Stainless Steel Prep Bowls
One bowl per ingredient. It sounds simple. It changes everything.
Stainless steel prep bowls are the practical foundation of proper mise en place. Each prepped ingredient gets its own bowl, positioned in the order it goes into the pan — and when the heat goes on, you reach rather than search. They stack compactly so a full set takes up almost no space, they are lightweight, and they clean in seconds. There is no single piece of kit that has changed the way I cook more than these. Buckingham make a reliable stainless set that can't be faulted, but any decent stainless steel prep bowls will do the job — the brand matters less than having enough of them in the right sizes. Start with a small set across three sizes and buy more as you find you need them. You will find you need them.
Why I use it
I have around fifteen small, ten medium, two large and one extra large, and many of them get used every day. I didn't buy them all at once — I started with a smaller set and kept adding as I realised I needed more. That's the right approach: start with less and let your cooking tell you what's missing. Without them I was prepping ingredients onto the chopping board in small piles, losing track of what was ready, and running out of space at exactly the wrong moment. The difference was immediate and I haven't cooked without them since. Cover with clingfilm if prepping ahead — they don't need lids.
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