|
My knife skills suck big time. How do prep-cooks develop those skills? On the job or do they work at it in their off-time? Are there certain recipes I could learn at home that call for a million chopped onions/celery/tomatoes/carrots/peppers so I could practice? I especially suck at onions. I think I know the technique but it always takes me forever and every other piece is a huge chunk. And sometimes the knife slides on me. This thread convinced me to never quit my relatively nice modest office job to work in a low-paying high stress environment for people who don't care about me. So thanks, even still I'd like to develop my cooking stats to your guys's level.
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 16:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 27, 2024 15:32 |
|
|
Doom Rooster posted:I'll definitely be Suspect Bucket posted:I want a gas station. Except I also want to sell local fruit and Pecans and have a farmer's market and have BBQ/Margaritas on friday-saturday-sunday. Also a petting zoo with rescued goats and pigs. AND A DOG PARK. Make all that and just invite your friends
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 16:54
|
|
|
Trebuchet King posted:listen buddy i hate to be the one to break it to you, but you've got a serious case of bad opinions. Hah, I used to feel this way, but texas style has won me over. It might be that brisket still seems magic, while pulled pork I fell like I have mastered to the point where most places aren't as good as what I make at home.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 17:15
|
|
|
goodness posted:Make all that and just invite your friends I am actually pretty sure that Suspect Bucket hacked me and stole my business plan.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 17:32
|
|
|
MrSlam posted:My knife skills suck big time. How do prep-cooks develop those skills? On the job or do they work at it in their off-time? Are there certain recipes I could learn at home that call for a million chopped onions/celery/tomatoes/carrots/peppers so I could practice? I especially suck at onions. I think I know the technique but it always takes me forever and every other piece is a huge chunk. And sometimes the knife slides on me. They develop those skill by cutting hundreds of pounds of ingredients. There's no shortcut to it. First order of business is to make sure your knife is sharp. Practicing with a dull knife will make cutting stuff properly much more difficult and teach you all kinds of bad habits. You could always take a basic knife skills class in your area just so you're starting from a good base. After that, try to cut stuff every day and really focus on doing it properly. You'll get better faster by practicing some every day than by practicing 3 hours once a week. You're looking to develop both accuracy and speed but focus on getting the motions right before trying to make them fast. As far as recipes and stuff, you could do minestrone, various stir-fries, vegetable curries, lots of salads and slaws, really anything with a variety of veg. Also, just cut up things you don't even have to. If you're making mashed potatoes, try doing perfect dice of different sizes with the potatoes even though you could just cook them whole. You're mashing it up in the end so it doesn't matter if you screw up. Snacking on a carrot? Try practicing your julienne or batonnet and then eat it all when you're done. Or practice getting your carrot coins as consistent a thickness as possible. Same for a stick of celery. Eating an apple? Cut it into perfect slices. Eating an orange? Peel it with your knife and practice your supremes. Lemon wedges for iced tea? Make them the best drat lemon wedges you've ever seen. Cut a shitload of onions and make caramelized onions, they're great to have around. Say you need minced shallots for a pan sauce. Sure you could just whack away at them until they're small but try to do brunoise instead. Is it necessary to make a good sauce? I don't really think so, but it's great practice. But yeah. You just need to try to get in knife time as often as you can any way you can, even if it seems pointless and silly. It'll pay off, I promise.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 19:01
|
|
|
SHUPS 4 DETH posted:the slop shop got a surprise! health inspection Jesus, how did they manage to get 18 criticals?
