the Biggest Waste Culprits in Your Kitchen_Knife Skills

Great knife skills--most chefs have them. Knives are the tools of our trade and when put in the hands of skilled craftsman, it is a beautiful thing to watch. I remember watching Iron Chef years back and witnessing Iron Chef Sakai peel an apple with a chef's knife that still amazes me to this day. The years and years it took to acquire that skill is impressive. Knife skills are the fundamental building block of any chef's career. It's the first thing that is taught to students in culinary school and it takes years to become proficient with a knife.

Why are knife skills so vitally important?

• Because people eat with their eyes first and food cut precisely has strong visual appeal.
• Because food needs to be cut uniformly to cook evenly.
• Because proper portioning drives cost and consistency.
• Because safety is top priority--a cook that doesn't know how to handle a knife is a danger to the kitchen and his/her own fingers!
• Because improperly fabricating meat, poultry, fish, or seafood can cost the restaurant  a lot of money!
• Because food that is not prepped properly leads to preventable waste--it is like purchasing product and throwing perfectly good food in the compost bin.