I recently had the opportunity to take our most popular class Knife Skills on the road. I demonstrated a basic version of the class at the American Medical Association during the employee lunch hour. It was a lot of fun teaching the proper techniques, such as holding a knife properly, the different types of knives you should have in your kitchen and the difference between sharpening and honing knives.
I took the very basic tools with me, two different kinds of Chef’s knives, a honing rod, a bench scraper, a cutting board, and a safety mat. Since there is a lot of information to tackle, I kept the lecture short and sweet, covering the basics and focusing on technique.
The attendees also learned terms like chiffonade, brunoise, how to chop garlic, of course how to cut an onion, and why you don’t need a serrated knife to cut a tomato! I also demonstrated chopping different herbs, such as rosemary, basil, parsley, and sage.
When you take a Knife Skills class here at The Chopping Block, we lay out an abundance of vegetables for you to chop yourself, starting with celery, carrots and onions, which are considered mirepoix and the foundation for any stock or stew. We also show you a couple of different ways of how to cut a pepper. Yes, there are more than a few ways to do it! At the end of class, students have the option to bring their chopped veggies home, if they wish, and get creative in their own kitchen.
We also offer a Knife Skills Plus class, which takes Knife Skills to the next level. In this class, students learn how to cut pineapples, mangos, jicamas, and also how to create a couple of dishes to enjoy like a mango salsa, a farro salad with sauteed leeks, and how to cut an avocado correctly!
Join us for our next Knife Skills Plus class coming up this Sunday, September 30 at 10am at Lincoln Square. If you need the basic Knife Skills class, we also have a few opening in our class this Saturday, September 29 at 10am also at Lincoln Square.
And if you want to get started on your own at home before you can make it to a class, download our free Knife Skills 101 guide which contains all of the different knife cuts you can conquer.
