Contrary to popular belief, the bedrock upon which great kitchens are built is not the microwave, refrigerator or cabinet where you keep enough plastic bags to build a plastic-bag ladder from here to Bangkok.
It is the chef’s knife.
And Drew Hash — an actual chef by trade — makes handsome, functional, really sharp chef’s knives.
You’ve probably already eaten food that came out of a Drew Hash kitchen: he’s worked at Hawthorne Lane, Boulevard and Spruce. More recently, the culinary auto-didact has been working as a private chef in Silicon Valley.
When not feeding tech titans, though, he’s in his studio in Potrero Hill making top-shelf cutlery.
Hash’s Facebook page reveals a beguiling peek into his process and materials, from gorgeously variegated redwood burl to California buckeye to blue/green-dyed tiger-striped maple. The blades are generally made from stainless AEB-L steel or high-carbon 1084 steel.
One look and you’re going to want one of these knives even if you’ve never so much as fileted a hot dog, trust.
As you’d expect from a one-man shop, availability is limited.
Good knives come to men who wait — in this case, about six months, following the issuance of a $200 deposit for a custom piece. You can choose from paring knives (three-to-six-inch blade), or larger chef’s knives (10-inch blade).
Or buy one of the few that are currently available.
There’s aren’t many. But there’s this.
Get it before it’s gone.
This article was featured in the InsideHook SF newsletter. Sign up now for more from the Bay Area.
