Chef's Guide: 8 Elite Ingredients Worth Obsessing Over
Discover the store cupboard staples, guilty pleasures, and kitchen tools two professional chefs swear by.
Based on: Two Chefs Rank Each-other's Favourite Food Items by Sorted Food
Discover the store cupboard staples, guilty pleasures, and kitchen tools two professional chefs swear by.
Based on: Two Chefs Rank Each-other's Favourite Food Items by Sorted Food
What if two professional chefs sat down and told you exactly what they're actually buying, foraging, eating, and cooking with right now — no sponsorships, no scripts, just honest obsessions? That is precisely what happened when Sorted Food brought together chef Ebers and Michelin Green Star chef Shantel Nicholson for a head-to-head ranking of their favourite food items, and the picks are genuinely surprising.
Most of us wander through supermarkets buying the same things week after week. We default to the familiar olive oil, the same porridge oats, the same bottle of wine. Meanwhile, working chefs are quietly using ingredients and tools that most home cooks have never even heard of — things like pickled magnolia blossoms that taste like a local ginger alternative, naked oats that behave like a cross between porridge and bulgur wheat, and single-origin olive oils grown regeneratively by women farmers. You don't know what you're missing, and that gap between your kitchen and theirs is wider than you think.
Imagine opening your store cupboard and reaching for an ingredient that genuinely surprises your guests. Imagine pairing a craft gin martini with a specific artisan crisp because you understand flavour at that level. Imagine booking a food-focused weekend trip knowing exactly what to look for on the menu. That is the world Ebers and Shantel live in, and this checklist maps every single thing they shared on Sorted Food so you can start living it too.
Sorted Food has built one of the most trusted food communities on YouTube, with millions of followers who rely on them precisely because they never talk down to their audience. Shantel Nicholson holds a Michelin Green Star, runs her own restaurant, and forages ingredients on her London commute. These are not theoretical recommendations — they are things being cooked and eaten right now, at a professional level, in real kitchens.
This PDF checklist captures every ingredient, brand, technique, and purchase recommendation from the video in one clean, actionable document. Use it to upgrade your store cupboard, discover two specific artisan brands worth your money, learn which olive oils to taste side by side, understand why a food-focused holiday is actually a legitimate purchase, and find out the exact stick blender brand a professional chef has used for years. Work through it step by step and your kitchen will genuinely level up.
Every checklist item comes with actionable notes to guide you — things like "Don't forget to do this before you start," "Avoid this common mistake," or "Set a reminder for 30 days out." Nothing vague, just clear next steps.
+ 13 more action items inside...
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