Be Sharp
Author:
Cathy Young
photograph by Christopher Hirsheimer Osaka-trained chef Hiro Sone of Terra restaurant in St. Helena, in California's Napa Valley, introduced us—through a mutual friend—to Jun Takanashi, the chef who prepared a modern kaiseki meal for us in Tokyo. Sone also helped us understand a bit about the essential tools of any Japanese chef's trade: his knives. Most Japanese (and some European and American) chefs, Sone told us, use Japanese-made knives with blades of carbon rather than stainless steel. The blades are honed on one edge only, sharpened with a water-lubricated whetstone. The quality of the steel and craftsmanship determine the cost; a custom-made example can run $3,000 or more. At home, Sone uses two carbon steel Masamotos shaped like European chefs' knives, and a durable Sugimoto carbon-stainless steel blend in traditional Japanese design. None of them cost him over $100.
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