What are the best kitchen knives for chefs?
In the stress and tension of restaurant kitchens, professional chef’s knives stand out to meet the rigorous needs of experienced cooks.
Find out here about the specific features of knives designed for Chefs.
Key characteristics of the best professional chef’s knives
The quality of the steel is one of the most important characteristics of a chef’s knife, as it has a direct influence on the blade’s durability and ability to retain its sharpness. High-carbon steels are often preferred for their exceptional strength and ability to sharpen finely.
The cutting precision is also essential. A quality chef’s knife should be able to make clean, precise slices without excessive effort. This is often determined by the angle of the blade, defined by the grinding step. Sharper angles offer greater precision.
In addition, the balance of the knife is a crucial factor. A well-balanced knife feels natural in the chef’s hand, making it easy to handle and reducing fatigue during prolonged use.
The shape of the blade plays a significant role in the knife’s purposes.
Curved blades encourage ‘rock chopping’, a fast cutting technique, while straight blades are ideal for precise, delicate cuts.
The blade’s length is another important aspect, with sizes generally varying between 15 and 30cm (6 and 12 inches). A longer blade offers more cutting options, allowing you to slice large chunks and perform precision work at the same time. However, personal preference and comfort play a major role in choosing the ideal length.
Finally, the handle of the knife should not be neglected. It should offer a comfortable and secure grip, with materials that are resistant to water and temperature variations.
Some chefs prefer wooden handles for their aesthetic appeal and natural-smelling grip, while others opt for synthetic materials for their durability and ease of cleaning.
These combined features define what makes a top-quality professional chef’s knife, capable of withstanding the rigours of a professional kitchen while offering the precision and cutting possibilities required by the most demanding chefs.
What are the best knives for each type of restaurant?
In restaurants serving French haute cuisine, for example, great importance is attached to cutting precision, making multi-purpose chef’s knives and paring knives essential for precision work.
These establishments often require special knives such as filleting knives or boning knives, to handle meat and fish with finesse.
For Asian restaurants, particularly those specialising in Japanese cuisine, santoku knives and Japanese chef’s knives, known as Gyuto, are favoured for their exceptional sharpness and ability to make fine cuts, essential for preparing sushi and sashimi.
Italian restaurants, meanwhile, might favour bread knives with a serrated blade for easy slicing of bread and pizza, as well as cheese knives for a variety of cheese textures.
In steakhouses, sturdy slicing knives and meat knives are essential for handling and cutting up large pieces of meat.
For vegetarian or vegan establishments, special vegetable knives such as tomoto knives, peeling knives and Nakiri knives are preferable for efficient cutting of vegetables and fruit.
In bakeries and pastry shops, pastry knives with fine blades are needed for decorating and delicately shaping cakes and desserts.
Finally, for seafood restaurants, oyster knives and filleting knives are essential for carefully preparing seafood and fish.
So the choice of knives for each type of restaurant is intimately linked to the nature of the cuisine on offer and the specific techniques required to prepare the dishes in the best possible way.
Choosing the right knife not only makes food preparation easier, but also ensures that each dish is presented to the highest quality and in accordance with the restaurant’s culinary standards.
Where to buy knives for chefs?
Buying chef’s knives from Goyon-Chazeau.com is a unique experience for professional chefs and gourmet food lovers alike.
Specialising in high-quality knives, the products on our website stand out for their finesse and excellence, combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.
Choosing our online cutlery shop Goyon-Chazeau.com to buy a chef’s knife means opting for a tool that combines performance, elegance and durability.
The site offers a wide range of knives made in France, guaranteeing impeccable quality and rarely equalled attention to detail.
Each knife sold on Goyon-Chazeau.com is the result of meticulous work, where the choice of materials, the precision of the forging, and the care taken in sharpening are at the heart of the manufacturing process.
Chefs can find perfectly balanced knives, with sharp, hard-wearing blades suitable for a multitude of culinary tasks.
What’s more, the site offers the option of customising the knives, enabling chefs to own a tool that not only performs well but also reflects their personal style.
Our other articles about kitchen knives
What are the best kitchen knives for amateurs?
How do I choose my kitchen knife?
