This is Chef Staples, where professional chefs dish on the gear they couldn’t cook without. This week: Chef Saul Montiel of Cantina RooftopWhen Saul Montiel moved to the United States from Mexico, he took up a job as a dishwasher in New York City. Between guidance from the chefs he worked with and culinary skills he picked up working at his family’s restaurants in Mexico, Montiel found work cooking food instead of washing the plates it came on. After a lucky break at the now-closed Tappo restaurant connected Montiel with James Beard-award winning chef Jody Williams, whom he worked under as sous chef, he’s the executive chef at Cantina Rooftop, a Mexican restaurant in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Besides cooking at Cantina Rooftop, Montiel reopened his late grandparents’ restaurant, La Unica, in Hidalgo, Mexico, and he’s made appearances on food and travel shows. From a molcajete to a rubber cutting board, these are Montiel’s most essential kitchen tools.
Chef Saul MontielAvantco Rice Cooker
Webstaurant Store“I would normally use a Caldero, but I would always need to keep any eye on it. I can admit that I’ve burnt my fair share of rice, but with this commercial rice cooker, my worries are a thing of the past. It cooks it perfectly every time.”
