An Edge in the Kitchen

"Knife wisdom served with a splash of wit and a sprinkle of trivia . . . a book you'll want to read from cover to cover [and] prop up by your knife block." —Sara Moulton, host of Sara's Weeknight Meals on PBS and Sara's Secrets on The Food Network

Informative and engaging, filled with humorous anecdotes and secret tips from a veteran cook, An Edge in the Kitchen includes everything cooks need to know about knives, from their origins and proper use, to selecting and storing. In this essential guide that is part history, part user's manual, Chad Ward offers a mix of practical information—from sections on choosing kitchen knives to tutorials on knife skills and sharpening—and intriguing lore that illuminates how kitchen knives have shaped, and been shaped, by cuisine and culture.

Interweaving information on food safety as well as hands-on instruction for techniques including chopping, dicing, and slicing, and filled with quotes and anecdotes from celebrity chefs such as Anthony Bourdain, Iron Chef star Masaharu Morimoto, and Sarah Moulton, food writers and master knifemakers, this is the one-and-only guide to the chef's most essential tool.

"You'll be hard pressed to find as succinct and complete a collection of wisdom on the topic as this masterful volume from cook and writer Ward. He covers nearly everything. . . .This book [is] as indispensable as the tools themselves." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Ward . . .has crafted a book that is instructional and deep . . .as well as highly readable." -Tampa Tribune

"A definitive guide for buying knives." - Lynne Rossetto Kasper, cookbook author and host of The Splendid Table