7 Highly Underrated Costco Products, According to Professional Chefs

"I’m sure I’m not alone in this pick–their olive oil is a great all-purpose purchase," says Ashley Lonsdale, chef-in-residence at Butcher Box. "I use it to make green sauces like salsa verde or chermoula, fry eggs, slow poach wild salmon—it's versatile! It's also nice to have a lot of olive oil on hand to confit chicken or garlic when the mood strikes."

Okay, so this isn't completely underrated, but it is notable that chefs have to sing their praises of this classic item, especially Cheff Matt Cutolo of Gargiulo's. "It's juicy, flavorful, so versatile and great for when you're short on time," says Cutolo. "You can dress it up and serve it right away or it can give you a head start for so many other dishes."

Chef Matt also visits Costco to re-up his stash of pantry staples for making desserts at home, the key to which is plenty of vanilla extract. "Vanilla extract can definitely get pricey in some stores," says Cutolo. "[Costco's] is a bigger quantity, so it lasts you a good while, and the value is great."

"Costco is one of my favorite places to shop and the sheer size of it always amazes me. It's my go-to for buying things in bulk and I always go there before entertaining people at my grandparents’ summer house in Shelter Island," says Cutolo, who enjoys the volume, value, and selection of the different flours the store keeps on hand, King Arthur's Unbleached All Purpose Flour.

To go with that flour and vanilla extract, it only makes sense to pick up the requisite bag of sugar, which is absolutely what Cutolo does on a Costco run. He prizes Kirkland's Organic Cane Sugar for the quality and the quantity.

Michelle Palazzo, who is the director of pastry operations at Frenchette and Frenchette Bakery is a major fan of Costco's extra-decadent, buttery croissants and not just for enjoying right out of the container – Palazzo is also a fan of how versatile they are as the base for bread pudding and French toast.

"Bulk shopping is a great place to purchase supporting ingredients for protein-centric dinners," says Lonsdale, who always picks up a bag of Royal Basmati Rice when she's at Costco. "Their basmati rice works well for my many iterations of chicken thighs and rice, fried rice, congee, and rice and peas."