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 19:17
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTCkAfBKVvA
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 19:37
|
|
|
MrSlam posted:My knife skills suck big time. How do prep-cooks develop those skills? On the job or do they work at it in their off-time? Are there certain recipes I could learn at home that call for a million chopped onions/celery/tomatoes/carrots/peppers so I could practice? I especially suck at onions. I think I know the technique but it always takes me forever and every other piece is a huge chunk. And sometimes the knife slides on me. you cut yourself until you get sick of cutting yourself and figure out how to not do that anymore
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 20:28
|
|
|
true story of how i got my first prep cook gig: I was a part time dishwasher and the sous chef yells one day "willie get over here" so I get over there and he puts a red potato on the cutting board and hands me a knife and says "dice this potato" so I dice the potato like I thought I should which was wrong because he says "thats loving awful, this is how you do it" and he showed me how to do it. Then he puts another potato on the cutting board and says "dice this potato" and I diced the potato and he says "good. you can be trained. we need you in tomorrow at 5AM" and he throws a 50lb bag of red potatoes on the table and walks away. that's it. that's how all this poo poo started for me. that was 4-5 years ago.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 20:33
|
|
|
Thoht posted:They develop those skill by cutting hundreds of pounds of ingredients. There's no shortcut to it. Hey, thanks for the feedback! That's all great advice! Gonna be a lot more salsas and stir-fries at our house. And I wouldn't have thought to cut up stuff that doesn't need it, that's brilliant. Starting off I guess I'll need to get a proper knife. The one we have is a workhorse that's practically an heirloom and I can think of a few bad habits I've picked up from it. Willie Tomg posted:I was a part time dishwasher and the sous chef yells one day "willie get over here" so I get over there and he puts a red potato on the cutting board and hands me a knife and says "dice this potato" so I dice the potato like I thought I should which was wrong because he says "thats loving awful, this is how you do it" and he showed me how to do it. Then he puts another potato on the cutting board and says "dice this potato" and I diced the potato and he says "good. you can be trained. we need you in tomorrow at 5AM" and he throws a 50lb bag of red potatoes on the table and walks away. that's it. that's how all this poo poo started for me. that was 4-5 years ago. I would've been terrified staring at that 50lb bag. MrSlam fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Oct 18, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 20:39
|
|
|
Orange Sunshine posted:Jesus, how did they manage to get 18 criticals? my bad, it was 13 criticals - person in charge could not demonstrate knowledge of foodborne illness prevention (that'd be the assistant KM) - hands must be properly washed before putting on gloves for working with food (how do you gently caress this up with an inspector right there?!) - employees must change gloves after touching soiled surfaces, including clothing and non-food surfaces (again, WHAT) - prep room more than 20 feet from handwashing sink (admittedly didn't know that one) - dish machine not sanitizing - discontinue use and switch to 3-sink - at least 3rd consecutive inspection with this violation (i have been telling management about this for no less than 4 months and it's a recurring problem) - clean and sanitize all utensils - found dirty knife on magnetic strip, items stored on slicer soiled from previous use and hamburger debris, dirty can opener, dirty dicers (soiled slicer has been a pet peeve the whole ~2 years i've been there. i'll come in at 4 and it'll have poo poo on it from day crew) - clean and sanitize surface used to prepare raw hamburger meat prior to preparing sandwiches (no, for real, they put raw patties on the cutting board and didn't wipe it down before assembling cooked food in front of a health inspector. we keep sani buckets next to the station for show i guess) - corned beef cooling in walk-in fridge was 45 deg and therefore not properly cooled - discarded (every day. every day i tell them the walk-in isn't cold enough. they threw out $600+ of product and that's lowballing. usually they just leave them out in the hot kitchen for 4-6 hrs before putting them away, another thing i've pointed out as being improper) - multiple refrigerated ready-to-eat foods were not datemarked (HUGE problem i've been on about since day one) - food (spinach artichoke cream cheese dip) prepared on 9/27/16 was in service in prep cooler - discarded (they make a giant batch [~3 8qt cambros] every time, and every time i point out that it doesn't sell nearly that fast, and i'm the only one who throws out poo poo older than 10 days, including cooked proteins) - spray bottles containing toxic chemicals not labeled - store toxic chemicals below/separate from food, single use items and equipment (both, again, since day one) - prep sink and 4-compartment sinks draining direcly to sewer. must drain to floor sink with air gap (we've gotten this critical at least 8 times and the owner's too cheap to fix it) non criticals were mold in ice machine [  ], non-commercial refrigerators and freezers in use (for the nth time, and they didn't catch that one has insulation held together with duct tape), clean non-food-contact surfaces more frequently in general, floors and ceilings not smooth and cleanable in several places (i've been telling them to regrout the kitchen since day one), detail clean more regularly behind equipment (gently caress it, guilty. when you have a 2-person crew to run a busy night and are advised to clock out no more than 30 mins after close you legit don't have the time).so yeah, that's how. so glad i went part-time here and found work at a real kitchen. MrSlam posted:Hey, thanks for the feedback! That's all great advice! Gonna be a lot more salsas and stir-fries at our house. And I wouldn't have thought to cut up stuff that doesn't need it, that's brilliant. Here you go. I've used one daily for years and it only needs to be honed every so often and properly sharpened every 3-4 months. Thing is a beast. Get a blade guard though. MrSlam posted:I would've been terrified staring at that 50lb bag. Like others said, repetition is key to learning. After that 50lb bag you'll never doubt your technique again and each potato will seem easier than the last.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 21:19
