Chef's knives for professional kitchens

The professional chef’s knife – a cook’s essential tool

The chef’s knife is designed as a tool for a wide range of tasks. It can be used for slicing, chopping, portioning and mincing ingredients, thereby reducing the need to constantly change knives during basic preparation work.

Victorinox describes its professional chef’s knives as tools for slicing, dicing and chopping, whether for meat or harder vegetables.

Chef’s knife for vegetables

The wide blade works well when slicing onions, peppers, cabbage, carrots, courgettes and other vegetables. It allows for both longer cuts and quick chopping on a chopping board.

The height of the blade also provides space for your fingers whilst working and makes it easier to transfer chopped ingredients from the chopping board to a container or dish.

Chef’s knife for meat

A professional chef’s knife can also be used for slicing and portioning boneless meat. It is ideal for preparing pieces for frying, grilling, stewing or further processing.

For working directly on bones, joints or tendons, a specialised boning knife is the better choice, whilst a chef’s knife offers greater versatility for typical meat portioning.

Chopping herbs and ingredients

The rounded profile of many European chef’s knives allows for a characteristic rocking motion across the chopping board. This makes the knife well-suited to chopping parsley, herbs, garlic, onions and other small ingredients.

This is one of the key differences compared to a Santoku, which usually has a flatter edge and works better with a vertical downward motion.

20 cm chef’s knife

The 20 cm blade is one of the most common sizes for a chef’s knife. It provides sufficient length for most everyday tasks, whilst allowing for good control over the blade.

An example is the Victorinox Fibrox Chef’s Knife 20 cm, designed for slicing, dicing and chopping. The manufacturer equips it with a straight edge and a non-slip, ergonomic handle.

25 cm chef’s knife

A 25 cm chef’s knife offers a larger working surface and may be more convenient when preparing large vegetables, larger cuts of meat or larger quantities of food at once.

Victorinox offers the professional Fibrox and Swiss Classic models with a 25 cm blade, designed, amongst other things, for slicing meat, chopping hard vegetables and other preparatory tasks.

The smooth blade of a chef’s knife

The classic chef’s knife usually features a straight, smooth cutting edge. This type of blade allows for clean cuts and works well with most common ingredients.

It is a versatile solution for vegetables, meat, fruit and everyday chopping.

Fluted blade – less sticking

Some chef’s knives feature a fluted blade. The grooves reduce the contact area between the food being cut and the knife, which can help prevent slices from sticking whilst you’re working.

Victorinox uses this design in models such as the Swiss Classic 25 cm and highlights its usefulness when portioning poultry, chopping vegetables and slicing larger items.

Chef’s knives with a serrated edge

There are also variants with a serrated edge. These can cope well with produce that combines a harder skin or a browned surface with a soft interior, such as tomatoes, citrus fruits or roasts.

Victorinox offers a professional 25 cm Fibrox knife with this blade profile.

Ergonomic and non-slip handle

A stable grip is particularly important when working intensively with a knife. The handle should allow for controlled blade movement and remain comfortable even during prolonged use.

In the professional Fibrox range, Victorinox uses textured, non-slip handles designed to ensure a secure grip.

Chef’s knife vs Santoku

Both types of knife are highly versatile, but differ in their geometry. A classic chef’s knife usually has a more rounded edge, which makes it easier to cut using a rocking motion.

The Santoku is usually slightly shorter and has a flatter blade profile, making it better suited to a vertical cutting technique. The choice between them depends primarily on your preferred working style.

Chef’s knife versus slicing knife

A chef’s knife is more versatile, whilst a slicing knife usually has a longer and narrower blade designed primarily for even, long cuts.

When regularly preparing large quantities of cold meats, roasts or salmon, a specialised slicing knife may be more convenient, but in day-to-day work, the chef’s knife remains a tool with a much wider range of uses.

Victorinox chef’s knives

Victorinox offers professional chef’s knives in ranges such as Fibrox and Swiss Classic. Models are available in lengths of 20 and 25 cm, with a straight, serrated or grooved edge, allowing the design to be tailored to the chef’s working style.

How to choose a chef’s knife?

When choosing, it is worth paying attention to:

• blade length – e.g. 20 or 25 cm,
• blade width and profile,
• a straight, serrated or grooved edge,
• the blade material,
• the ergonomics and material of the handle,
• the knife’s balance,
• the type of food most frequently prepared,
• re-sharpenability,
• the manufacturer’s recommendations for cleaning and care.

Chef’s knives for professional catering are versatile tools for slicing, chopping, portioning and preparing vegetables, meat, fruit and other ingredients. A suitably chosen blade length, edge profile and ergonomic handle allow the knife to be tailored to the chef’s working style and the nature of the workstation.