Top 10 professional kitchen knives

A chef's knife is called a chef's knife for a reason. It is an essential tool for any professional chef. It is an incredibly versatile knife with which you can carry out most cutting tasks. This chef's knife from the Eden Classic Damast collection offers professional quality for a great price. It is enhanced with a hard core made from AUS10 steel that was placed in between multiple layers of damascus steel. This type of steel is easy to sharpen. You can read more about what damascus is here. The blade runs throughout the entire handle. Because of the seamless fit the knife is easy to clean.

The Santoku is basically the Japanese version of the chef's knife. The difference is in the cutting technique. You can read more about the differences between the two knives here. One isn't better or worse than the other, it's simply a matter of personal preference. This santoku comes from the Zwilling Pro collection. The blade is forged from one piece of steel which runs throughout the plastic handle with a seamless transition. The dimples in the blade stand out. These ensure that the food doesn't stick to the blade. If this works is something we put to the test.

A good bread knife (or actually, a good serrated knife) is indispensable in the professional kitchen! With this Victorinox bread/pastry knife you can easily cut through any type of bread. It is also great when cutting cakes and pies because you use the round tip to serve. But did you know you can also use the serrated knife when cutting hard vegetables and fruit such as melons and celeriac. The handle of this knife is made from Fibrox (hence the name). Fibrox has the qualities of rubber, but is processed like plastic. Because it is relatively stiff you can also safely use the knife when your hands are wet or when you are wearing gloves.

Professional chef's often use a filleting knife. This is a knife with a thin, flexible blade to fillet meat and fish. A large advantage of this Classic Ikon filleting knife is that there is a crop, but that it does not extend all the way to the edge. It does separate the handle from the blade for safety, but you can still use the entire edge, making it easy to sharpen. The handle is made of POM. A rock-solid type of plastic that is shock, heat and acid proof. It is also easy to clean.

Do you love preparing fish? If so you need this deba! A deba is a Japanese carving knife that was designed to fillet (shell)fish. The blade is thicker than a Western carving knife. As such the knife won't break. A traditional deba is sharpened on one side. As such the edge is razor-sharp. This does mean, however, that it is only suited for right-handed use. With this Kai Wasabi collection, this high quality deba is now also available for a more affordable price. The hard steel is very thin. The handle is made from a combination of bamboo powder and polypropylene which makes the knife sustainable and waterproof.

You, of course, also need the right knife for the smaller cutting tasks. For it you use this Wüsthof three-piece peeling knife set. The set is comprised of a peeling knife you can use to peel fruit and vegetables and for other small cutting tasks, a tomato knife with a serrated edge with which you can easily cut tomatoes, small buns, cheese or sausages and a turning knife to cut food into equal parts. It is great that the handles of the knives each have a different colour. As such you can quickly find them in your drawer or knife block. The knives are lightweight, which is great when you need to cut a lot.

This Victorinox paring knife is great for cutting tasks for which a chef's knife is actually too big. The small, lightweight knife with a 15 cm long blade is great for the more precise cutting tasks. The blade has a thin grind over the entire edge. As such the resistance is very low, making it easy to cut through most ingredients. The sleek handle is made from polypropylene. This material is sustainable and easy to clean and feels great in hand. In addition, the knife has a nice modern, sleek design and is enhanced with a unique lavender-lilac colour.

The Zwilling Pro chef's knife is a part of this top 10 because of the steel used to produce the blade. Zwilling namely uses the unique Friodur method. During this special process, the steel is subjected to extreme temperatures in several steps. The steel is ice hardened. The technique provides a better balance between hardness, sharpness and corrosion resistance. Afterwards the blade is sharpened with laser precision. The shape of the handle ensures that the knife feels great in hand.

If you love to bake a palette knife is indispensable. You use a palette knife to apply frosting or cream. You can also use it as a cake server. If you are not really a fan of baking a palette knife can still come in handy. The shape is namely also perfect when turning and serving food. This Wüsthof Silverpoint palette knife is enhanced with a plastic handle which means it is easy to clean. In addition, the stiff handle offers enough grip and feels great in hand. The blade is made from stainless steel.

The 15 cm long blade of this Victorinox boning knife from the Fibrox collection was designed to cut meat from bones. Chicken or duck for instance, or spare ribs. The blade of a boning knife is namely thick enough to handle this job. The boning knife is also great when removing skin, tendons and fat. Please note: you cannot use a boning knife to cut through bones. The blade of a boning knife is rigid and has a small sharpening angle. As such the knife is razor-sharp.