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Warren Geraghty executive chef, West, Vancouver

Essential tool: Deep-sided skillet

"There's pretty much nothing you can't do with a big, deep-sided pan. Boil water. Fry sausages, chicken breasts. Sauté vegetables. Make a stir-fry."

Essential ingredient: Fish

"When I left home I pretty much lived on Kentucky Fried Chicken. That's what I ate while I was doing my apprenticeship. The first thing I'd recommend, the ultimate fast food, is fish. It's the quickest, freshest and cheapest - if you're buying seasonal and local. Really simple - just put it under the grill with some olive oil and salt and pepper till firm. You can boil some baby potatoes and add some of the juice from the fish dish. Then throw together some greens seasoned with lemon, olive oil and salt and pepper."

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Corinna Mozo chef/owner, Delux, Toronto

Essential tool: Panini press

"My favourite tool right now for a quick meal is a Panini press. We use it all the time at the restaurant. It's good for anything - if you have bread and some cheese, you can throw in whatever's in the fridge. You could even use it in a dorm room."

Essential ingredient: Cheese

"A quality cheese can elevate a meal. It may be more expensive, but a little bit is satisfying. You can make a simple grilled cheese using just your favourite cheese - or you can add garnishes like arugula, apple slices and honey mustard. For dessert you can throw together some ricotta and fresh fruit."

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Donna Dooher executive chef and co-owner, Mildred's Temple Kitchen, Toronto

Essential tool: Rice cooker

"Affordable, approachable and no-fail. I taught cooking many years ago at Cookworks and was always amazed how many people were challenged cooking rice. I've used it to cook porridge and quinoa and even used it to make mac and cheese - the good stuff."

Essential ingredient: Rice

"First of all there's a lot of variety with rice: white, basmati, wild or sticky. I always cook up a big batch and it will last for a few days. It's so versatile, you can do a variety of things with it: stir-fried rice with vegetables, or rice with some scrambled eggs, herbs and onions and even rice pudding for a sweet treat. You can add simple condiments like a good soy sauce or a squirt of lemon to give it some zing."

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Giuseppe Di Gennaro executive chef, Capo, Calgary

Essential tool: Pasta pot

"Invest in a good one with colander incorporated. It can multitask for boiling pasta, making sauces and soups and steaming vegetables."

Essential ingredient: Pasta

"It can be added to soups such as in the traditional egg-drop stracciatella, using chicken stock brought to a boil, adding pasta, and when al dente, a raw egg and Parmesan cheese. Or in a salad, by adding chopped tomatoes and onions, preserved canned tuna, capers, black olives and extra virgin olive oil. And of course, as the main ingredient with a multitude of sauces - tomato, cream and the simplest, just melted unsalted butter with a little pasta water added to thicken it, seasoned to taste and tossed with the pasta and Parmesan cheese."

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Pino Posteraro chef and owner, Cioppino's Mediterranean Grill, Vancouver

Essential tool: Non-stick frying pan

"It's very versatile, easy to clean and if you get a good quality product you don't need to use of a lot of fat to fry fish or meat - plus it can go in the oven."

Essential ingredient: Tomatoes

"Tomatoes are versatile, healthy - full of antioxidants - and they can be served with fish, pasta or meat, as a salad or part of the meal. For example, sear some fish, add skinned and seeded tomatoes to the pan with some white wine, lemon juice and then basil at the last minute. Your meal is done."