"In Switzerland there is only one knife, basically… I got a set when I started cooking, and that was all there was to it. I’m so used to them… "

When we first sat down with Executive Chef Daniel Humm to talk about partnering with Victorinox, we didn’t need to ask him to actually use our cutlery. He’d been doing that since he was 14 years old - as an apprentice chef taking the first steps on a road that would lead through the kitchens of the finest European restaurants to three critically-acclaimed years at the helm of San Francisco’s Campton Place and, ultimately, to Manhattan’s Eleven Madison Park, one of "the elite club of truly extraordinary restaurants," according to the New York Times.

That first set of knives was a gift from Daniel’s father, an architect who recognized quality construction when he saw it. From his mother, he received an ongoing seminar on the importance of using the best ingredients. Together, they would prowl the markets and farms near their small town in the Swiss Jura. Daniel worked summers on those farms, "15 hour days, living the life they lived," and spent school holidays working in local restaurants, discovering "how much I liked it, liked the environment, the camaraderie...very focused, very detailed."

"As a young cook, you don’t have the money to bring your knives regularly to the sharpener…"

What the budding apprentice appreciated most about his Victorinox cutlery was how it retained its edge. As an Executive Chef, he hasn’t changed his opinion one bit. Observing cooks in restaurant kitchens maintaining their knives daily, he thinks, "What a waste of time. They shouldn’t have to do that." Daniel certainly doesn’t. In fact, he claims he can go six months without sharpening. And who are we to disagree with him?

"It’s nice to work with tools that just are very reliable. Even more so in the home kitchen."

Ironically, for someone who is as thrilled as Daniel is to be an ambassador for Victorinox, he doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about his knives - a luxury he feels that using the Victorinox line of cutlery allows him. "I like it that I don’t have to worry about the knives too much. I take care of them, I know they’ll be there for me."

Sound familiar? It’s what professionals have been saying about Victorinox Cutlery for 125 years.