Anthony Bourdain’s Favorite Knife Won’t Break the Bank—It’s on Sale Now

For many years, this is the chef's knife Anthony Bourdain recommended to chefs and home cooks alike.

Aug 21, 2024 - 04:00
1116
Anthony Bourdain’s Favorite Knife Won’t Break the Bank—It’s on Sale Now
Anthony Bourdain headshot
Simply Recipes / Getty Images

I'm on vacation this week, and the Airbnb I'm staying at has direct access to the beach but terrible knives. I cook on the road as much, if not more, than at home, so I've been mangling meat and vegetables like a newbie with a dull knife. (Don't feel bad for me—my tan looks fantastic!)

As my kids built sand castles and boogie-boarded, I sat on the sand and searched for a budget-friendly chef's knife I could use during our stay and leave behind. That's how I landed on this golden oldie on Reddit: Anthony Bourdain talking about and using his favorite knife, the Global G-2 Chef’s Knife.

Global G-2 Knife
Simply Recipes / Amazon

This is the same knife he recommended in his book Kitchen Confidential, almost a decade before the video above was recorded, which means it remained his go-to knife for many years.

In the book, Bourdain said, "Most of the professionals I know have for years been retiring their Wüsthof and replacing them with the lightweight, easy-to-sharpen and relatively inexpensive vanadium steel Global knives, a very good Japanese product which has—in addition to its many other fine qualities—the added attraction of looking really cool."

Vanadium steel makes the knives highly wear-resistant—you don't have to sharpen them as often because the edges will stay sharper longer. The knife’s ergonomic handle is filled with sand to offset the weight of the blade for a balanced weight distribution. This makes Global knives ideal for professional chefs and home cooks alike.

"Global makes a lot of knives in different sizes, so what do you need? One chefs knife. This should cut just about anything you might work with, from a shallot to a watermelon, an onion to a sirloin strip."

Luckily, the Global G-2 knife is on sale on Amazon right now for more than 40% off. It rarely goes on sale and often sells out, so grab one if you can—I did!

BUY ANTHONY BOURDAIN'S FAVORITE KNIFE NOW: Global G-2 8-Inch Knife $93.90 (was $159)