Everybody has a
favorite, be it a spoon, a fork, a spatula, or a pair of tongs. I want to tell
you about knives. Not just any, GLOBAL brand. I have been in the restaurant
industry for 25 years, and cooking since I was big enough to hold a wooden
spoon. Over the years I have worked with so many brands and styles, I have
found my favorite.
Theres a
lot that goes into finding a favorite. Sometimes you think you already have and
then something better falls in your lap. My experience was different. Working
in kitchens there are always “house” knives around for prep cooks to use, and
the chefs had their personal kits. As a young cook working my way up, I was
always asking about the different tools I would see, and ask “What’s so special
about YOUR knife? Why is it better?”, and they would tell me. Sometimes there
was a story behind the blade “It was a gift from my mentor”, “I got it in Japan
working under a master fish cook” …they were endless, and mostly true. I grew
in the industry and became a chef myself. I bought some decent knives (second
hand) and was proud of my kit. It had some big names in it; Whusthof, Henckles,
even a couple Cutco. Then after about 8 years in the industry, one day a senior
chef I was working with came in with his brand new 10 inch long GLOBAL Chef
Knife. It was gleaming steel sharper than a scalpel, and he allowed me to try
it out. And that was it. I had to have my own.
I found my first one used, for $15, I felt
like I won the lottery. They retail for $100 or more. It was a 7” Veggie
Cleaver. I used it so much I wore the metal grip down not caring that it was a
blunt tip, and made for produce, it was mine. I used that knife almost every
day for 8 years before it broke. I went out the next day to William Sonoma and
bought myself a brand new 7” Chef Knife. My own gleaming scalpel sharp piece of
metal. I’m on my 3rd one now, it’s a 7” Japanese Chef Knife and I
love it just as much as the one I held for the first time. My hand doesn’t feel
right with any other grip anymore, my callouses are so deep.
I had
used so many different knives by this point, it wasn’t because it was brand new
and shiny. It was the feel of it. The weight was so balanced it felt light as a
feather. The grip was just more metal, no sharp corners for food to get stuck
in, no rivets to come loose. Just a solid piece a Molybdenum/Vanadium steel, an
alloy metal lighter and stronger than steel. So easy to keep a sharp edge on
it. Unlike the Cutco brand that has to be sent to the factory for sharpening.
With my experience it was easy to tell that this design was far superior than
anything I had used in the past.
Over the
years I have noticed several T.V. Chefs using GLOBAL brand knives, though I
never notice a brand endorsement for the show. I have seen commercials for Shun
and several others but I don’t see them in use during the program…Why? To me
that just means that other companies charge more for their product because they
spend so much on advertising. I would rather pay a lower price for a better
knife. I don’t need to see a celebrity flaunting it, but if I see it on the
workbench, it’s probably good. Anthony Bourdain’s favorite was the G-2, 8” Chef
knife, he recommended for any professional or home cook
I have worked in over 40 kitchens in the last 25 years and have trained many new cooks. They all ask me “What’s so special about YOUR knife?”, and I tell them stories about standing in one spot and breaking down 60 chickens in one night without having to sharpen it. Or the time I had to dice 400 pounds of onions in one night and my hand didn’t get sore. In the end, I have seen more chefs go out and buy their own GLOBAL knives after getting the opportunity to use mine. For the home cook, if you’re willing to spend the money than these are the last knives you’ll ever have to buy. They are the best.
Comments
Post a Comment