Kitchen Equipment and Utensils

PlatedUp Cooks prepare your meal using the kitchen, appliances, and cookware available in your home, so it helps to know what to have ready and what your Cook will and won't bring.

What equipment do I need?

Your Cook prepares your meal using the equipment already in your kitchen — pots, pans, utensils, cutting boards, tableware, and the standard countertop or built-in appliances your kitchen has.

Make relevant pots, pans, utensils, and tableware for the meal you've booked available and in working order.

Check your equipment before booking

Before you confirm a booking, review the equipment your selected meals call for. Confirming your booking means confirming that the ordinary equipment your kitchen typically provides will be available and in working order for your Cook to use.

What if a meal needs special equipment?

Some meals call for equipment beyond what's ordinarily found in a home kitchen — a stand mixer, a sous vide setup, or specialty bakeware, for example. When a meal you select requires something like this, that requirement is identified for you before your booking is confirmed, so you can decide whether you already have it, whether a reasonable alternative works, or whether your Cook will bring it.

If a specialty equipment requirement wasn't identified before your booking was confirmed, its absence isn't automatically treated as something you're responsible for — see "What if an item is missing or doesn't work?" below.

Does my Cook bring equipment?

Your Cook prepares your meal with the equipment already in your kitchen — Cooks don't normally bring their own pots, pans, appliances, or knives to a booking.

Your Cook may bring a small set of personal items related to their own work and safety, such as an apron, a phone or timer, food-safe gloves, and a food thermometer in a protective case. These personal items aren't a substitute for the cookware and equipment your kitchen provides.

Personal knives aren't standard Cook equipment. If you offer a knife that appears damaged or unsafe, your Cook can decline to use it — see "What if equipment seems unsafe?" below.

What if an item is missing or doesn't work?

If equipment you confirmed would be available and working turns out not to be, your Cook will first see if the meal can reasonably and safely be completed another way. If it can't, this may be treated as a customer-preparedness issue — see Preparing Your Kitchen Before a Booking for what that can mean for your booking.

An equipment failure involving something unusual or specialty that was never identified as needed before your booking was confirmed isn't treated as your responsibility, and the same is true if the missing or non-working item was something your Cook was responsible for bringing. An appliance or item failing during ordinary use doesn't automatically mean your Cook caused the failure.

What if equipment seems unsafe?

Your Cook can decline to use any equipment they reasonably believe is unsafe. This doesn't require your Cook to be a technician or electrician — a reasonable judgment call is enough, and can include things like a damaged appliance, exposed wiring, a malfunctioning burner, or a knife in poor condition.

Declining to use a specific unsafe item usually means pausing that one activity, not ending your entire booking — your Cook will look for a safe way to continue the rest of your meal where possible.

Your Cook won't attempt an unsafe workaround, and telling your Cook you're willing to accept the risk doesn't change this — your Cook can still decline to use equipment or follow an instruction they reasonably believe is unsafe.

If unsafe equipment stops your Cook from continuing your booking and it was something you were responsible for providing, this may be treated as a customer-preparedness issue the same way a missing or non-working item is. If your Cook damages your equipment or property while cooking, see Property Damage During a Booking.

Preparing a usable kitchen space

Your kitchen should be reasonably clean, functional, and safe for ordinary household food preparation before your Cook arrives. This is a home-kitchen standard — not a professional, commercial, or FDA Food Code–compliant kitchen standard.

Getting your kitchen ready for a booking is different from a serious contamination or safety hazard. For ordinary tidiness and access, see Preparing Your Kitchen Before a Booking. If you believe your kitchen has a genuine safety or contamination hazard, that's a safety matter — see Safety During an In-Home Booking or Reporting a Safety Concern.

What does my Cook clean?

Your Cook typically cleans the cooking workspace they used — such as countertops, cookware, and utensils — before finishing your session. Cooks aren't a general household or cleaning service outside of the cooking session itself — see What Cooks Can and Cannot Do.

Good to know

For more on what a Cook's role does and doesn't include, see What Cooks Can and Cannot Do.

Still need help?

If you have questions about equipment for a specific booking, contact PlatedUp Support.