I wouldn't need all of those measuring cups and spoons that are
filling up my kitchen drawers, and maybe my life wouldn't be so stressful.