Tools of the Trade

>>8679743
You can usually do the job with a handful of tools, but if you have the RIGHT tool for the job, why wouldn't you use it?

My filet knife went missing at my last restaurant and I haven't picked one up since. I've done an alright job at home without it, but I should really pick one up.

I think it's good practice to start small and buy things as you find you need them. unitaskers are nonsense. Personally for cutting I either use a santoku or a paring knife but I also don't prepare meat.

I have tongs I inherited and I use them specifically for spaghetti. Everything else one could use tongs for I just use wooden chopsticks for (a pair I got from a chinese restaurant), I prefer the extra precision. I have a peeler but I rarely use it. I want to buy a sieve or a strainer and probably a grater. Otherwise I'm pretty good.

Oh yeah I got a food processor from my father for christmas two years ago. That really stepped up my cooking game.

but yeah tl;dr better to have less than more imo, you can always get more as you find you need it.

(Op)
At home...I use what I have but at work it's a different story. For almost a year I have a had chef knife only. About six months ago my first Chef thought it would be a nice gift to get me a knife roll. Since then I have had two more chefs and they are apps led when they see me try and use my chef knife for certain things. Thus I use the other tools but in reality I feel like I could use my chef knife for almost anything. Also, do you think size matters for a chef knife? I'm 5'2 and have two 12in chef knives and my current chef is being really critical of it, but it's all I have ever worked with so I don't mind.

>>8679792
>apps led
I meant apalled

>>8679743
Its different for everyone based on experience, and the demands of the operation. For example, my kit,
> 8 inch chefs knife, weeb steel
>6 inch chefs knife, german and beat up, for tough jobs
>5 inch santoku, weeb veggie knife
> 4 inch demi knife, weeb steel, a slightly bigger, more useful paring knife
>flexible boning knife, for boning
>serrated utility knife, bread and more
>fish spatula
>micro-plane
>honing steel
>Various plating spoons
>Tiny strainer, for morning tea
>Peeler

Sounds like you have enough stuff to tackle most tasks. Two paring knives, AND a shark?
I carried a melon baller for a long time. You can probably ditch that one. Grab a Victorinox flexible boning knife, that's a good one. Tweezers are for cool kids, and wanna-be's, that being said I have a couple kinds. Get your own spoons bro. That's like the first step into putting together a seasoned kit. Kunz spoon life

>>8679876
>Two paring knives, AND a shark?
Pairing knife from my first chef, pairing knife I picked up before the gift, a shark I got from a friend. But one of my pairing knives is like serated on have the blade so I most use it to open bags. The shark is for strawberries. Many fruit plates in my past so it has been used.

what the fuck is a shark?

>>8679743
>>8679908
You have a pair of paring knives.
>>8679792
Don't include the handle in the measurement, just the blade. Your height doesn't matter, the size of the food you're working with does. For example, skinning a large salmon might be more difficult with a blade that's not long enough.


I leave my toys at home, as I don't do a prep work or line cooking anymore.
chef knife
honesuki
paring knife
honing rod
waiter's corkscrew
calculator
sharpie

Not OP but in a similar boat.

When I started I got the cheapest knife kit on the market which was roughly 80usd. Had a 10" chef, boning,filleting,peeler, steel and a pairing knife. I always get compliments on how sharp my knives are from chefs at the place I work and they had weeb Damascus steel 400 bucks knife.

Now I'm very comfortable with my 10" but I always feel it unnatural cutting vege with it. It seems I'm applying too much force but when I borrowed an equally cheap santoku, I feel like I could chop a lot easier instead of doing a full slide on my 10".

Would getting a santoku make my vege prep more comfortable? I don't want to go full retard and spend triple of what my knife kit is on a single knife but I want something decent with a nice cutting profile. Any suggestions? I tried a Chinese vege chopper. Way too much strain on wrists for not a lot of benefit.

File: paring.png (23KB, 497x548px)

23KB, 497x548px

>>8679743
>pairing knives
>>8679908
>Pairing knife
>>8680680
>pairing knife

STOOOOOOOPPP!!!!!!!!!