By Simon Dolinky - Fine Food Correspondent

I met a woman last week, very cute, who told me she couldn’t boil water. This is often said after I tell people what I do. Sometimes it’s a ploy to get personal services from a professional chef, which I’m okay with, and sometimes it’s just the truth. While we proceeded to get to know each other better, enjoying the atmosphere and a few cocktails, I couldn’t help but imagine her at home microwaving frozen dinners, eating doggy bag leftovers in front of the television and munching on cold hot dogs wrapped in paper napkins. Check please, kind of a turn off for me.

Here’s a list of the first 5 items you need to have in order to one day host a Freddie Black style throw down at your pad:

1. Stainless Steel Bowls

Copper is the best but not totally necessary. We will need one you will think is too small, and one that you will think is too big, and than one right down the middle. We will use them to do everything from making vinaigrettes to washing mushrooms.

2. Small Glass Bowls or Ramekins

Something to hold your ingredients or prepared items. Watch a cooking demo or show and you always see lots of tiny bowls with a table spoon of ground coriander or a diced shallot in them. This will help you to stay organized.

3. Whisks

Again probably going to need one too big and one too small. I like all stainless steel, or a dishwasher safe handle. Think sanitary and durable.

4. Microplane Zester

This is the ideal way to remove the zest of citrus, which adds intense citrus flavor with minimal acid. It can also be used to finely grate parmesean or truffles as well as other helpful tasks in the kitchen. Try Sur la Table.

5. A Good Quality Chef Knife

German steel is very consistent but I prefer Japanese made knives. An 8 inch chef should be sufficient, you will also need a pairing knife, a flexible boning knife, and a 10 to 12 inch serrated knife. We will cover knives completely separately when you are ready to make an investment

See the mixed green salad recipe to put them all to use. . .

I am always impressed by good home cooks, the passion is always so evident and their influences can’t be hidden. Whether they be a grandmother’s Serbian comfort food, a sister who is a vegan chef, or a little too much Food Network, they all show on the plate. Ultimately how someone treats themselves tells us a lot about them and how they can treat other people. Everyone was certainly provided some sort of nourishment throughout their lives, and at some point there must have been some form of cooking involved. A little interest, few questions, and a cook is born. Maybe some are drawn to it, maybe some learn out of self preservation, but everyone enjoys the results of it. And let’s face it, its sexy.

Simon Dolinky is Executive Chef of the hot new Los Angeles restaurant BLVD 16.