In recent years, we've equipped our kitchens with utensils of all kinds and the knife is one of the most important tools in the kitchen. There is a vast array of knives available to buy and use and any chef worth his or her salt will only use a knife for its designed purpose--in so doing they will get the best out of it, thereby creating a truly wonderful dish.

It is therefore very important to know what makes each knife different, how to use it and how to look after it. This beautifully-designed cookbook showcases the most important kitchen knives to acquaint yourself with, and takes you behind the scenes of various Parisian professional kitchens to show us the knives used by professionals.

This cookbook contains 50 wide-ranging recipes that require a different cutting technique each time - from Carpaccio of tuna with citrus and coriander; Duck breast with autumn vegetables; Rosemary Casserole with rosemary and vitelotte potatoes, Goats cheese and cucumber parfait, Mango pie and vanilla cream.