Knives

Something I notice that is true of almost all people new to cooking, and even of many experienced home chefs, is that they do not place much importance on the knives they use, how they use them, and, IMO most importantly, the care of them. Maintaining high quality knives that are well-cared for are one of the most important aspects of cooking. I can not overstate how critical it is that they be of good quality and that they are constantly kept as sharp as possible.

As a home chef of whatever experience, you should at least have one high quality chef's knife that you find comfortable in your hand, a paring knife, and a serrated (aka bread) knife.

L to R: paring, chef, serrated, honing steel

There are certainly a lot more kinds of knives that one would find helpful for cooking but these are the absolute minimum to have. It's a good idea that you get them periodically sharpened by a professional and get into the habit of honing them on a good steel every time you use them in order to maintain their precise cutting ability. Honing is not to be confused with sharpening as it primarily aligns the microscopic edges of the knife as they are misaligned during use but you will notice a real difference in a knife's effectiveness between doing and not doing so.

Why am I focusing on this so much? A well maintained knife will aid you in making very clean cuts which helps get the most out of the ingredients in your dishes. It will actually be much safer even if you suffer a mishap as a clean wound is much easier to repair and heals much better than a cut from a dull knife. It will also aid your knife technique immeasurably leading to more confidence in your abilities as your overall cooking skills increase.  And any good chef will pick out the amateur immediately based on how well or ill cared-for a cook's knives are.