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Pins are awarded for demonstrating mastery of skill. If the Chef Mentor or Captain witnesses a young chef demonstrating mastery, they call over the Chef Ref for a test. The Chef Ref awards pins for successful master of skills and techniques. Mastery is documented in the Studio Binder.
Pins are worn with pride.
The first knife technique to master is THE CLAW, where the knife rests on the knuckle to guide precision cutting.
At first it isn’t natural to hold your hand this way. This technique requires mentorship from an experienced cook and practiced discipline to learn.
The first step when butchering an onion is to slice off just the very tip of the roots. This prevents dirt from contaminating the onion when slicing it in half through the roots and top (the third step, after slicing off the top).
Preparing to dice an onion.
“When discipline is sown, like a good seed, it yields a harvest of things that fulfill and satisfy us–things that make us happy and release peace and joy in our lives.” JOYCE MEYER
Shaving root vegetables into razor thin slices is a creates a beautiful presentation for salads and garnishes. The slices can be so thin that you almost see through them. To do this well, use the claw and slice slowly and carefully.
Sweet potatoes can be challenging to cut. Students learn to ‘chunkify’, which is cutting the sweet potato (or other dense root vegetable) into manageable pieces before dicing into the desired shape.
The ‘paper cutter’ is a technique to mince food (like the garlic here) into very fine pieces. The key to a good paper cutter is stretching your fingers on your non-knife hand towards the ceiling, and keeping the knife on the cutting board while rocking it back and forth.
Almost all cooking crew dishes are enhanced with spices or herbs freshly ground in the mortar and pestle. The key to using this tool properly is holding the mortar down while covering the top to keep all the food inside while pounding with the pestle.
With close adult mentorship young chefs are fully capable of practicing advanced cooking techniques. Here we’re pureeing a sauce with an immersion blender (the blade should always stay underneath the liquid) until its silky smooth.
Grating beets is a messy and potentially dangerous task. Masterying the box grater is all about balance and focus.