1. Knife Skills

2. Objective
Apply the procedures for preparing a workstation for knife work
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3. Preparing the Workstation
Follow these steps to prepare your workstation:
Select a cleaned and sanitized cutting board
Place a damp towel between the cutting board and worktable
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4. Preparing the Workstation
Follow these steps to prepare your workstation (continued):
Select the appropriate knife and make sure the edge is sharp
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and weight evenly distributed on both feet facing the worktable
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5. Objective Execute the proper technique for cutting with a chef knife
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6. Using the Chef Knife
The chef knife is the most important knife in the kitchen
A chef knife can be used to chop, slice, cut, and mince
The most common sizes are 8- and inch
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7. The Knife Grip Grip the knife with your dominant hand
Grasp the portion of the knife blade just next to the end of the handle with the thumb and forefinger
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8. The Knife Grip Wrap remaining fingers comfortably around the handle
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9. The Guiding Hand Positioning the guiding hand:
Curl fingertips under slightly to protect the fingertips
Place your thumb and pinkie finger behind the other fingers to grasp the object during cutting
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10. The Cutting Motion
Begin your stroke with the tip of the chef knife pointed toward the cutting board
The knife glides forward as the handle of the knife descends toward the cutting board
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11. Technique: Cutting with the Chef Knife
Position guiding hand on one or more smaller objects. Thumb and pinkie are holding the object(s) securely and are behind the other fingers. Front fingers are curved. Finger position determines the location of the cut.
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12. Technique: Cutting with the Chef Knife
Place flat side of chef knife against middle joint of the front fingers of the guiding hand. The knife blade should be resting on the object(s).
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13. Technique: Cutting with the Chef Knife
Gently glide chef knife in a forward and down motion until the entire blade of the knife is resting on the cutting board. The object(s) should be completely cut.
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14. Technique: Cutting with the Chef Knife
Lift back end of the knife so the tip remains pointing down. Slide guiding hand to the location of the next cut. Verify the position of the guiding hand and begin again at step one.
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15. Objective Execute the three basic knife cuts
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16. Basic Knife Cuts
Foodservice professionals must be able to produce consistently cut shapes
Three basic knife cuts
Slice
Stick
Dice
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17. Slices Slices should be the same thickness
Rondelles are often ¼-inch (6 mm) thick
Lightly trim one side of the food to prevent rolling while cutting
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18. Sticks Most common stick cuts Batonnet (bat ohn AY)
Julienne (joo lee EHN)
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19. Technique: Preparing Stick Cuts
Trim food item so it is flat on one side.
Trim the other five sides of the food to create a rectangular box.
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20. Technique: Preparing Stick Cuts
Cut lengthwise slices according to the thickness required for the specific stick cut.
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21. Technique: Preparing Stick Cuts
Cut each slice lengthwise into uniformly sized sticks based on the dimensions of the desired stick cut.
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22. Dices To make a dice, cut across stick cuts to make cubes
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23. Dices Most common dice cuts Large dice Medium dice Small dice
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24. Dices Most common dice cuts (continued) Brunoise (broon WAHZ)
Paysanne (pay ZAHN)
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25. Mincing The chef knife is also used for mincing foods
Remove food that sticks to the blade by dragging a finger from the back of the knife toward the edge
Drag the knife blade across the cutting board to push food back into a neat pile
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26. Technique: Mincing
Place tip of knife on cutting board. Place guiding hand on the back of the tip of the knife. Keep fingers of the guiding hand away from the blade.
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27. Technique: Mincing
To mince a product, lower and raise the chef knife repeatedly while pivoting the knife on the rounded front section of the blade.
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28. Objective Execute the correct use of a paring knife
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29. Using the Paring Knife
The paring knife can be used for a wide variety of small tasks such as
peeling vegetables and fruits
Creating garnishes
Decorative food items to enhance the look of a plate.
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30. Review
Describe the procedures for preparing a workstation for knife work
Clean and sanitize cutting board; place damp towel between cutting board and worktable; adjust height of worktable or cutting board, if necessary; select appropriate knife; use correct stance
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31. Review Explain the proper technique for cutting with a chef knife
When cutting, fingertips of the guiding hand are curled under for safety and accuracy
Guiding hand guides the knife as it makes uniform cuts using a smooth, forward and down motion
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32. Review What types of knife cuts are made with the chef knife?
Slices, sticks, dices, mince
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33. Review What is the paring knife commonly used for?
Peeling, trimming, and making tournés
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34. Glossary
batonnet (bat ohn AY). A stick cut measuring 2 x ¼ x ¼ inch (50 x 6 x 6 mm).
brunoise (broon WAHZ). A dice cut measuring ⅛ x ⅛ x ⅛ inch (3 x 3 x 3 mm).
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35. Glossary
julienne (joo lee EHN). A stick cut measuring 2 x ⅛ x ⅛ inch (50 x 3 x 3 mm).
large dice. A dice cut measuring ¾ x ¾ x ¾ inch (2 x 2 x 2 cm).
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36. Glossary
medium dice. A dice cut measuring ½ x ½ x ½ inch (13 x 13 x 13 mm).
mincing. The process of chopping food into very fine pieces.
paysanne (pay ZAHN). A dice cut measuring ½ x ½ x ¼ inch (13 x 13 x mm).
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37. Glossary
rondelle (rahn DEHL). A round slice cut from round food such as carrots.
small dice. A dice cut measuring ¼ x ¼ x ¼ inch (6 x 6 x 6 mm).
tourné (toor NAY). A vegetable that has been pared into a seven-sided football shape.
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