/ck/ - Food & Cooking

I come to ask your opinions, /ck/.

My girlfriend is looking to get a decent set of knives for her new house. Now, I'm the one who does most of the cooking, and the only one who knows what each knife is meant to be used for. That said, I'd like to teach her. Anyway, this leads me to two questions.

1. I told her the most important knife to have in the kitchen is a chef's knife. Should she get an individual chef's knife or is one in a set adequate?

2. Care to recommend a brand for a set of knives? Preferably something I can find in the US and maybe around $250. I'm not looking for top of the line, just something adequate.

Let's hear some opinions, /ck/, I know next to nothing about knives other than their use.