|
|
|
SHUPS 4 DETH posted:my bad, it was 13 criticals I have no words.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 22:35
|
|
|
dick head dinosaur posted:I have no words. I do. JESUS gently caress ME, IF THEY DON"T FIX THIS poo poo, AT LEAST ON THE SLY LEAK TO LOCAL MEDIA
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 22:50
|
|
|
We just got 4 criticals. 2 for the sushi bar, and 2 for the liquor bar. None for the kitchen because we are loving professionals and not special chefs. I would have lost my poo poo had I been there, because I'm the designated person to blow up over health violations.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 22:58
|
|
|
Skwirl posted:I'll be honest, I didn't think pork allergy was a thing that existed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy And this, my friends, is why I avoid the South and the East.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 23:01
|
|
|
bunnyofdoom posted:I do. there's a notorious busybody who reports on health inspections for a local NBC affiliate whose HQ is across the street. he'll be in here by week's end, i all but guarantee it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 23:04
|
|
|
Today we watched in horror as our executive chef washed dog poo poo off his shoes in the kitchen hand sink.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2016 23:25
|
|
|
HK5000 posted:Today we watched in horror as our executive chef washed dog poo poo off his shoes in the kitchen hand sink. Probably because the dishwasher told him to go gently caress himself.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 02:09
|
|
|
HK5000 posted:Today we watched in horror as our executive chef washed dog poo poo off his shoes in the kitchen hand sink. Do you not have a loving sprayer over a garbage disposal? Jesus loving christ, people should not be allowed to own restaurants. Please make that the new threat title.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 04:21
|
|
|
Chef De Cuisinart posted:Do you not have a loving sprayer over a garbage disposal?
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 04:30
|
|
|
MrSlam posted:My knife skills suck big time. How do prep-cooks develop those skills? On the job or do they work at it in their off-time? Are there certain recipes I could learn at home that call for a million chopped onions/celery/tomatoes/carrots/peppers so I could practice? I especially suck at onions. I think I know the technique but it always takes me forever and every other piece is a huge chunk. And sometimes the knife slides on me. If you're cutting yourself, I don't know what the gently caress to tell you - but otherwise, this is good advice : quote:practice getting your carrot coins as consistent a thickness as possible. Same for a stick of celery. Eating an apple? Cut it into perfect slices. Eating an orange? Peel it with your knife and practice your supremes. Lemon wedges for iced tea? Make them the best drat lemon wedges you've ever seen. Cut a shitload of onions and make caramelized onions, they're great to have around. Say you need minced shallots for a pan sauce. Sure you could just whack away at them until they're small but try to do brunoise instead. just treat every cutting task you have as something you have to get done ASAP (it should not take you more than 20-30 seconds to peel and chop an onion), and devote some effort to being consistent, even if the dish doesn't really benefit from consistency. I always try to make my cuts uniform and precise, because it's really only like 5% more effort to do that than to haphazardly chop away at the food. I have not eaten an orange in years without supreme'in it, so that's also an excellent example. practice peeling with a knife, rather than a peeler - I peel carrots mostly with a paring knife for instance. you'll get better, you just have to work at it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 05:14
|
|
|
Well dudes my cush work at home job for Microsoft is coming to an end. Instead of this garbage I'm moving to LA to be a sous chef at hahahahahahhaa No I'm moving to LA to work at Honda North America in an even more cush 6 figure job. Now where should I eat?
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 06:20
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:Well dudes my cush work at home job for Microsoft is coming to an end. there are many places, but the most important is langers deli, order the number 19
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 07:58
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:Well dudes my cush work at home job for Microsoft is coming to an end. There are days where I regret leaving engineering for cooking.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 11:45
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:Because Texas BBQ is the best I have a hard time arguing with you, except there's Memphis. Texas does a better brisket, but goddamn Central BBQ makes some fine ribs. MrSlam posted:I would've been terrified staring at that 50lb bag. That's one way to get your knife callus in shape.  Naelyan posted:There are days where I regret leaving engineering for cooking. Jesus christ why would you do that. 
Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 13:05 on Oct 19, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 12:59
|
|
|
remote control carnivore posted:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy Yeah, I have one of my friends who is a "genetic jew" as we call her -- she can't eat pork because she's allergic, not because she is Jewish. It's pretty funny.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 14:31
|
|
|
Also, while not six figures, I have moved into an even more cush (read: boring) job where I do seemingly less work and collect more bottles. The world is a joke.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 14:32
|
|
|
I had a kitchen nightmare last night and I don't even use the kitchen at work for more than my own lunch. In it I was starting at a new place with an enormous kitchen lit like a dungeon and after being given a tour I was told, "go get some CC". He'll if I know what that means. But I went to a station to look and saw a small set of drawers and one said CC on it so I looked inside and... It's 2oz portions of a ton of different herbs so I still didn't know what to do and grabbed chives, cilantro, and parsley figuring one would be right. Then I looked to the side and see a drawer of beans and someone tells me to grab "some 8s or 12s or whatever but don't use the good ones!" What. The line cook next to me saw I was confused and did it for me too fast to see and passed it to the station where I was next. The chef asked if I knew <mumble mumble>, I said no, and he proceeded to core an apple, the bread it in crumbled cheddar and gouda. The core, not the rest of the apple. Dreams are weird man.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 16:35
|
|
|
moonsour posted:Dreams are weird man. dreams are your brain's way of pooping in your sock drawer when you aren't looking imo
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2016 20:31
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:No I'm moving to LA to work at Honda North America in an even more cush 6 figure job. Congrats! LA is a basin of strip malls and bad air imo, but by the grace of the black baby jesus the food is consistently better than just about anywhere and the only reason I'm putting a qualifier on there is because I haven't been everywhere on earth. NYC comes close to the quality but at a much higher price point. --little ethiopia is a gem --koreatown bbq will change your drat life --if it takes you less than a full weekend to see the farmers market at the grove you've done it wrong
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2016 02:27
|
|
|
Naelyan posted:Stop wearing white jackets, get some black ones. Every time there's an opportunity to make something like soup, jump at it. Taste it as you go to see what a raw vs cooked tomato tastes like, how the flavour changes when you add red wine vinegar to it, how a creamy soup can be lifted with some lemon juice or white wine. You know how you put a pinch of salt into everything you bake? Learn when a pinch of sugar is a good thing on the culinary side. Not to make it sweet, but to just smooth out and enhance the flavours that are already there. Thank you! Definitely the hardest part has been to trust my taste buds and instincts. But I'm slowly coming out of my shell.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2016 06:11
|
|
|
That inspection is so loving gross and I once got hired on to clean up a place that had loose baseboards with old raw chicken stuck behind them. At least there they cleaned the loving counters and dishes. Ew. Ew. Ew.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2016 07:02
|
|
|
How is that place not even temporarily forced to close to address those issues?
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2016 16:19
|
|
|
Decided I'm gonna name my taco truck Bad Hambres
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2016 18:45
|
|
|
Vorenus posted:How is that place not even temporarily forced to close to address those issues? My guess is that while the inspector was there they didn't let any food go out that could have been contaminated and like 90% of the violations were stupid poo poo being done in real time in front of them. The sass level of the comments about the sink thing tells me this isn't going away and I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it does get shut down soon. They've ignored that critical the entire time I've been there. Also a year ago they recommended the food handler certs and this time they're requiring it and want to have proof emailed to them that every BOH has passed the test (which is easy as gently caress and costs $10/year) by Nov 4. Quoting directly: "Several repeat violations identified, including 6 critical violations." It's not going away, and I'm glad. Hauki posted:Decided I'm gonna name my taco truck Bad Hambres a very good post
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2016 19:33
|
|
|
Skwirl posted:So my restaurant just loving imploded. I managed to finagle my way into a schedule that was god damned beautiful just 3 months ago and now "in order to revitalize our culture and maintain our original vision" they're cutting our hours of operation in half starting Monday, and there's a mandatory meeting Monday that anyone who skips without an excuse is fired. Old quote is old, but I guess I know where you work now. Are there other prospects in the area? I'm going to go on record saying I owe you a drink. nuru fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Oct 21, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2016 02:18
|
|
|
nuru posted:Old quote is old, but I guess I know where you work now. Are there other prospects in the area? I don't want to celebrate it yet,because there's still some t's to be dotted and i's to be crossed, but hopefully I'm out of the entire industry tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2016 03:42
|
|
|
Nice! Am I correct to assume the place you work has two locations?
nuru fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Oct 21, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2016 04:20
|
|
|
nuru posted:Nice! Am I correct to assume the place you work has two locations? Yup.
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2016 06:48
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 27, 2024 15:32 |
|
|
SHUPS 4 DETH posted:my bad, it was 13 criticals
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2016 07:27
|
|
