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My goal with this list is to give you a fairly comprehensive list of kitchen tools, equipment and utensils, that is needed in order to be effective and safe in the kitchen. You will find the best pans pots knives among other useful things. Most of the stuff mentioned here I got in contact with either because I own, used to own, worked with or tried it. Few of the tools and equipment on this “top” list I would like to own. This list is also for people who are looking for kitchen essentials for their first kitchen or just simply looking to upgrade or change their existing equipment. I tried to keep to list small, focusing on the most important things to have in your kitchen or even in your first kitchen. Of course your kitchen should reflect you and your needs so this really is just the basics in my opinion. Some of things here are expensive and there are cheaper versions of it. In some cases it’s worth dishing out a higher price for something that will either outlive you or simply just so much better. Some of the things here are more on the inexpensive end as I think the expensive ones are simply not worth it. Somethings are not on this list as I wouldn’t use them enough that is justifying buying, or simply there are easier ways around. . But no matter how big or small your kitchen is or how much your budget is the most important thing is to have fun while cooking. Enjoy the time spent in the kitchen and time spent with who we cooked for. Cherish those moments at the table and savor the fruit of your labor with good company
Knives
Chef Knives
One of the most used tools in my kitchen are my chefs knives. I tried multiple brands so I can have a feel for them. The following is a list of the knives I own or I’m planning to own. Everybody has different preferences so its worth trying out multiple ones just to get a feel for it.
Dalstrong makes fantastic knives. Their biggest advantage and disadvantage is their weight. They tend to be on the heavier side. It can be useful and even preferred for some.
One of my favorite one has to be my Victorinox chefs knife. For me its just the right size and weight it’s light enough where you can keep working with it for hours and not get tired of it. The handle is nonslip handle so you’ll get a good grip with wet hands and even with greasy one. Not that i encourage anyone to use a knife when their hands are wet or greasy.
Of course you cant go wrong with a Wusthof knife. Many chefs I worked with swear by it and been using it for decades, it’s simply a workhorse.
And if was to venture into into the wonderful world of Japanese knives a Shun knife would be my first pick. Its fairly priced among Japanese knives of course and it looks really cool.
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Other essential knives
Best Serrated or bread knives.
There is not much to explain about this type of knife. Besides a chef and a paring knife that the one that should be in every kitchen. You can use it for anything that has a hard outside and a soft interior like a good loaf of sourdough bread. It’s perfect for cutting a pineapple, but you can also cut cakes with it. Its pretty useful to cut a tomato with that. What you need to pay attention when buying is that it has enough handle clearance, fewer broader deeper pointed serrations and of course should have a comfy non slip handle.
My personal favorite that I have and use is no surprises a Victorinox.
If you cook big breads and want go a bit fancier they also have a bigger one with a beautiful wooden handle.
I recently worked with a guy who had this double serrated bread knife by Wusthof and if it wasn’t twice the price of what i already have i for sure make the switch.
Best Pairing knives
A good paring knife will make a lot of things easier in the kitchen from carving little decorative vegetables to peeling oranges and basically any task that requires a small size knife it will do the trick. I like a slightly curved blade with a pointy tip and of course it should have a comfortable grip.I immense enjoy working with my Wusthof but as its a bit more on the expensive side i like to take the Victorinox one with me wherever I’d be taking my knives. The Victorinox is also a little lighter so its much better for in house private chef gigs.
Best Boning knives
There isn’t a lot to say about this knife. By now I guess you found out that I like Victorinox. It’s a good value knife they are not flashy ones but they are what I need… workhorses. As you’ll see I’m totally up for flashy knives and I have some but when it comes to boning knives I simply just love this one. Straight and flexible, paired with a good grip and it’s very comfy. I enjoy this knife so much that that was the first boning knife I bought and I have never really even considered buying other kinds, I’m sticking with this one.
Best slicing knives
I don’t think a slicing knife is essential unless you bake a lot of cakes or do brisket. Honestly there isn’t a lot of scenarios unless you are a hardcore baker where you need a special knife. I got this mercer knife as it was a pretty god deal its longer then most with its 14 inches versus the others 12 but quite honestly the only time i reached for it beside slicing corned beef or brisket and cake is when i didn’t have any of my chefs-knife at hand. Its a good knife all I’m saying is that its not a must have one.
