Wow! Thanks to my good friend FishingChef for giving me a heads up on this YouTube video. This just shows how dangerous a kitchen can be, especially when employing less than intelligent people.

My only question is, am I a bad person because I was literally rolling on the ground laughing when I saw this? No really, I almost passed out from laughter. It’s too bad this unfortunate “accident” had to happen to such a beautiful, young sous chef. I’ve worked with a few people who by the luck of the Irish alone haven’t suffered from similar accidents

In case you need to see it a second time, here’s a remixed play by play.

Repeat after me, “kitchen accidents are not funny…unless they happen to someone who deserves it.”

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OK, so I know the title of this post is a little harsh, but if you aspire to cook professionally, cuts and burns come with the territory. You can no more separate cuts from cooking than salt from the sea.

Pictured above is my dumb-ass wearing a “finger condom” to keep my blood out of the food. How did I do this? Chopping fast and furious like a maniac? During a huge dinner rush? Nope.

I cut my finger the same way I usually do, not paying attention when I was washing my knife blade. You see, once you have your guide hand technique down, you almost never cut yourself when doing prep; it’s always during less dangerous times when you’re just not paying attention.

But when you cut yourself in a professional kitchen, the worst thing you can doing is start freaking out, all “woe is me” style. I’ve nearly cut my thumb off on a meat slicer, cut my middle finger down to the bone when my chef’s knife fell on it, and nearly took the tip of my finger off with a mandoline.

continue reading "Don’t Be A Panzy: Deal With Your Cut Like A Pro!"

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The Free Culinary School Podcast turns double digits! In this episode, we continue our five part series on the Mother Sauces with part three; Bechamel and it’s derivatives. In this Episode:

• How To Make Bechamel and It’s Derivatives Including Mornay, Mustard Sauce and Cream Sauce
• We Continue our three part series on thickening agents for sauces and soups
• Question Segment: I answer the Egg/Acid Paradox posed by listener Luke
• Culinary Quick Tip: How to use sauce Bechamel to make a simple and delicious Macaroni and Cheese

A Special Thanks To:

• Randall McMurphy at RandallPMcMurphy.blogspot.com/
• Tara of the Wuthering Minds blog.

Books Referenced In This Episode:

• Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
• On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
• Professional Cooking by Wayne Gisslen

If you have any question or comments about the show, please leave them by clicking on the comment button below.

 

 FCS Episode 10 [54:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Dear Jacob,

How do you find your own voice, as it may be, in the kitchen? For a professional chef — you have the opportunity to make the same dish over and over again with the opportunity to perfect it a bit more each time you make it, potentially thousands of times.  For a home cook, this isn’t really practical. For most people, even if you are passionate about cooking — making something really involved every day of the week isn’t realistic.  Is it possible to compress the lessons learned in a professional kitchen to be able to apply them to a busy professional’s ability to perform home cooking?

~Michael

Thank you for the question Michael. For me, this can all be boiled down to two things; technique and flavor structure. Let me explain.

You talk about finding your own voice in the kitchen, something that I call finding “your style.” Finding your cooking style is a very personal journey, one that can lead you down many different paths and sometimes even to disappointing dead ends.

continue reading "Finding Your Style: Confessions of a Confused Cook"

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There are few things better in life than breaking a healthy eating streak in the name of “research for the job.” This is what my wife and I did this weekend to find what flavors go best with chocolate; all in the name of research for an upcoming chocolate festival the restaurant I work for will be participating in.

continue reading "Researching Chocolate: What Are It’s Best Complimentary Flavors?"

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