Cooking Tools

I always cook my pasta in the Alessi pasta pot. It's the only pot I've ever used that doesn't spray water all over the stovetop when the insert is removed.

I’m a recent convert to Pentole Agnelli. Check out the piece I wrote about my visit to the factory.

Of course my knives are Italian, made by Berti in the Tuscan village of Scarperia where knife-making has been traditional since the 1200s. If you visit don’t miss the museum of cutting tools.

I'm crazy about a silver pot and pan designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, produced by San Lorenzo. The catalogue is as distinctive as the products. Silver conducts heat far better than copper...and more expensive. It's extravagant, around the same price as a designer handbag but will, I've justified, last a lot longer.

Easier on the budget is the tostapane, a personal favorite that's easy to find in houseware shops in northern and central Italy.