This Clever Gel Pen Is Actually a Kitchen Essential

“Pastry people love organization, efficiency, and cute shit,” says Mimi Mendoza, who oversees the desserts at Senia in Honolulu. “Our station depends on it.”

For those people who, like herself, count themselves as neurotic in the kitchen, the 2017 Eater Young Gun recommends one thing: Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Pens.

Whether you’re making a grocery list, scribbling comments in a cookbook, or organizing what to prep when for a dinner party, cooking often requires writing. For Mendoza, these tasks used to be an exercise in wasted paper. That is, until one of her assistants found these erasable pens in a stationery store. Mendoza was immediately sold. Not only do they allow her to cut down on waste, as she can reuse paper, they also have all the best pen qualities.

“There are two or three different style points; they are gel pens, so they are really smooth; and because they are Japanese, they are so efficient: You can buy a new inkwell or eraser and keep the outside of the pen,” says Mendoza. “And the grip is great.” And, as any stationery enthusiast will tell you, the range of eclectic colors is a huge plus, Mendoza adds.

But her absolute favorite feature of the pen is a neat trick she and the cooks discovered: “We figured out that you can put the prep sheet into the oven for a second, and it erases the entire list. Which makes them even more fun.”

Mendoza says she has since convinced the entire kitchen at Senia to use the pens, and has even purchased the Pilot Frixion Erasable Highlighters. “It is something that seems really silly, but it does make our life easier,” she says. “We can use one sheet [of paper] for two weeks.”