Never a Dull Moment: How the Pros keep their Knives Sharp

Ingredients Chef Talk Education Kitchen Gear

Lou Gorfain March 15, 2012

For this article, CTBites spoke with many of Fairfield County’s top chefs, butchers, and professional knife sharpeners. These pros were very blunt about the knives used in most home kitchens: they are dull. Especial fancy “trophy-ware.”

“A cook with a dull knife,” suggests Fairway’s top butcher Ray Venezia, “is like a sharpshooter with a water pistol.”

Much like a gun slinger out of the Old West, this modern-day Paladin has Knives and Will Travel. He carries his complete cutting arsenal in a sleek case … but all that's inside are just two gleaming Victorinox Forshner rosewood knives -- a 6" boning blade and a 12" cemeter – a steel and whetstone.

Great Gear: Navigating The Cook’s Nook

Ingredients Features Kitchen Gear Norwalk Specialty Market

Deanna Foster October 01, 2010

The Cook’s Nook in Norwalk couldn’t be more aptly named. Twisting through its adjoining rooms, filled to capacity, brings you from one alcove and surprising find to another. As you step into the door, you are faced with a navigation decision: the room straight ahead or to the right? It’s not the last time you’re made to choose, but take heart, there are no bad choices here. Like being lost in the streets of Paris, winding your way from one enchanting street to the next, your shopping experience is more adventure than errand.