One thing I found very interesting when I slid into the kitchen knife world from the folding/sporting knife world is the way HT is viewed by the community. It's important in both and oft discussed but in a different way.
In the sporting knife world, HT is more around the HRC for a given steel. For example, M390 at 58 vs 61 or whatever. It's a much more generalized discussion.
In the kitchen knife world it is much more focused, "Smith/Maker ___________ has excellent heat treat." Or, "he really knows how to get the most out of the steel." And the very common, "buy the maker, not the steel." In the kitchen knife world the HT discussion is much more individualized.
I suspect it's a reflection of how in the sporting knife world, the HT's are generally very dialed-in, controlled, and tested so by and large the "who" of the heat treat is not seen as important. Yeah, I know there's some discussion of it, Bos and custom makers and such but it's really more about the number in relation to the steel. Whereas in the kitchen knife world, there's often so much more variability because so many of the knives are done by hand all the way through. So that expertise in finding that excellent heat treat "recipe" and the ability to consistently achieve it is very much a focus for the fans.
Just some rambling thoughts...