The Knives and Pans You Actually See on Cooking Shows
Watch enough of these shows and you start noticing the equipment before the food. The same hexagon-etched skillet keeps turning up under Gordon Ramsay's hand. The same bowl-lift mixer sits at the corner of every baking station on Food Network.
Most of that is deliberate, and some of it is documented in public. What follows is the short list of kitchen gear whose presence on air can actually be traced to a statement from the brand or the network — and, just as usefully, the gear that cannot.
Disclosure: some links here may earn us a commission at no cost to you. Prices were checked on the brands' own stores on Sept. 7, 2026, at 9:01 p.m. ET and move constantly, so treat them as a snapshot.
Which pan is Ramsay actually tied to?
HexClad, and not loosely. He joined the company as a brand partner and equity holder in 2021, fronting what it calls its Culinary Council, and in 2024 put a reported $100 million into the business through Studio Ramsay Global, his venture with FOX Entertainment.
The pan itself is a hybrid: a laser-etched hexagon grid of stainless steel raised over a nonstick surface, so you can sear on the peaks and still slide an egg off the valleys. Ramsay has said he cooks on it while filming, including on Hell's Kitchen and Next Level Chef.
What does it cost right now?
HexClad was running a Labor Day promotion when we checked, so the numbers below are sale prices with the brand's own list price beside them.
| Item | Checked price | List |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid Fry Pan, 12" | $143 | $179 |
| Hybrid Fry Pan with Lid, 12" | $163 | $199 |
| Hybrid Fry Pan with Lid, 10" | $139 | $169 |
| Damascus Steel Chef's Knife, 8" | $139 | — |
| Hybrid Pots & Pans Set, 12-pc | $699 | $999 |
One skillet at $143 is the entry point, and it is the piece you see on screen. The 12-piece set is the one the brand pushes hardest, which is a different decision entirely.
What mixer do the baking championships run on?
KitchenAid. Reporters cataloguing the Holiday Baking Championship set have identified the 7-quart bowl-lift stand mixer at the stations, along with a KitchenAid hand mixer that the bakers reach for on smaller batches.
Bowl-lift matters more than it sounds. Competition bakers work in bigger volumes than a home cook, and the lift design handles a stiff dough hook load that would walk a tilt-head mixer across the bench.
We could not confirm a live price from KitchenAid's own store at the time of the check, so no number is given here. It is a mixer sold at every major retailer, and it goes on sale often.
Does Guy Fieri have his own knives?
He does, and they predate most of his current shows. The Knuckle Sandwich line was built with Ergo Chef and launched in 2009, later revamped down to two shapes: an 8-inch chef's knife and a 7-inch santoku, both in 7Cr17 high-carbon steel.
They have been stocked by Target and Amazon over the years. No live price was verifiable at our check time, so we are not quoting one.
What can't be verified?
Plenty, and this is the part most gear roundups skip. Knives in particular are often a competitor's own, brought from their own kit rather than supplied by the show, which means the blade in a close-up says nothing about a network deal.
Older appliance partnerships are another trap. Pages announcing them get taken down as contracts lapse, so a link that worked two seasons ago may now 404, and a brand that was on set in 2019 may be gone.
Our rule for this section is simple: a brand goes on the page when the company or the network has said so in public, and it comes off when that statement disappears.
Which piece is worth buying?
If you want one thing from this list, the hybrid skillet is the honest pick, because it is the only item here that appears on screen and is sold by the person using it. The mixer is a bigger purchase and a slower decision.
The knives are the most personal choice of the three, and the one where trying a handle in a store beats reading anybody's roundup.
FAQ
Is HexClad the official pan of Hell's Kitchen? The public statements describe a partnership with Ramsay himself, not with the show, and he has said he cooks on it while filming.
Can I buy the exact set the bakers use? The mixer model is identifiable; the show's custom benches and ovens are not consumer products.
Are HexClad pans dishwasher safe? The brand says yes for its hybrid line, though hand washing is the standard advice for any nonstick surface.
Where do the Chopped baskets come from? Production, not a retailer. That one is a prop.
New gear notes get added to Gear They Used as each season airs. For what is airing and when, see the fall 2026 schedule, the Halloween Baking season 12 guide and the Hell's Kitchen season 25 guide; episode results land in Baking Championships and Food Network Competitions.
Sources · PR Newswire — HexClad and Gordon Ramsay partnership announcement · HexClad — Gordon Ramsay page and current pricing · The Daily Meal — Ramsay's cookware on set · CNN Underscored — products seen on Holiday Baking Championship · Ergo Chef — Knuckle Sandwich knives