Whether you’ve just been accepted into culinary school, ready to get started, or just need to take it to the next level, you’re going to want a good chef knife set. Knives are a necessary tool, and cheap knives will definitely hinder your performance. Don’t let that be the reason you’re struggling through your classes.
We’ve assembled the list below of the best chef knife sets for culinary school to save you time from doing hours of research. We’ve covered the bases from starter sets to premium ones, and those in between. Let’s check them out…
Victorinox 7pc Culinary School Set
Top Features:
- 7pc Stamped Knife Set
- Inexpensive
- Dishwasher Safe
Price: Click Here
Mercer Culinary 7pc Forged Knife Set
Top Features:
- 7pc Forged Knife Set
- Reasonable Price
- Lifetime Warranty
Price: Click Here
Wusthof 9pc Grand Prix II Chef’s Roll
Top Features:
- 9pc Forged Knife Set
- Amazing Quality
- Lifetime Warranty
Price: Click Here
Best Culinary School Knife Sets
The Wusthof Grand Prix II Series of knives are a premium set. They are well built with high quality materials, forged, full-tang, and carry a lifetime warranty. The brand Wusthof has been around for over 200 years and known for its awesome knives, some of the best in the world!
With this set, you get 4 knives & some extras:
- 3.5″ Paring Knife
- 8″ Cook’s (Chef) Knife
- 5″ Boning Knife
- 8″ Bread Knife
- Kitchen Shears
- 10″ Steel
- Peeler
- Zester
- Cordura Knife Roll – Holds 8 Knives
Nothing flashy with this set. The knives are made of decent quality, but are stamped, meaning they aren’t as robust as a forged knife. That’s where you’re saving money. For slightly better performance, look to find a forged set.
Check Price & Availability at Amazon
This is a great set for most students in culinary school. As you may have guessed, in our opinion, a forged knife is worth spending the extra few bucks for. Not to mention, these knives from Mercer use a good German steel blade, are triple-riveted, have a full-tang, and carry a limited lifetime warranty.
With this set, you get 5 knives:
- 3.5″ Paring Knife
- 8″ Chef’s Knife
- 6″ Flexible Boning Knife
- 8″ Bread Knife
- 5″ Utility Knife
- 10″ Steel
- Knife Case w/ Shoulder Strap
This is a great middle-of-the-road set of student’s knives that will do a great job in the classroom/kitchen and last you for several years. Mercer makes decent knives, but does not have the same reputation for making high-end knives that some of the other knife brands that we’ve talked about (like Wusthof) do.
For those just starting out or anyone looking to spend the least amount possible for a decent chef knife set for culinary school, the Victorinox 7pc Fibrox Pro set is a good fit. It’s the least expensive set that’s not full of junk knives. You want to make sure you get something that will last, and these are good knives made by the same company that makes the Swiss Army Knife!
With this set, you get 5 knives:
- 3.25″ Paring Knife
- 8″ Chef’s Knife
- 6″ Flexible Boning Knife
- 9″ Offset Bread Knife
- 10″ Slicer Knife w/ Grantons
- 9″ Honing Steel
- Canvas Knife Roll
Nothing flashy with this set. The knives are made of decent quality, but are stamped, meaning they aren’t as robust as a forged knife. That’s where you’re saving money. For slightly better performance, look to find a forged set.
Check Price & Availability at Amazon
We didn’t feel this page was complete without sharing with you our favorite student set ever put together. Please don’t misunderstand us…it’s entirely unnecessary for culinary students to buy such a high-end set of knives, but they are really cool!
Where these knives would fit well however is for a student who plans on cooking more Japanese-style foods where slicing veggies, meats, and fish are prevalent. These Shun knives are perfect for exactly this.
With this set, you only get 3 knives:
- 3.5″ Paring Knife
- 8″ Chef’s Knife
- 6″ Utility Knife
- Shun Knife Roll
An awesome chef knife set for culinary students for sure. These are very sharp knives and will need to be hand-washed and have the thin blades and sharp edges taken care of.
Why Do Culinary Students Need a Chef Knife set?
There aren’t that many tools that chefs will need to carry around with them, but one that is very important is their set of knives. At BladeAdvisor, we always suggest buying the best set of knives you can afford. That doesn’t always mean the most expensive set of knives, but the one with the highest quality materials
For example, in our opinion, paying a little extra for the forged knives in our “better” set above is SO WORTH IT compared to the stamped knives in the starter set. But, if you can’t afford it, that’s what the stamped set is for. An entry level set of knives that will help you get started.
You might notice that each of these sets includes a nice roll for the knives to be carried in safely. This is a critical piece to any chef knife set for culinary students.
Get The Best – You Won’t Regret It!
We mentioned it above, but it’s worth mentioning again…Get the best knives you can afford. No need to get some $1000 set of culinary school knives just to buy some specific name brand, but buying knives with quality materials that are forged and full tang will pay off in the long run. Buy a $250 set one-time rather than buying $100 set of knives over and over throughout your lifetime.
The #1 set of culinary student knives above, the Wusthof Grand Prix II 9pc Set, will last you for many years and most professional chefs would be happy to have this set of knives in their kitchen. It’s a well-known name brand and the knives are well-built. Good luck with your knife buying experience and good luck with school!