Look for ladles that are made of one piece of stainless steel rather than a handle and dome which are spot welded together. With use, spot welded ladles tend to come apart. Buy several differnet sizes.

Ease of cleaning is well worth considering at the outset. Stay clean liners resist dirt build-up but pyrolitic cleaning is the ultimate. It burns off all baked-on debris at 500°C so that all you have to do is sweep out the resulting ash. Look out for ovens with a steam cleaning facility, too, and remember that some ovens have removable inner doors that are easy to clean.

When whipping cream, the cream, bowl, and beaters should be chilled to produce the best volume.