The Cook’s Kitchen

I was the one who earned the nickname “Sir Burns A-Lot” during my first internship for culinary school for continuously burning pan after pan of croutons in the oven. Said oven, in my defense, was located in another room far from where my “station” was; but that is just another excuse. I quickly learned the importance of having one’s very own electronic timer. Preferably a timer with the ability to time multiple things, which gives the cook a big advantage when multi-tasking, a necessity in the professional kitchen (or any busy kitchen for that matter).

I have used many different types of timers over the years, but by far, my favorite one has been the Time Check ™ (model PT1A) by Component Design Northwest, Inc. Coincidently made in Portland, OR, which is where I purchased it some 14 years ago as a nervous culinary school graduate on my first job in the “big leagues.” It has served me well ever since, saving my bacon (literally) many a time when things got hot and hectic on the job.

I use this timer for a variety of tasks, not just for reminding me to check something in the oven. Among its many features, it allows you to “count up” which comes in handy when developing recipes, by letting you start the timer at the beginning of the task, (or baking period, etc.) and stop it at the end to find out how long that step takes for future reference. This function also came in handy for me when trying to improve my speed during prep time, on certain repetitious tasks, such as peeling shrimp, or rolling dough into rolls. By timing myself I would make a game out of trying to beat my time the next time I did the task. In one kitchen I managed, I even kept a running tally of “record times” for different mundane jobs posted on the office door so everyone in the kitchen would compete with each other to see who could be the fastest. A great motivational tool, moral booster and boredom reliever all from one simple little device!

The multiple task function not only lets you time several different things simultaneously (up to four tasks, with a different beep for each task to help you check the proper one) it allows you to compensate for differences in oven temperature from oven to oven (or to remind you to turn your pans for even cooking, etc.) by simply programming the times into the different memories of the timer. This was the feature I used the most when I was working as a pastry chef, and had to compete for oven space with all the other cooks, often having to utilize an oven up on the line (in the other room) while my back room oven was full. You can just imagine how hard it would have been to keep track of things when they are in multiple ovens in different rooms without a timer like this one.

This model is more precise than many timers on the market as it counts seconds, as well as minutes and hours (up to 100 hrs!). The ability to time such a long time period came in handy when I occasionally would have to leave a reducing stockpot on the simmer for several hours past my shift ended. I would set this timer to remind someone on the next shift to turn it off and strain it. This gave me instant peace of mind by allowing me to cover my ass when I was off duty. Along with all this, the device can also function as a clock; great for someone like me who despises watches, but loves to know just how long before it is time to go home.

The final handy feature that I will highlight here is the magnetized, spring-loaded clip on the back that allows you to hang the timer on the fridge or oven door or to clip it to the pocket of your chef coat and carry it with you as you move about the kitchen. The little clip even has a device to hold it open so you can stand it up on your worktable.

In short, I find this device invaluable to my success in the kitchen.