Chefs’ Toys

Warehouse setting shopping, decent prices. You can find industrial burners, BBQ with enough BTUs to cook a cow. If you look around carefully, there are some «fun» stuff you can buy for us home chefs. I saw some decorative cooking theme knick knacks that I really wanted but I can’t buy anymore cuz I don’t have enough counter space in my kitchen.
Parking on the side of the street, lot in the front, and a will call lot in the back if you’re picking up something ginormous. Staff here is friendly, speak up and they will help you!

This is a great place for wannabe chefs to get their kitchen wares and equipment. Don’t get me wrong, professional chefs get their stuff at Chef’s Toys. This place is well known in the industry. What you can’t find in this big store, they can order for you.
One reason we like going here is that you don’t need to prove that you are in the restaurant business. They have pretty much everything you might need to open up a cooking business.
As a cook/​chef, you find yourself standing hours on end In front of a prep table or an oven or a fryer. Even cutting up vegetables for a fresh salad requires someone to stand. Today we needed a couple mats to make standing just a little bit more comfortable. The difference is standing on hard concrete versus a softer rubber surface.
We looked at all the industrial size mats they offered. The sizes and colors and material vary, none of them would really fit our needs. We ended up with a couple of smaller sized black rubber lined foam mats that should fit. One other reason we got these is the fair price point.
There are at least 5 checkout counters, and one toward the front door that is an express checkout. Three of the 6 counters were in service and with customers and they have several items to checkout. This is where you have to use your chef’s patience because it could take you a long time to get thru. We take all this in stride and know that by coming to Chef’s Toys, we can always find what we need.

A big shout out to great service when I recently went to get a part for my 3 compartment sink sprayer and they were super quick and helpful and got me all set! Thanks guys!

These guys are great! Very helpful & professional. We’ve been buying from them for years, and will continue to buy from them for years to come.

I use Chefs’ Toys for all my equipment needs. They truly care about their customers and always want to find your items at a great price and as quick as possible. Thank you Katie and all the Chefs’ Toys team for being so awesome.

What a fitting name for this place! I almost wish I was a chef or had some culinary skills so that I knew more about all the «toys» this place carries.
I recently purchased a sous vide machine and was planning to make prime rib for New Years. For a 6.5 lb roast, my pots at home were too small. I found some Cambro polycarbonate containers on Amazon, and although shipping was free, they weren’t available with Amazon Prime and therefore there was no guarantee when I’d receive it. I therefore started looking at Rubbermaid and although they had it available through Amazon Prime, for whatever reason, even if I paid for overnight, it wouldn’t get here until 2 days later which would’ve been too late.
I recalled the FV area having some restaurant supply stores and therefore turned to trusty old Unilocal which led me to Chefs’ Toys. Found the container I needed along with a lid and saved quite a bit of money!
Price comparison:
Cambro 18 Qt: Amazon = $ 28.64; Chef’s Toys = $ 21.50
Cambro lid: Amazon = $ 11.06; Chef’s Toys = $ 3.70
I didn’t give them 5 stars because the place is a bit cluttered and the staff wasn’t particularly friendly. But overall a solid 4 stars!

From now on, I’ll only shop for anything culinary here. The selection is huge and price is pleasing to the wallet. Pretty straight forward if you’re looking for something specific. Unless you can find it cheaper online, Chefs Toys is there when you need it.
It’s an easy place to fall under the spell of not needing anything but you come out buying more stuff than you anticipated.

This place has everything thing you could possibly need, for the home or professional cook/​chef. It’s my kind of toy store.
The prices are awesome.

Good product, but should not take me half an hour to pick up 48 plates with no line because the employees are messing around or flirting with the girl behind the counter. Who has time for that, be a professional.

This is a well organized, clean, and tidy warehouse-​style store. They cater to the needs of professionals, but allow wannabees like me to shop there, too. ;) I tend to go to Chefs’ Toys with something particular in mind, but must allow adequate time to meander. If I don’t buy something extra on this trip, then I know why I’ll return before I leave!
Prices are reasonable to very good. Customer service has always been great for me. They even contacted a manufacturer for a particular product that I wanted, but couldn’t locate. They followed up, letting me know that the product is no longer made and offered to find something similar. I listen to how they interact with folks buying a single $ 5 product or enough to set up a new restaurant. They are patient, kind, and helpful to all.
P. S.: If you can, you’ll find size labeled, long rubberized-​handled ladles in a variety of sizes. 8 oz makes quick work of filling canning jars. 1 oz is great for removing just a bit or topping off the jar — and it fits inside the funnel handily. :) The rubberized handles help prevent blisters. They also have spoons large enough to stir and prepare food in a 27 quart canner.

Chef’s Toys is where I get most of my cooking gear. I could go up and down the aisles for hours looking at all their gear.
They have nearly everything you could want in your kitchen. I usually go for a few bowls and small items. If you need it, they have massive rice cookers. You could make enough rice to feed a small army.
I’m planning on bringing my chef’s knife over since it’s getting pretty dull. We’ll see how that turns out.

No Chef (home or professional) should not know about Chefs’ Toys.
I love Chef’s Toys. Their knife selection is monstrous, they sharpen steel for less than $ 4.00 and they offer industrial equipment at highly competitive prices. In fact, I look forward to purchasing a 4 burner set for installation to my home soon. An industrial refrigerator and ice maker are on the wish list.
Ramekins, totes, industrial dispensers, uniforms, cutlery, you name it and Chefs’ Toys has it. I will admit that it can be dangerous walking through the doors if you are at all like me because they offer so many «must have’s» that probably aren’t and with many being less than $ 5.00 you can get in trouble fast.

