1. Knife Skills Demonstration and Lab

2. Day #1 Overview Setting up your cutting station
Proper grip (Chef’s knife)
Maintaining knife’s edge
Rolling technique (bench scraper practice)

3. Setting Up Your Cutting Station
A rubber mat or a damp paper towel between the counter top and cutting board helps ensure a stable cutting surface

4. Proper Grip Click on photo above to show video
This is the URL for this slide, and it is linked to the video:
Click on photo above to show video
(Chef knife grip ends at 1:24)

5. Click on photo to show video
Honing Your Knife
Click on photo to show video

6. Demo Vertical Honing With Towel
**NOTE: hone on towel on countertop, not on cutting board

7. Practice Honing In Your Kitchens
Individual Practice
Practice honing chef’s knife using vertical honing method (six times on each side of blade)
Compare/contrast your honing skills with others in your group
Return to your seat
NOTE: Fall 2012 teachers set up cutting board stations in each kitchen ahead of time (cutting board, rubber mat, bench scraper, chef knife, flour on boards, honing steel). Students did not wash any dishes because all cutting stations were left out throughout the day.
Step # 1 – Set up Station as a Group
Fill sink with dishwater
Get out dry rack/discard bowl
Sanitize countertops
Set up three cutting board stations

8. Click on photo to show video
Basic Knife Skills
Click on photo to show video
This is the URL for this slide, and it is linked to the video:

9. The Rolling Technique
Hand should follow the contour of the pot lid in a backwards motion (think of the wheels of a locomotive train moving backwards)
Knife blade slides forward through the food,
not dragging backwards through the food
Teacher demos using actual pot lid and knife

10. Practice at Your Seat Proper Rolling Technique
Now try the rolling technique
using a pen/pencil as the knife
**End of pen/pencil stays on table (eraser end or pen cap)
**Knife blade slides forward through the food

11. Click on photo above to show video
Proper Guide Hand
Click on photo above to show video
“Cat claw”
Side of blade rests against middle knuckle
This is the URL for this slide, and it is linked to the video:

12. Practice at Your Seat Proper Guide Hand Technique
Now try the “cat claw”
with a pen/pencil

13. Practice at Your Seat Putting it Together
Proper rolling and
guide hand technique

14. Bench Scraper Multiple Uses
Click on photo to show video

15. Practice In Your Kitchens
Knife Skills Using Bench Scraper
Practice the proper rolling and guide hand technique
flour on cutting board
Properly measure ¼ c. flour and level with the bench scraper
using bench scraper as knife
3 minutes per person
using Chef’s knife
Compare/contrast your cutting skills with others in your group by evaluating the cuts in the flour
Kitchen check
Leave station as you found it
Have instructor check

16. Day #2 Overview Review Today Setting up your cutting station properly*
Proper grip* (Chef’s knife)
Honing knife*
Rolling technique* (bench scraper practice with flour)
*these are now expectations for any lab using knife skills
Today
Hone knife
Rolling technique cutting celery

17. Practice In Your Kitchens
Step #1: Set up Station as a Group
Fill sink with dishwater
Get out dry rack/discard bowl
Sanitize countertops
Set up three cutting board stations
One person from each kitchen gets one stalk of celery per person in group
Step #2: Individual Practice
1. Cut your stalk in half lengthwise
2. From one half of your stalk, slice celery into
small pieces using the “Rolling Technique”
3. Compare/contrast your cutting skills with others
in your group
4. Place all cut celery in bags
5. Clean up and final kitchen check