Culinary cult items

People who are serious about cooking spend serious money on their cooking gadgets. Many folks believe that a $300 USD blender or a $600 USD mixer are worth the price for the performance they deliver. But how much are you willing to spend on kitchen tools? The Wall Street Journal shows us some really expensive kitchen toys that only the wealthy could afford.

In addition to a $30,000 gas grill, the article discusses $30,000 knives, $50,000 stoves, and $1,100 bottles of whiskey, among other things. But are these items really worth the price? Some people think so; others are less convinced. Mario Batali owns one of the expensive knives in question, and he feels that his knife will be an heirloom that will handed down through the generations. The grills are supposed to be dowry-worthy as well, but the whiskey probably won’t survive that long. 

If you won the lottery, would you buy a La Cornue stove, Pappy van Winkle whiskey, or a custom Kramer knife? What would be your cooking splurge?