Help me give a good gift to a budding sous-chef!

A http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/. That's the tool you are looking for.

As someone who years back worked in industry, I'll warn you against a gift of tools, just because they're such individual items. Chefs really do want to pick out their own tools to their tastes (this especially applies to knives). Maybe instead of a book (boring), you could opt for a subscription to https://www.cooksillustrated.com/, which is way more geared to people who know what they're doing in a kitchen and explain in much greater detail their methods as a result. One year my mother, bless her heart, found out I was cooking, so got me a bunch of things, none of which I really wanted to use, and I didn't have the heart, but they just kind of sat in a box for years.

Michael Ruhlman is a food writer who also went through CIA cooking school. He's a big proponent of a spoon (not tongs) being the best tool for maneuvering food around. He's designed http://shop.ruhlman.com/collections/dalton-ruhlman-essentials/products/offset-spoon-set which have a cult following among chefs. You could also get him a knife roll to hold all of his tools.

Yeah, I'd second knife roll or case. A knife itself is too personal a thing for anyone but him to pick, really, but a knife roll is something few home cooks use but most professionals require.

It's great that your brother is looking forward to working back of the house. He'll need that enthusiasm, I can assure you. It's a very tough gig. (Not that FOH isn't hard work, by any means.) Working to the Sous Chef position will take a lot of skill, leadership, and grinding patience. You have good instincts in not wanting to give him unnecessary/inappropriate tools, and in wanting to spare him a reputation for book larnin' only. He's probably going to get enough ribbing for his serving background. I think that things like the Professional Chef textbook will be valuable and enjoyable... As home reading, for fun, or to get ideas once he's in a position to suggest new recipes. That book, in particular, is a textbook, so it's certainly more helpful than say, a fluffy, contractually-obligated cookbook from some celebrity chef. The information in it is "correct," and often really useful, but what will ultimately matter for him is what his Chef wants. Trying to bone up ahead of time will be pointless, and possibly embarrassing, if the proscribed prep for something is different. Humility, enthusiasm, and work ethic are all key, not so much classes or books. (Frankly, few things are more annoying to cooks than cooks who think they know stuff without having put in some time, or paid some dues. I once worked with a kid who was a recent culinary school grad. He could make a mean decorative box constructed of chocolate, and had a huge attitude, but couldn't operate a grill station or handle more than one order at a time. Needless to say, he was not a popular dude, in a kitchen full of people who had worked their way up from dishwasher.) As for tools, there shouldn't be any problem with him bringing his own. In fact, this is industry standard, at least in higher-end/smaller kitchens. Large-scale places like cafeterias or commissaries do sometimes provide cheap knives, but most restaurant cooks have a few select tools (or tons, if they are show-offs/gear fetishists) that they bring to work each day. I personally made it through roughly ten years as a cook with a single chef's knife; with practice, you can do (almost) literally everything with just that. I wouldn't suggest getting the knives etc, yourself. As others have noted, choices about such things can be highly individual, and even almost talismanic. But aesthetics and superstition aside, bad ergonomics are hell in a kitchen. If you must, a 8" chef's knife from Wustof is a reasonable starter knife; they are not "trendy" or "cutting edge" but they are respected and built to take a beating. Not too heavy, not too lightweight. Not too expensive, relatively easy to maintain an edge on. But it would probably be better to either buy a knife roll with no knives in it, or to give a gift certificate to the nearest high-end cutlery store. That way he can try things out in person. Going back to earlier points, however, he'd be well served by keeping things simple. It would suck to drop $200+ on a knife, and then ruin it making early-days mistakes.

1) Several boxes of Sharpies. Protips: if he doesn't want them stolen (we're all thieves in kitchens), get him pink ones (most guys on the line are Manly Men), or tell him to only ever lend out Sharpies and keep the lid. That'll get them back to him. He'll need sharpies for labeling product and for keeping notes. 2) A notebook If he's moving from FOH to the kitchen, putting his sights on sous is unrealistic at best. You work your way up to sous, generally, by mastering every station in the kitchen. You're the dude/tte who Chef can count on to step in anytime, anywhere, and fix any problem. This is a process that takes years, usually. Help him understand realistic goals; "I want to be sous" with no experience is not realistic. "I want to be on the hot line in under six months" is realistic with support and dedication. He's going to be starting out in prep world, most likely. This is where the notebook comes in: tell him to write down every damn thing he learns about a recipe, advice from Chef or other people on the line, etc. And then take him knife shopping. At this stage of his career he needs: 1) A standard French chef's knife. 8-10" depending on his height. Santoku knives are becoming increasingly popular (I prefer them frankly), but he should learn the western classics before starting with Asian tools. Victorinox sells a virtually indestructible chef's knife for about $40 that gets rave reviews from professionals. 2) A paring knife. Or seven. They're easily misplaced; get cheap ones. For now. 3) A boning knife. 4) A sharpening stone (wet is nice, oil is better for me) and detailed instructions on how to use it. You should be sharpening your knives every 2-3 days at a minimum. I know guys who sharpen every day. I'll nth On Food and Cooking. The CIA also puts out a series of essentially textbooks that will help give him a head start on technique. Start with Garde Manger, because that's most likely the first station he'll work in the kitchen. Congratulations to your brother. It's a hell of an industry to be in.

Oh, couple other tips: 1) Don't put your sharpies in the stupid sleeve pockets. They fall out when you bend over. Clip them sideways between the top and next buttons of your coat. This is something that easily separates n00bs from the experienced. 2) Be thoughtful about when and where you ask questions. Chefs, as a breed, love to impart knowledge. In the middle of a busy service when there's a dozen plates dying on the pass because the goddamn servers are gossiping again is not the right time. 3) Remember the hierarchy. Right now, he ranks just above the dishwasher and below everyone else. 4) The two most important words he needs to learn: "Yes, chef!" Chefs don't want to hear excuses or bullshit; they want it done and they want it done now. 5) If he is unsure of how to make something, that is always the appropriate time to ask how. Don't wing it and create more work for someone else because you screwed it up. 6) See #4. Seriously.

Is there a local cooking school or culinary school? Maybe there is a knife skills class you could buy for him? Or a certificate and he could pick out a class? Or a certificate to a local kitchen supply store would be great - he could pick out a knife or other tool that he'd really like to have.

Gift certificate to a place to pick up a nice knife (they can be spendy), or one of http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=chef%20knife%20case&sprefix=chef+knife+ca%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Achef%20knife%20case. If he is going to be working in a kitchen, and buying / bringing his own knives, he'll need a case.