1. Knife Skills
CHAPTER 9

2. Before we start …
 Knife skills are not learned quickly or casually
 Speed is not the first goal in learning how to use a
knife
 The first step is to master proper technique
 The second goals are accuracy and consistency
 Speed will increase naturally with time

3. Preparing the Workstation
 The first step in learning knife skills is to set up a
proper work station
 Preping your workstation consists of the following
steps
 Select a clean and sanitized cutting board
 Place a damp towel between the cutting board and worktable
to keep board from shifting
 Make sure cutting surface is at a comfortable level
 Select appropriate knife and make sure edge is sharp
 Stand facing work surface with feet shoulder-width apart

4. Using the Chef Knife
 The chef’s knife is the most important and most used
knife in the kitchen
 The knife grip
 The dominant hand grips (right or left)
 1. Grasp the portion of the knife blade just next to the end of
the handle with the thumb and forefinger
 Place your fingers like this gives maximum support- placing the
thumb or forefinger on top of the blade is incorrect
 2. Wrap remaining fingers comfortably around the handle

5. The Knife Grip
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMzeko-cu5E

6. The Guiding Hand
 Once you can grip the chef knife properly, we need to
focus on the other hand- “the guiding hand”
 This hand holds the product while cutting as well as
guides the knife
 When positioning the guiding hand remember …
 1. Fingertips should be curled under slightly, this protects your
fingertips
 2. The thumb and pinkie are behind the other fingers where
they help grasp the object during cutting

7. The Cutting Motion
 The knife stroke used with a chefs knife is a
combination of a downward and forward method
 Starts with the tip of the knife touching the board,
and in one unbroken motion, glide the knife slowly
forward descending the handle of the knife to the
board.
 It is NOT a sawing motion
 The knife is not to go backwards

8. Basic Knife Cuts
 It is important to cut shapes that are the same size
consistently
 Accuracy begins with learning and practicing the
three basic knife cuts
 Slice
 Stick
 Dice

9. The Slice cut
 Most knife cuts begin by cutting slices
 If slices are cut correctly, they should all be the same
thickness
 A specific cut is called a rondelle- a round slice cut
from round food such as carrots
 To keep stationary sometimes one side is trimmed to be flat to
avoid the object rolling

10. The Stick cut
 Sticks of various sizes are used often in the kitchen
 Two common sticks are …
 Batonnet- 2 x ¼ x ¼
 Julienne- 2 x 1/8 x 1/8
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YU1IBLypo0

11. The Dice cut
 The dice is a continuation of the stick cut technique
 To dice, simply cut across the sticks to make cubes
the most common 5 dice cuts are
 Large dice- ¾ x ¾ x ¾
 Medium dice- ½ x ½ x ½
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG63etiJ0dQ&feature=channel
 Small dice- ¼ x ¼ x ¼
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdMYRyK5J3E&feature=channel
 Brunoise- 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK95ERYfjCA&feature=fvw
 Paysanne- ½ x ½ x ¼
 Technically not a dice because not all sides are even, not a true
cube

12. Mincing
 Mincing is the process of chopping food into very
fine pieces
 Used for herbs, garlic, onion and olives
 During mincing, food might stick to the sides of the
knife occasionally push the food off the knife
 Food spreads out over the chopping
block, periodically push it back to the center
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOTVQIBQDOI

13. The Paring Knife
 The paring knife is the smallest knife in the kitchen
 Used for carving vegetables, peeling pearl onions,
trimming mushrooms, peeling fruit
 Chefs use paring knives to prepare vegetable tournés
 A seven sided football shape, common in high end restaurants
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzFl9vFITj4

14. The Slicer and Bread Knife
 The slicer and serrated bread knife are used in
similar manners
 The knife blades are long and slim, and are used in a
sawing fashion
 Pressure should be limited
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrsS6X-FB-I