I was just at Chef’s Toys at exactly 2:59pm. They close at 3pm. An employee was shutting the door and didn’t offer to let us in but as I was walking to the car another person was let in. Was informed by an exiting customer that they would help us. Went back and was told by a lady, «we are closed». So, I again walked out. Won’t ever come back again. Could have been an easy $ 300.00 sell. Now it will NEVER be any. Whatever happened to customer service.
GONE, just like your customers will be.

Great store, great selection and great service. What’s not to love about what Steve has put together here. Between Doug, Fong and the team I am always well taken care of.

Love this store, but the customer service here always is surprisingly bad. There’s a guy named Jake that doesn’t even greet you when you walk in, ever; And today he charged us for the wrong item and we didn’t even realize until we got home. We love this store, but the costumer service is always disappointing. One lady always has the worst attitude and is never respectful, I always forget to catch her name. We are regular customers so I will be updating this review with the name of the mean employee

I went here to get some cutlery for a large party we were hosting. The selection is slim and I expected the prices to be a little more competitive. I found some better deals after the fact at Macy’s. However, I needed a 24-​person setting quick and this place had it in stock. So kudos to Chefs’ Toys for the convenience and great customer service. This place can be overwhelming, in a warehouse setting with all sorts of items stacked high almost up to the ceiling. I am sure you can find some useful gadgets here, but it seems to be for the more advanced cook (which I am certainly not). I would not go here expecting insane deals. As previous Unilocalers noted, do your homework first before purchasing here.

— Locale Destination —
It’s on Pacific St and Ellis Ave in Fountain Valley.
It’s sorta tucked away in the business area. It’s the wear house. Nothing fancy when it comes to décor, the place is huge and the stuff are all over. They could organize them a little better. The staff were friendly. Ask questions if you need help to save your time. Decent amount of parking. They don’t open late, so make sure you check their hours before you go.
All kinds of «professional» kitchen equipment are available: grills, mixers, knives, utensils (silver wears they have aren’t fancy), fridges, ovens, scales, kitchen clothing, baking tools, warmers, plastic containers, measuring tools, equipment parts, knife bags, pizza equipment — you name it! I said «professional» because it’s really more tuned to the real restaurants, not so much of ordinary home cooks. «Sur la Table» is more «home cooking» than «professional» that feeds hundreds ;p
It’s fun if you worked professionally or were a serious «Master Chef» :p
Everyone mentioned about the great price on knives. If you knew what you want, I suggest you research first online. I don’t think this is cheap IMO. Professional knives could be very expensive but make your cooking so much easier.
*** Sharping knife service ***
They do the service with the minimal cost, though you’re required to leave your knife overnight there. I worked with chefs a lot and almost no one recommended me to bring knives to someone who sharpens for you. Just because they often ruined their knives, which aren’t cheap. Yes, it takes time and skills to do it right. The sharp knives make your job a lot easier and safer. Don’t be lazy and give some love to your knives by sharpening them by yourself. I know you’re smiling now reading this ;p
*************************************
— Conqueror’s Deduction —
I love those places since I like to cook. But it’s more tuned to «professional» chefs than home cooking enthusiasts for «Sur la Table».
If you looked for professional level equipment, this is the place. But not all items are cheaper than others. Hand blenders were a lot more expensive than online (Ex. Best Buy). People mentioned that the knives were cheaper than others. Yes, they have more brands from expensive to cheap ones than others, but I didn’t feel they were cheap. I’m not a professional chef but I checked those prices at several places before. I couldn’t find a 10 inch one on the particular brands I was looking for under $ 100. Some of the professional grade knives you can find at «Bed Bath & Beyond» could be cheaper if you had the coupon. «Sur la Table» has lots of professional good knives with various sizes on the cases!
I highly recommend to research what you wanna get online first before you make a purchase here. At least this place has tons of professional equipment to check out.

Small & hidden across from Hobby People, I never would’ve found this place until my chef suggested that I go here to purchase equipment for my culinary class. They offer knife sharpening here for a cheap price compared to Surfas. The guys here are friendly and really helpful. I came in w/​my list of items needed for class and they had everything. However, I was looking at some of the prices and it seems that only certain items are cheap here. This is a definite place to go for purchasing knives as they are cheap compared to other stores and carry Messermeister! I got my knives here and they cut like butter
It looks like a giant warehouse inside of cooking supplies/​equipment, kinda dull compared to Sur La Table or Surfas. They do price match here so if you find something cheaper elsewhere just bring in the receipt or ad. They also sell uniforms here and if they don’t have your size, they can order it from their other location in Anaheim for you. Aisles are organized and lots of selections! If you’re looking for big equipment I highly recommend you coming here. They also carry lots of knife sheaths for cheap and satchels/​rolls

I’m not a professional chef, but I play one at home. One of my non-​stick pans died on me and it occurred to me that professional chefs don’t shop at Sur La Table or Macys for their cookware. But they do shop at Chefs Toys. I picked up an industrial looking non-​stick pan. Time will tell how well they will hold up. I also got a bunch of stackable stainless prep bowls.
They have a bunch of other neat things like those rolling hot dog warmers that you see at ⁷⁄₁₁ stores. I was temped to bring one home just to see the wife’s reaction.

Some cute guys working here!!! This place is great… expensive but great! I got my knife set from here and my uncle bought all his dishes for his restaurant… dropped 5K… yikes!!! It’s kind of odd that you have to notify the staff that you want to take a shit before you go inside the bathroom. I liked their pastry selection here… something Surfas lacks… I’ll be coming back though!!!