Almost all kitchen cutting: chopping vegetables, slicing meat, mincing herbs, breaking down produce. A chef knife is long, broad and moderately curved so it can rock through a cut on a board, and it is the one knife that replaces most of a knife block.
The curved belly lets the blade rock forward through a cut while the tip stays on the board, which is the fast, controlled motion behind most professional prep. The height of the blade keeps knuckles clear and lets you scoop.
Eight inches suits most people. Larger feels unwieldy in a domestic kitchen; smaller loses the rocking action.
Pinch the blade at the ricasso between thumb and forefinger rather than gripping the handle like a hammer. That single change transforms control, and it is why kitchen knives have a bolster there.
Curl the fingers of your guiding hand so the knuckles, not the fingertips, ride against the blade.
Never a dishwasher, never a glass or stone board, and dry immediately after washing. Those three rules do more for a kitchen knife than any steel upgrade.
VG-10 is the classic Japanese kitchen steel; softer stainless grades are easier to maintain.