What Knives do Chef’s use?

I often get asked what Knives I use and why. Knives are a little like clothes they go through trends and fashion and people tend to buy what ever they think is the best or perceived to be the best!

If you saw Gordon Ramsey using a Tesco Knife then everyone would buy them because they believe that if he uses them then they must be good….. Not always the case!

Over the years I have used various makes not because of fashion but because of the job they do and most importantly how they feel in the hand, if I think about it I hold a knife on average for 6-8 hours a day so it needs to feel good, that will give me the confidence to then use it without really thinking about it, Similar to an artist using a brush or a golfer with a club.

At the moment I am using a make called MAC professing to be the world’s sharpest knife and also the easiest to keep sharp which is really important. They have a nice weight to them and very comfortable grip and handle and do not give me blisters on my hand if cutting through tough ingredients or if used for a long time. These knives are available only to the professional but can be bought on the internet. The company that has the sole import on them Continental Chef Supplies a company that specialises in supplying high quality products to Chefs!

The MAC Knife is not cheap by any means but I am a great believer in that you get what you pay for! I would recommend the 8″ cooks knife which can be used for most kitchen jobs and also the Serrated Carver which is great for slicing almost anything. The oriental chopper is good for vegetables and shredding.

What you also need to keep these knives sharp is a good Steel, this is what profesional chefs use to keep their knives razor sharp…..

Chefs Tip… “A Steel will only keep a Sharp knife Sharp, it will not sharpen a blunt knife”

if after every time you use your knife you give it a couple of strokes at 45% angle over the steel it will stay sharp for a long time, if you let it go blunt you will then need to get the edge back on the knife by buying a sharpening stone or taking to your local iron monger or your local butcher may do it for you?

Other knives I have used over the years and still do are Victorinox, Drizeack and Wusthof all these knives apart from Victoronix our made with German steel which in my opinion is the best for knives.

If you have any questions on this topic or anything else related to cooking please leave a comment and will get back to you

Dan

Related posts:

• Master Chef experience raises £3000 at Goodwood Charity Ball!
• Sous Chef Visits Braunton Farm with a spring in his step!!
• Keith Floyd….”The Original Celebrity Chef”
• Great British Feast
• Another Master Chef Experience Successfully Excecuted in Chandlers Ford