I Bought the $6 Fish Spatula That Bon Appétit Swears By — Here’s What I Think About It

Anyone who’s watched chef Brad Leone in action knows the man has opinions. The guy behind Bon Appetit’s “It’s Alive” cooking videos, and the former test kitchen manager, is as known for his personality as he is for his cooking prowess. When he gave Grub Street a list of his favorite things last fall, and a $6 fish spatula made the cut alongside a $1,100 hunting bow, well, we took notice. That sucker must be pretty dang good. 

How good is it? To find out, I bought his “go-to flipping thing” — the Winco FST-6 fish spatula — and gave it a test drive in my own kitchen. 

I’ll admit I was a little disappointed when it first arrived. At just 2 ounces, it’s so lightweight it feels cheap. The wood handle doesn’t seem sturdy or heavy, like some of my other wood-handled tools, so I have serious doubts about its longevity. It definitely can’t go in the dishwasher and will need regular oiling. 

But in terms of performance, Brad was right on. He says he uses the spatula to flip far more than fish. I tried it out with salmon fillets, pork chops, eggs, crepes, pancakes, and mashed potato fritters. In every instance it worked great. The stainless steel is really thin, so it slips under food easily. The beveled edge is slightly knife-like, so it loosens things as it slips under. And I really liked how the slats allowed excess oil to drip off. This came in especially handy when making those fritters. 

Vest of all, the long, 6 1/2-inch surface means it can support a large item without half of whatever-it-is-you’re-flipping falling off and breaking. I could get almost a whole crepe onto it! I also really liked that the spatula head was flexible but not angled off the handle. The angle on my regular thin metal spatula sometimes gets in the way, but this is just a straight flat surface that can flex as you slip it into the pan.

I found myself reaching for it to slip around the edges a cake pan to loosen the cake, and to pop mini bundts out of their pan. Having a flexible metal tool that’s even thinner than a butter knife really comes in handy. 

So, is Brad’s favorite tool one of mine as well? Absolutely. Do I wish the handle was a tad more robust? I do, but $6 for a kitchen workhorse is hard to beat.