slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch matchsticks.

Rubbermaid Brilliance glass food storage container.Others recommend perforated.

ceramic baskets.for keeping berries fresh.Whichever material you choose, each chef is clear: Only store unwashed berries.. Chef-Approved Berry Storage Containers.

Rubbermaid Brilliance Glass Food Storage Containers, Set of 4. , $38, originally $43.Onemore Ceramic Berry Basket, Set of 2. , $28, originally $30.

Wide-Mouth Mason Jars, 5-Pack.

Professional chefs warn against washing your berries before storing them in the refrigerator."My dad was always saying, 'It's a hard life.'".

Before landing on cooking, she contemplated becoming an optometrist, physical therapist, orthopedic surgeon, and accountant."I tried to fight it as best as I could, not to be a chef," she says.

But she was cooking all the time.. "My sister just told me, 'Face your destiny,'" she says."And then I did.