WUSTHOF, the world-renowned brand of knives from Germany, launched four new knives at the Global Academy, Makati, Tuesday last week (October 8, 2013) via a special lunch cum cooking demo organized by Gourdo’s, which is the distributor of Wusthof knives in the Philippines.
For the event, Alexander Hunn, Wusthof area sales manager, flew in from Germany to grace the launch, and in his short speech, he explained Wusthof’s long history of knife-making, which dates back to 1814. The official supplier of the German and Japanese national teams of chefs, Wusthof knives are manufactured by a skilled team of 300 dedicated workers in two state-of-the-art facilities in Solingen, Germany, and are forged from a single blank of high carbon stainless steel (chromiummolybdenum-vanadium). This special alloy ensures that each Wusthof knife is razor sharp and has high stain resistance, long-lasting cutting edge and easily restorable edge. Each knife goes through 40 major manufacturing steps – from forging to tempering, grinding and polishing. Aside from a whole range of forged knives, the brand also offers other related products, such as cutting boards, knife blocks, kitchen tools and scissors. A family business, it is now managed by the Wusthof family’s seventh generation led by Harald Wusthof.
Boasting of a new Wusthof technology that ensures superior sharpness in its knives, among others, Wusthof continues to develop knives to add to its Classic Line to make it the most comprehensive assortment of precision-forged knives with aesthetically appealing handles sculpted in a classic design made of high quality synthetic material and triple-riveted to fit comfortably in the hand and ensure a safe hold during use. The four newest additions to this Classic Line are the Chinese Chef’s Knife, Chai Dao Chinese Cook’s Knife, Yanagiba Knife, and Classic Superglider Cook’s Knife.
The Chinese Chef’s Knife (priced at Php8,500) has a wide edge that gives the appearance of a cleaver, yet its handling and usage are quite different. Not the usual cleaver used for cutting through bones or cartilage, the knife is suitable for slicing, dicing and chopping vegetables, herbs, meat, poultry and other food finely, peeling fruit and crushing garlic cloves or peppercorns. The wide blade is ideal for cutting food and then scooping it up and transferring it straight to the wok or pan.
The Chai Dao Chinese Cook’s Knife (Php5,470) is a new kind of knife that combines Chinese tradition and European quality. It has a slight curve that is best suited for cutting, slicing, dicing or chopping vegetables and herbs as well as crushing peppercorns and garlic cloves.
The Yanagiba Knife (Php6,250), which is made according to ancient traditions, is designed for slicing sushi and sashimi into wafer-thin portions. A standard feature in the kitchen of professional Japanese chefs, it is primarily used with a pulling motion in one direction only so that the blade produces a completely clean cut. It comes with a bamboo sheath in which the blade can be safely stored, and this sheath has magnets fitted inside to keep the blade in place so it doesn’t accidentally slip out.
The Classic Superglider Cook’s Knife (Php7,100) is inspired by the Japanese Santoku Knife and has a gently curved, strong and sharp blade with a new deflecting ridge and holes positioned along the blade. The holes prevent food from sticking to the blade while the deflecting ridge just above the holes actively push food away from the surface of the blade.
To demonstrate just how each of these four new Wusthof knives work, Global Academy’s culinary programs director Chef Michael Yap conducted a cooking demonstration during the launch. He started with a short lecture and demo on basic knife skills to educate everyone on the proper way to hold and handle a knife, sharpen it and store it. He oriented his audience on the different cuts that can be made with fruits and vegetables as well as fish and meat, even how to fabricate or cut a whole chicken.
Then he went to his cooking demo proper, where he made Seared Tuna with Mixed Green Salad, Sesame-Onion Dressing, Apple and Pear Relish. Wusthof’s four new knives came in handy during his cooking demo. Chef Michael used Wusthof’s Chinese Chef’s Knife to fabricate his whole chicken, the Classic Superglider Cook’s Knife helped him dice apples for his Apple and Pear Relish evenly, he opted for the Chai Dao Chinese Cook’s Knife in slicing mushrooms for his Mixed Green Salad, and then he chose none other than the Yanagiba Knife to slice the sesame-crusted seared tuna with so he successfully cut them thinly and made clean cuts with each.
Wusthof products are exclusively available at Gourdo’s TriNoma, Gateway Mall, Alabang Town Center, The Fort, Glorietta 4, The Promenade-Greenhills, Greenbelt 5, Shangri-La Plaza, Robinsons Place Manila, Robinsons Magnolia and Living Well at the The Podium, SM Mall of Asia and SM Aura.
