Reddit mentions of Tramontina Pro Line Commercial Grade Stainless Steel Oval Soup Spoon, Windsor Pattern (36 pieces)

knives: https://smile.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-Magnetic-Rubberwood/dp/B00QYUG72U/

From a few other threads, a lot of culinary schools give Mercer knives to their students as workhorse knives. They hold an edge wellThe Genesis and Renaissance sets are very similar, just with different handles. Stay away from the millennia set, as it's crappier stamped steel (rather than forged) and doesn't hold an edge.

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Speaking of holding an edge, Go find my man over at Upon Leather on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Sharpening-Polishing-Compounds-Double-Sided-Adhesive/dp/B075BN3LVQ/

I'm not associated with him, but every strop I've purchased has come with a hand written note and is great quality. Use the strop before anything and it will stretch your sharpening window out several months.

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Contact grills are painfully close to being a multi-tasker. I concur with u/milee30 on the cast iron approach. Though any decently heavy pan can do the job if you're already set.

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Sous Vides are great, especially at their newer price points. It is almost 50% cheaper to buy whole 8-10 pound cuts of steak, trim them yourself, then individually bad and freeze. Get home from work around 4 pm, fire up the sous vide and drop in a steak, and have dinner ready by 6/6:30. You can use your existing pots, or get a large cambro storage container and use it. The SV itself is small and won't take up a lot of your storage.

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Other stuff that gets daily use:

• thermometers. One good one for sticking and one of the remote style for if you're roasting/grilling/smoking/braising anything (and to cross check your SV if necessary).
  
• Bamboo cutting boards are hit or miss. I've had ones that split in a month and ones that have lasted over a decade. Not as good as hardwood, but miles cheaper.
  
• A bench knife (scraper) or two will be a huge help.
  
• Tasting spoons. I just keep a coffee mug full of them next to the stove. best $15 I've spent in recent months. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MMZ3HK6/