Many years ago in Windy Wellington in New Zealand I brought my first tool box. Some people will be thinking a tool box, but let me let you know a toolbox is the best way to store chefs knifes and keep them in an amazing condition.
After many years of perfecting my trade the one thing that I have relied on & is so important in a professional kitchen is your knife skills & the knowledge of what knife is used on any particular vegetable, meat or fish.
Over the past 30 years as a professional chef more products come ready prepared rather than in its natural state. This is due to less staff in the kitchen, wages and time efficiency which also depends on what type of eating establishment it is. Some knife skills that were needed years ago have disappeared which is sad really as generations ahead will never know about them.
This leaves a gap for untrained knife skills where years ago more knife skills were used but at the same time each knife in a Kitchen has a particular job & use on a particular product.
Knife skills are one of the biggest assets a chef can have, and without them a chef will be lacking skills and being part of a team in a kitchen environment.
This gives you an idea below of what is required for different types of knifes and there purposes along with experience and confidence for the chef to be able to do it.
List of Chefs Knifes & Purposes
Boning Knife
It is used in food preparation for removing the bones of poultry, meat, and fish. A stiff boning knife is good for boning beef and pork, but a very flexible boning knife is preferred for poultry and fish.
Filleting Knife
It is very flexible knife that are used to fillet and prepare fish. They have blades about 15 cm to 28 cm (6 to 11 inches) long, allowing them to move easily along the backbone and under the skin of fish.
Paring Knife
A thin-bladed knife intended for coring and paring (peeling) fruit such as apples as well as slicing small ingredient it is majorly used for detailed & controlled cutting.
Chef’s Knife
Also known as a cook’s knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation. It’s the primary general-utility knife for most western cooks.
A modern chef’s knife is a multi-purpose knife designed to perform well at many differing kitchen tasks. It can be used for mincing, slicing, and chopping vegetables, slicing meat, and disjointing large cuts
Carving Knife
A carving knife is a large knife (between 20 cm and 38 cm (8 and 15 inches)) that is used to slice thin cuts of meat, including poultry, roasts, hams, and other large cooked meats. A carving knife is thin (particularly at the spine), enabling it to carve thinner, more precise slices.
Honing Steel
A honing steel is ceramic or diamond coated steel used to realign blade edges. The steel is used to sharpen knifes & put a shape edge back on the blade of your knifes by sliding the blade away from yourself along the steel while moving it down the blade moves diagonally
These are the more essential knifes used in a professional kitchen with a lot of other tools needed too do specific Jobs.
So like a plumber, or a carpenter a professional chef has the same outlook when it comes to the right tool or knife.
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