Help me build a culinary tool kit

[Gildwulf]

Hey El D forum,

I am taking a professional cooking class starting this week. Culinary Arts I at a local college, nothing too exciting. Anyways, they require you to have a "culinary toolkit" consisting of the following items:



* apron – bib-style
* comfortable safe shoes – closed toe and heel
* cook’s fork
* dry measures
* knife bag or tool box
* measuring cup
* measuring spoons
* metal spoon
* one plastic/canvas bag to carry home finished dishes

* pastry brush
* rubber spatula
* set of knives (paring, 10"-12" chef or French, serrated and boning)
* three or four heavy cotton side towels
* tongs
* two dessert spoons
* two paring knives
* two wooden spoons
* vegetable peeler

I am most interested in recommendations on paring knives, other knives and anything that will affect cooking in a big way. I'm interested in longevity as these are items I want to keep a while. I'd like to get this stuff for less than $300 if possible.

Do you guys have brand recommendations or any particular advice for building this kit? I'm not looking for custom-made knives shipped from Japan. Just whatever I can find in downtown Toronto (Sears, the Bay, and if necessary a few professional cooking stores...Walmart is accessible but a little more difficult to get to from downtown) that will be good value and last me a long time.

[SomethingClever]

When it comes to knives, both of these are good:

http://www.wusthof.com/

http://www.cutco.com/home.jsp

If you end up getting Henckels, be aware that they are available in a range of qualities. And the low end ones aren't very good.

I don't have any expertise about the other items.

[turnipmonster]

I highly recommend finding a restaurant supply store. you will find almost everything on your list, it will be very inexpensive and mostly good quality.

we had another thread about this at some point, but I would also pick up some lincoln wear-ever saute pans. they're great and way cheaper than something like all-clad.

[edfurlong]

[ QUOTE ]
I highly recommend finding a restaurant supply store.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very much this. Also, I like the cheapo plastic handle five dollar pairing knives more than the henkel I got for a gift.

I don't see a steel on the list, thats a must have. It's also nice to have a couple tongs, they run like three bucks at a supply store. Make sure the rubber spatula is heat proof, this is another thing thats nice to have a couple of.

As far as knives go, go to a store where you can try them out and then buy whatever feels comfortable online if they won't cut you a deal.

[ QUOTE ]
10"-12" chef or French

[/ QUOTE ]

A 10" knife is about the biggest I can handle, 8" is what the majority of people use in my experience.

[_Tank_]

I use paring knives every day in my business and I also prefer the 5 dollar ones. Get a good sharpener though cuz they tend to dull fairly quickly but they certainly get the job done. I probably have close to 10 and have sliced over a million pieces of melon over the last couple years and they're still goin strong. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

I also use a 10 inch chef's knife of the inexpensive (~20 dollar) variety with no probs.

[markum9]

I've had this knife set for 4 years now and am very happy with it. Cook's Illustrated, which does robust testing of products and recipes, rated them the best value. Almost as good as the really expensive knives, but for about half the price. IMO cutco knives are crap.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=4596

[amplify]

[ QUOTE ]
I've had this knife set for 4 years now and am very happy with it. Cook's Illustrated, which does robust testing of products and recipes, rated them the best value. Almost as good as the really expensive knives, but for about half the price. IMO cutco knives are crap.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=4596

[/ QUOTE ]
Half? This whole set costs what one premium knife costs, can they really perform that well? I may get a set just out of curiosity.

[guids]

I have a 12.99 knife I bought from a cutlery store a couple blocks away, it is great, I use it all the time, but I also take good care of it (a huge must).

honestly, if you are shopping for a class, Id take a look at a 99 cent store if you ahve one near you and see if they have anything that you think you can work with. Its not too tough to see the disparity between a really [censored] spatuala a one that will get the job done.

[Imrahil]

Oxo tongs are supposed to be good.

This is also supposed to be a great paring knife:

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=746

[SamIAm]

As with all knife questions, it's vital that you try it out and buy what feels most comfortable to you. My personal choices are a Global chef's knife and a Wustoff paring knife.

For tongs, I like silicon for fragile nonstick pans, scalloped instead of straight tips for gripping stuff, and a good lock. These OXO ones are great:



Alton Brown goes gaga over this spatula. It's silicon, so takes high heat. And the silicon goes all the way to the handle, so there aren't any grooves to catch food. I dunno; it's just a spatula.



If you really want more recommendations, I like a Measuring Beaker, because it's narrow at the bottom, for precise measuring of small liquids, but wide at the top for high volume.



But now we're getting silly. Brand doesn't matter for the vast majority of your list. Get thee to a restaurant supply store.