First-year cookery apprentice knife kit list

The first kit: what you actually need

If your TAFE or employer does not supply a kit, this is the core. Everything else can wait until the job proves you need it.

• •Chef's knife, around 20cm: this does 90 per cent of your cutting
• •Paring knife for peeling, trimming and small work
• •Honing steel to realign your edge every shift
• •Serrated knife for bread, tomatoes and pastry work
• •Vegetable peeler: buy two, they walk
• •Digital probe thermometer: you will use it daily for food safety checks
• •Knife roll or hard case to carry and protect it all
• •Notepad and pens: writing down what the chef says once is a survival skill

Knives: budget, good and premium, honestly

Here is the truth nobody selling knives will tell you: a cheap knife you keep sharp beats an expensive knife you cannot maintain. Budget stamped knives from reputable makers like Victorinox or Mercer are the standard recommendation for apprentices for a reason. They are light, tough, easy to sharpen and cheap to replace when someone drops one or it grows legs.

Mid-range forged or Japanese-style knives (brands like Mac, Global or Shun) are genuinely nicer to use, hold an edge longer and feel great, but they chip if you abuse them and hurt more to lose. They make sense in second or third year, once your knife skills and your sharpening are up to it.

Premium handmade Japanese knives are lovely and completely unnecessary for an apprentice. Learn to sharpen on a whetstone first. A premium blade with a blunt edge is just an expensive way to squash tomatoes.

What the kitchen supplies vs what you buy

The venue provides pots, pans, trays, mixing bowls, machinery, chopping boards and almost all small equipment. Some venues even provide house knives, though most cooks prefer their own.

You are generally expected to supply your own knives, uniform basics if not provided, and non-slip shoes. Many employers supply or launder chef whites; ask what the deal is at your interview. If your employer requires you to buy specific gear, keep the receipts.

What not to buy yet

• •The giant 20-piece knife roll: you will carry it everywhere and use four things in it
• •Speciality knives (boning, filleting, cleaver, sushi knives) until your section actually demands them
• •Expensive whetstone collections: one medium-grit stone and someone to teach you beats five stones and a guess
• •Gadgets: garnish tools, egg gadgets and novelty moulds live in drawers, not services
• •Custom embroidered whites in first year: wait until the sleeves have survived twelve months of fryer duty

Uniform and shoes

Whites or the venue's uniform, an apron and decent socks are your daily armour. Cotton or cotton-heavy jackets handle heat better than cheap synthetics. Buy at least two of everything so one set is always clean, because turning up in yesterday's jacket is a bad look in a food business.

Do not cheap out on shoes. You are on your feet ten hours a day on wet, greasy floors. Proper kitchen non-slip shoes, closed toe and comfortable, are the single best money you will spend in first year. Your knees and back will collect the bill in twenty years either way, so start paying them now.

Costs and tax deductions

A sensible starter kit (budget knives, roll, thermometer, peelers) plus shoes and a couple of uniform sets is a few hundred dollars, not thousands. Cookery is genuinely the cheapest major trade to enter, compared with the thousands sparkies and chippies spend on tools.

Keep every receipt. The ATO's guide for hospitality industry employees covers what you can claim: work tools like knives, occupation-specific clothing such as chef whites and checked pants, laundry of that clothing, and some self-education costs. Cheaper items can generally be claimed outright and dearer items are depreciated over time. The rules move, so check the current ATO guidance or ask a tax agent rather than guessing.