Get your knives out

Knives are the utensils used most often in any kitchen. Make sure they are good ones. Try and collect a number of sizes and shapes, matching the tool to the requirement.

• Buy more than one: a good range of knives should include at least three types, a large (20-25cm/8-10 in blade), medium (10-12cm/4-5in) and small (5-8cm/2-3in). These are BLADE sizes, not including the handles. They should be of a substantial weight in your hand and of the best quality you can afford. Go to a shop that allows you to handle them before you buy. A large-bladed knife, say 20cm/8in, will allow you to line up your carrots, celery and courgettes and slice three or four in one go. It's also helpful to have a lighter, medium-size, serrated knife, excellent for cutting fruit and deseeding peppers and chillies. The large, flat side of a Chinese cleaver is also great for crushing garlic.
• Sharpening: it's true what they say about a dull knife being more dangerous than a sharp one. They best way to keep them sharp is to use a sharpening steel - a round, rough and pointed tool usually made of high-carbon or diamond steel. Draw the knife blade across it, applying slight pressure at a 20-30 degree angle. This does not actually sharpen a knife - it simply KEEPS the blade razor-sharp. If your knives become dull, they must be sharpened on a whetstone. You can have this done professionally at smart kitchen shops, but a better tip is to ask your local butcher. Most use a service that will come round once a week to sharpen all of their knives. It's cheaper and should only take a day or two.

Storing: the worst place to store knives is in a drawer where the blades constantly crash into other utensils - this causes them to go dull or even become chipped. It's also dangerous fishing around with your hands trying to pull them out. Wooden blocks are good if you have room on your counter top, or use a magnetic metal strip screwed to the wall. Try and mount it right above the surface you do most of your chopping on - you'll be amazed how efficiently it allows you to work.