NORTH FERRISBURGH, Vt. (WCAX) – Add steel to high heat. Remove when hot. Hammer. Narin MacDonald knows how to follow a recipe, although the ones MacDonald follows are a bit different than what you might find in a cookbook.
”Kitchens are tough,” MacDonald said. “But, I really like the discipline it requires, and being quick on your toes… coming up with problem-solving skills.”
The seasoned veteran spent 14 years in kitchens, from the Gold Coast to Nantucket to Burlington’s Old North End. He worked at Butch and Babe’s before its 2021 closure and spent some time in the kitchen at Great Northern on Pine Street. Craving a break from the grueling back-of-house hustle, he decided to hang up his hat. “I still wanted to do something by working with my hands and kind of be involved in that culinary world, but not directly in the kitchen,” MacDonald said.
Now, an essential kitchen tool has become his bread and butter. He started to research knifemaking in 2021. “My curiosity got the best of me, so I did a little research and found out it’s relatively easy to get into,” he said. After a year of trial and error, he launched Narin M. Knives. After all, who knows blades better than a career chef? “It has to just feel good in the hand… not too heavy, but also not too light.”
He begins with carbon steel. This particular variation has chromium in it, called 80CrV2. “Just provides more toughness and resistance to scratches,” MacDonald explained. Durability is key but the devil is in the details. MacDonald considers the smaller ingredients for success, like a stable pinch grip and angles that make for more comfortable use. “It should feel like an extension of your hands.”
Though he’s just getting started, his business is really heating up. MacDonald says his culinary knives are part of the lineup in kitchens across the state. The sizes and uses vary, from 10-inch chef’s knives, to tiny paring knives and slicers. “I’m very happy with the way it’s going right now,” he said. “You know, slowly getting better and getting my name and my products out there.”
The North Ferrisburgh garage he works out of is a far cry from the Queen City’s kitchens but MacDonald says the recipe is roughly the same. “I take the raw ingredient and through heating it up and manipulating it, I come out with something that’s functional and hopefully aesthetically pleasing as well,” he said. “It’s just like cooking.”