Knife Kit?

[AdamM]

Im in culinary school right now but in August I have and externship at a resort. In school we carry all kinds stuff from spoons and rubber spatulas to zesters and things like that along with out knives. What im wondering when your working in most commercial kitchens what do u need to carry? Just knives? Which knives are a must? and do u carry anything else. The kitchen i worked in before i came to school had everything and was a small establishment. I know i will carry knives but im wondering what else im going to have to cary?

[chefintraining]

Welcome Adam!

IMO, every place will be different. Even a newby knows the basics (knives, peeler, and maybe a few other small gadgets). Are you traveling somewhere for this externship so that your tools will not be accessible from home or is it just a case of "I hope I have everything on my first day."? Somethings can be figured with a little homework i.e. If they do a lot of oysters and clams - you might consider a certain tool??? Anyway - as long as you dont bother the chef at the wrong time it wouldn't hurt to ask if their is any certain tools that you should consider having on hand. This only shows him that you want to be as prepared as possible and after all isn't being prepared what our business is all about (Got mise en place? ) Welcome to the site and lots of luck at your externship - you'll get to work your butt off as the FNG and you might just learn a thing or two!

[Dragonvet]

Bring everything you think you would need and over time you'll start to pair it down to the essentials. Where I work, most of the guys carry tool chests with all their stuff in them. Other than your favorite knives, the one thing you definately want to always have in your pocket is a good quality digital thermometer!

[CookingWGasoline]

My knife roll and tool kit includes, but is not limited to:

Chefs knife
Carving knife
Meat fork
Boning knife
Paring knife
Scimitar
Bread knife
12" serrated knife (cake knife)
tourneeing knife (was a freeby. I don't really use it...)
Cleaver
channel knife
zester
microplane
steel
sharpening stone
handblender with whip, process bowl, and blitz attachments
offset spatula
bench scraper
rubber scraper
straight spatula
my favourite tongs
silicon spatula
pastry brush
2 condiment spreaders
piping bags (12" and 14")
piping tips
ring cutters/moulds
cake comb
thermometer
recipe & note book, pen
sharpie pens, whiteboard markers

that's my kit.

[DaCook]

Omg, Seb. Doesn't your employers supply some of that stuff?
I carry 2 chef's knives, one for the back kitchen, one for on the line. One boning knife, don't use that very often, 3 paring knives, as our kitchen helpers do not have their own, a bread slicer, 18" tomgs, small rubber spatula. Oh yeah my instant read thermometer and my digital timer, along with a few cd's when the music gets crappy.

[CookingWGasoline]

To be honest? No. Alot of things are in my kit because my employers don't have it. The handblender is there because there's only a thunderstick and one smaller one in the whole kitchen. That gets shared by the hot line, banquets, and pastries. Sometimes it really isn't enough. Rather than wait for it to become available, I just use my own.

The pastry brushes they have at work are all stiff and gross because they are never cleaned properly, so I use my own, knowing that there are no oils or greases on it to cross contaminate anything.

All that fits into a small red toolbox and my knife roll!

[courten]

Bring everything day one, find out what you will be doing and what the kitchen has for house gear (varies wildly). For Day two pack only what you need...your arms will thank you.

[cookmikey]

My knife bag

12 in french knife (M.A.C) for prep
8 in Utility (M.A.C)) for the line
4 in french knife (Wust) Small duties and the wife bought it for me
dig therm
alot of pencils, pens, and sharpies
sharpenner and steel
tongs
electrical tape to mark my stuff that the rest might have but I brought my own so no one can use
Small med kit (coban, bandaids,clippers, ext)
bleach pen
floppy disk (recipes, work related things)
lighter

Besides knife bag

clip board
music
cigs
water bottle ( for gatorade)
misc stuff for the day

Thats all for today because I have to restock.

[evaccooker]

Depends on where you work. personally, I think restaurants should provid spoons, ladles, stick mixers,etc, but that's not always the case. Here's what I can't live without:

10 in chef knife
parer
my favorite tongs
large and small offset spatulas
shears(not crucial, but try finding scissors when you have a finger removal/adhesive tape problem)
steel
can opener
french whisk
adhesive tape,gauze,bandaids,finger cots, yadyada, restaurants are supposed to have them but never do.

If they want yo to bring an entire kitchen including pans, squeeze bottles, spoons, watch out. They have a really high turnover or are cheap ass bastards,neither of which is a good sign.

[marcos001426]

does anybody know of a web site or store that sell complete knife kits. I'm looking to get a complete set cause the work knives that I have need and up grade.

[mark1]

does anybody know of a web site or store that sell complete knife kits. I'm looking to get a complete set cause the work knives that I have need and up grade.

You know, there are so many places and deals to be had, you're best bet is to let your fingers do the walking.
Go to google and put the following in for search terms and you'll find hundreds of places.
"chef | chef's knives"

[Silverfox]

does anybody know of a web site or store that sell complete knife kits. I'm looking to get a complete set cause the work knives that I have need and up grade.

You might be better off buying the knives YOU use and like and assembling your own kit to suit you rather than purchasing something that someone else is trying to sell

I'm partial to MAC knives and I have a number, but I only use about three on a regular basis, a UK-60, PK-40 and a bread knife, though the Graton Chef knife is wonderful for starchy foods.

Knife rolls or cases are readily available as are a variety of tool boxes. That way you can customize to your work techniques.

[AdamM]

thanks for all the advice everyone

[Flattop]

Check ebay for knife kits I've seen plenty on sale from people who've quit the biz or bought better knives after school.