Best santoku knives
Some swore by santokus, I certainly think it has its crowd for it. Am I member of that particular crowd? Not so much. I tried a few, I was recommended a few, the best I tried still wasn’t close enough to consider changing my knives.It’s all personal so some might really love a good santoku. The one I tried wasn’t a classic santoku as its tip is a bit pointer, so I had to choose a santoku it would probably this one.
The one that was recommended me the most times from chefs and people who enjoy santokus were the Mac santoku knife haven’t personally tried it but I heard good things about it.
You will also need a good meat cleaver if you like me and like to butcher your own meat to a certain extent of course and a cleaver is essential to do that. I have been blessed as inherited my grandfathers cleaver, took it a guy who specializes in restoring old knives and I go it back better then ever. Before my grandfather passed away I had a global which is another workhorse brand but once I got his cleaver I sold mine.
Steak knife
You must have a set of steak knives. There is jsut something extr luxorios to have a kniofe dedicated to one kind of dish. in my house we have steak almost every week, its toattly mae sense to have knives dedicated to jsut that. Now as you see it earlier i like Victorinox. If you have the cash to dihave the cash to dish out their grand maitre steak knie set si jus stunning but pricey.
Their straight-edge pointed-tip steak knife with rosewood handle is good looking one for half the price.
If you are on a budget then there are sets for far less out there. Like this one with a curved blade that can be loved or not so much loved.
Other knife related essentials
Best knife Sharpeners
There are a plethora of knife sharpeners out there and it’s really easy to get lost in them. There two main versions of it electric ones and manual ones. Honestly I’m the guy who does not find any satisfaction sharpening a knife. I know people and chefs whose favorite part is sharpening. I knew chefs that if was a major part of their daily routine to start the day with coffee cigarette and knife sharpening and they would do it almost superstitiously. Not me. I worked in places where the knives were provided they sharpened it once week and that was it. I would hone it a few times but not religiously. When i moved to the US i left behind a lot of things including my guy who sharpened my knife. SO in the Us i got an electric one and sharpening hone. The electric was to substitute my sharpener guy. The hone is just a hone. When I moved back i gifted my electric one but brought the hone back to Hungary.
Sharpening steel
Winco Stainless Steel Winware Sharpening Steel, 12-Inch
Magnetic knife strip
I like to have as much room on my counter as I can so for me a bulky big knife block is out of the picture. I know it looks pretty neat and all but for me putting them on the wall is even better. I only put my most used knives out there so they don’t have a chance to get dust on them as I use them at least once a week. My other thing with knife blocks is that you cant really see the knife you actually pulling out. I mean sure you’ll learn by the handle and place but I just find it much easier and more effective to see the whole knife in front of me. Unfortunately the one I had is not available anymore, so I did some research I found two great alternatives. One is the wooDsom Magnetic Knife Strip if you are into wood.
The other is for us stainless people.
Best mandolins
No matter how good someone is with knives sometimes it’s easier or more effective to use a mandolin. I great fan of them anything from slicing potatoes to shredding cabbage they just make our lives that much easier. I worked the restaurant workhorse but quite honestly while i liked the multiple thickness option but I didn’t not like the screw system.
So when ti was time to look for one to use it at home I figured I’d go with one so easy you can use it without having to have a screwdriver at home.
Best cutting boards
Most restaurants I worked at didn’t use wood boards. Plastic form a restaurant standpoint is a much easier solution easier to color-code, cheaper to replace so ti can be replaces more frequently you can soak it throw it in the dishwasher. I wont be standing here and claim wood is the way to go its definitely a personal preference, I know there are other materials out there for cutting board but I want something that is knife friendly. And with at we are at the biggest disadvantage of plastic boards. You’ll cut on it pieces will come off eventually. I rather have wood pieces coming off then plastic. I sand my boards every so often for home use, and i use a mineral oil to extend their life a bit. A well taken care wodden board can really last a long time. For longer time contracts I simply buy 3 brand new boards. One is a general one, one is for fruits and one for meat. (one side for meat the other for fish). I like a fairly big and roomy board for generel purposes, but the meat one also should be big enough where you can easily fit your favorite cuts and pieces of meat. I like end grain boards as they.
