Talking to a line cook at 3AM about our prep flow changed how I see mise en place

I was breaking down case of squash at 2AM last Saturday and this kid fresh out of culinary school asked why we don't just cut everything into the same shape to save time. He said "your grip changes for each cut and that's wasted motion." Made me realize I've been over-complicating my prep for years. Any other chefs notice their knife hand adjusting way too often on basic veg?

2 comments

2 Comments

derek_ramirez6d ago

also that kid has a point but he's missing something about how different cuts actually interact with heat. like yeah uniform shapes save time but a batonnet and a medium dice hit different textures when they hit the pan even if they're the same size lol. your knife grip changing is literally your muscle memory adjusting for the geometry of each shape, not wasted motion. i'd argue trying to force everything into one cut is what actually wastes time cause you end up fighting your own instincts.

nathan_hill606d ago

Hang on, are we really overthinking knife grips this much? It's just chopping vegetables for dinner, not brain surgery.