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A "Top Chef Master" Shares Her Kitchen Essentials

From corkscrew to coffeemaker, the stuff Suzanne Tracht swears by.

By Margy Rochlin

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Suzanne Tracht is the chef and owner of JAR, a celebrated L.A. restaurant specializing in chops, pot roasts and other meat dishes. This season on Bravo’s spin-off of their Top Chef cooking competition series, Top Chef Masters, she’ll vie alongside other food world heavyweights like Hubert Keller and Rick Bayless for the chance to award $100,000 to her favorite charity. "I’d never been in a competition like that before; I liked it!" says Tracht, who’ll compete on June 17. "I got to know peers that I’d always heard about but had never met. There are long hours so you really get to know each other." Tracht talked to MORE about the supplies that make her meals memorable-read on.
Photo by: Courtesy of Bravo

Milton Brook Ceramic Mortar and Pestle, $40

"This is my baby," says Tracht. "I can use it for anything, from making salad dressing or aioli to grinding dried spices like peppercorns or whole fennel seeds for a dry rub." ORDER HERE

Winner Corkscrew, $8.95

"I got this as a gift from one of my restaurant managers. It’s nothing fancy; you don’t need instructions on how to use it like some of the new wine openers. It just works really well." ORDER HERE

Maldon Sea Salt, $7.50

"The ganule is not too big, and it melts nicely. After you take your meat off the grill this summer, put a little Maldon salt on it. It’s like putting the cherry on the cake." ORDER HERE

Cast Iron Skillet, $19.99

"I love the old, no-frills ones that you can buy at the hardware store. I use mine to braise meat or sear something off. I’ll also use it to roast potatoes with garlic, fresh bay leaves and oregano. I can serve them right out of the pan." ORDER HERE

Fernet Branca Bitters Liqueur, $26.99

"For the past five years, I’ve been having a little bit of this digestif in the evening or after I eat-just a shot. It’s my vitamins; it cleans the pipes." ORDER HERE

Chemex Coffemaker, $39.90

"It’s a very slow drip, so it makes my coffee taste really good. Nice and strong-just the way I like it." ORDER HERE

Philippe’s Hot Mustard, $4.75

"Yum. I goes well on a hamburger, a turkey sandwich or some leftover cold roasted leg of lamb." ORDER HERE

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