Chef Knives and my first knife kit
By Unclephil
I had no ideas which were the best chef knives for me when I started California Culinary Academy San Francisco in 1976. This was the first class and there was no list of what knives and chef tools that a neophyte cook would need. Being an observant person by nature, I started looking at what others were using and decided to purchase a set of J.A. Henckels Chef Knives, as they were many professional chefs’ preference at the time. My parents decided that I needed an early graduation present. Wow to my surprise they bought me a set of white handle J.A. Henckels that were way to flashy I thought.
Man I felt pretty cool when I whipped out that set of knives on my first day of work at the Hyatt Regency in downtown San Francisco. On the third day of work, after finishing prepping a couple hundred salads for a banquet and I left my knife kit out while putting the salads away. I was gone to the walk-in for only two minutes and when I returned my new beautiful knives were stolen!.......Heartbroken, I found out how important it is to keep your tools secure. There are lots of trolls who thieve and plunder, may they rot!
The next day I had to figure out what I needed and then I went out to buy;
1) 10 in Chef knife
2) 8 in Chef Knife
3) Boning knife
4) 6 in Utility knife
5) 4 in Paring knife
6) Sharpening steel
7) Zester
8) Kitchen Shears/scissors
9) Bread Knife
10) Knife bag
In the end a utilitarian knife kit to be sure and it reflected only what I needed at the time. This was just the beginning of the professional kitchen tools that I have bought and used in the last thirty years.
These days professional chef’s often have very nice (gourmet) Chef Knives. Japanese Chef Knives from Seki, fine German Solingen steel, Brazilian, Chinese and American Blades that are exotic and precision tools. Knifes that are balanced, super sharp that stays sharp and beautiful. Professional chefs are very picky about what tools they use and most are ardent supporters of their favorite brand. A knife that is inherently better because performance ergonomics or beauty becomes the new standard. Chefs, Cooks and Enthusiasts are starting to seek out better kitchen utensils for function and fashion.
