Snip, Snip (Favorite Tool #5)

I remember the first time I used a pair it was a revelation. You may ask how scissors can open your eyes, but you only ask because you have not cut things up with a pair of Joyce Chen scissors. They were recommended by all my food styling teachers and mentors, each of whom had multiple pairs in their kits. Twenty-five years ago $20 seemed like a lot to pay for a small pair of scissor, but I quickly learned these scissors more than pay you back for that investment. They can clip herbs from the garden as well as cut apart a chicken. They’re handy when I need to snip the end off a disposable pastry bag or trim a leek so it is ready for its closeup at a photo shoot. In my opinion there really is no need to have another pair of scissors in your home kitchen (though I do have additional scissors in my food styling kit the ones I reach for most often are my Joyce Chen’s).

They come in different colors, but since the tools in my food styling tool kit are marked with red I bought the original red handled ones. When my children were younger I found these brightly colored scissors had the extra bonus of being easy to find when “by accident, Mom” they were sometimes left behind in the herb garden and I needed to retrieve them by flashlight. These days we keep two pairs in our kitchen drawer ready for whatever may need a snipping.