I agree with everything you have said. I was a chef for 20+ years. In NZ we trained classical french cuisine in most chef schools/collages. You are expected to bring your own knife kit to school. Bringing your own kit is part of the schooling and industry in NZ.Well, remember Ian, i was a chef before being a retailer, and that is where my bristling comes from.
I think the articles whole premise about this “issue” is misguided, and therefore everything that follows doesn’t compute.
I believe the “knife culture situation” that they are complaining about is actually inherently a good thing. Here’s why-
First, I’ve worked at a lot of restaurants, and they all have at least a handful of beaters available if someone doesn’t have their own, and if for some reason the restaurant didn’t, I, and most chefs (or one of the cooks) would always have something they would let you use. It was almost a ritual for me when I started a new position to hide all the beat up and burnt up white handled Dexters, and replace them with some inexpensive but 1000% better knives for community use.
And then, claiming that there was an expectation to buy 700 dollar knives to be able to start a job is just ridiculous. It’s definitely changed a bit over the past handful of years (a good thing in my view), but in my time, even the top tier chefs mostly had things like Misono ux-10s, or maybe a Mcusta or other sub 250 dollar knife, and cooks considered those high end and badass. If they even noticed. And if you were new, there was no “expectation” to buy something expensive and there are always lots of low cost starter options - Kiwi, Victorinox, etc. And i never saw anyone shamed for not having high end knives.
I think its good thing that cooks should be expected to have and be responsible for their own tools. In the past there hasn’t been much support for them to figure it all out, but certainly thats changing with more awareness and more resources, and cooks and chefs are finally starting to learn more about knives and their maintenance.
The best thing would be to simply be able to pay them well so that a $200 dollar knife purchase isn’t a struggle. But capitalism being what it is….
I think the better thing would be for chefs and knife folk to “act locally” and help create a positive knife culture in their restaurant, and i have seen a lot of desire for that. As an example when I was a chef I gifted a number of knives to cooks who worked hard but had ****** knives. I tried to teach my cooks where I could and encourage them, and gave them information and recommendations appropriate to their level.
Anyway, what this restaurant is doing is fine, but its the framing of the article, that quality knives are a classist thing and an injustice that needs to be addressed by giving everyone the same mediocrity, and that people would be more content workers like that, that I take exception to.
Sure its more equitable, but there is zero room for personality and appreciation or passion for the tools. And that I definitely do not like. I think if a company wanted to do a really good thing, they would give their employees who needed one small kit with the tools necessary for the job. And help educate them in maintenance. Or just a small equipment expense. Or just pay people better, but thats a whole different discussion. Or is it?
Caveat- their are certainly crappy and rude cooks and people out there who have probably made other people feel small cause they didn’t have fancy knives, and i don’t want to discount that. Snobby people are snobby, and that’s lame, so i think it’s important for us as “knife ambassadors” to remember to meet people where they are and be nice to folks who dont know any better. I have people coming in all the time that think $50 is expensive for a knife, because for them, it is. And i try to have something for them. Hell i have something if they only have $10. And if they dont have $10, i have something I’ll just give them. I see folks on the forums all the time talking past people and being snobby, and id love to see that change in the knife community.
TLDR what @Racheski said.
If your a 'kitchen trained chef' you would have to use the beaters in the kitchen till you could afford a knife or were gifted a knife.
Knife culture is different in each kitchen, when you get to high end kitchens (I have worked high-end kitchens/super yatchs/private around the world) the knife culture naturally slides towards the high end kitchen cutlery. It's not a snobby thing as, in my opinion, the prep must be to a higher standard and low end knives don't cut the mustard. Prep made with a Vic/kiwi (nothing to do with New Zealand) can't touch something done with a thinner higher end knife.
Usually chefs have a basic knowledge of knife care and maintenance and it's up to the 'knife guy chef' or senior chefs to up-skill the junior chefs.
All of this is from a New Zealand training point of view but I found it applies to kitchens around the world.
I was the senior/head/exec chef who was also the knife guy. Now I sell Japanese kitchen cutlery, still trying to up-skill chefs and home cooks.