Kitchen Essential

Kitchen essential are the things that are absolutely necessary for the task we may do.

Knife Skills and Cutting Techniques

Parts of the Knife:
Tip- Used for slicing and handling small items such as garlic mushrooms and
onions.
Edge- This is where all of the work takes place, the part you cut with.
Spine- Smooth top part of the knife. It allows you to grip the knife between the
thumb and forefinger for good control during cutting and chopping.
Butt- This is the end of the knife’s handle.
Heel- Last few inches of the cutting edge. This part of the blade is used when
maximum leverage is needed or for heavy cutting tasks.
Bolster- Part between the blade and the handle that assists in the balance of the
knife.
Tang- Metal that extends into the handle. On a good knife, tang will extend all the
way to the butt of the handle, and the rivets will go through the tang (known as a full
tang).
Scales- This is the section where the user holds the knife.
Different kinds of knife:
Chef’s knife- The most versatile knife in the kitchen. Makes slicing, dicing, mincing and chopping fun.
This is usually 6-12” long with 8” being the average.
Boning knife- A thin bladed knife used for removing the bones of poultry, meat and fish. The blade
generally 6 inches long and may be rigid or flexible.
Slicer- Has a very thin, sharp edge that quickly and easily cuts meats and fish without tearing. It comes
especially handy during the holiday season to carve the perfect turkey.
Serrated bread knife- Commonly known as a bread knife. It is purposedly designed with a long-serrated
blade and a blunt end. The teeth (serrations) allow it to cut bread using less vertical force, which keeps the
bread from being compressed or crushed. It is the best knife available for angel food cake.
Pairing knife- Perhaps the most versatile of knives. It is short knife with a 2 to 4 inches long blade.
Because it is designed for peeling and trimming fruits and vegetables. The edge must be kept sharp. This
also used for carving specialty shapes and garnishes.
Steel- This is used to hone, not sharpen knives. It is made of hard, high-carbon steel or ceramic. It comes
as a long, tapered, round rod but some people prefer the flat model. Use a steel on a knife before each use
and throughout food preparation to keep the blade razor sharp. To use a steel, hold the knife at a 20⁰
angle and pull across in a swift motion from the heel to the tip of the knife 6 to 8 times, alternating sides.
 Cutting Techniques
Chiffonade- To make a chiffonade (very thin strips) of a leafy green such as baby spinach, stack
individual leaves on top one another, then tightly roll them up lengthwise. Using a chef’s knife, cut the
rolled bundle of leaves crosswise into thin slices. Unroll the strips and use them as desired.
Seeding tomato- Using the paring knife, cut a circle around the stem and pull it out. Next, place the
tomato on the cutting board and slice it crosswise using the serrated knife or chef’s knife. Pick up a
tomato half and hold the cut side over the bowl. Gently squeeze, letting the tomato seeds drip into the
bowl.

 To cut vegetables for stir-try, hold the knife at about a 45- degree angle to the cutting
board, with the edge of the knife facing away from you. Slice vegetables into equally thick
pieces. More surface area results in faster cooking, which is required for stir fry.

Julienne- (also called a “matchstick”) is a type of cut that makes long thin strip. It’s a good technique to
use for vegetables and other ingredients when you want to heighten their presentation.
• Peel the skin from vegetable if necessary.
• Trim away any root or stem parts of the vegetable.
• If the vegetable is round like potato or carrot, cut it half and lay it cut side down on the board.
This will keep it from rolling.
• Cut the edible part of the vegetable into slices about ¼- inch thick. Cut around the seeds if
necessary.
• Cut these slices into even strips ¼ inch thick.
Brunoise- The food must first be julienned then turned a quarter and diced again to create approximately
1/8-inch cubes. This cutting technique is ideal for carrots, onions, leeks and celery, but can also be used
with bell peppers and hard root vegetables like turnips.
Chop- Used for variety of foods, chopping is a casual, imprecise term that simply means to roughly cut
food into bite-sized pieces.
Cubes- Using a more precise method that chopping, cubed ingredients are cut to a uniform size (e.g. ½-
inch cube). This cut is used with many foods, from potatoes to meats to bread.
Diced vegetable- is cut into small cubes. It’s easy to dice quickly and evenly once you have the knack.
Just think “slices, sticks, and cubes.”
• For round vegetables like carrots and potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and lay cut-side down on
the cutting board. This will keep the vegetable from rolling.
• Cut the vegetable lengthwise into even slices, then stack the slices and cut them into long sticks.
• Gather the sticks and cut them crosswise into cubes as even as you can.
• To mince with a knife, press the vegetable tightly to the cutting board, chopping as you go until
it’s as fine as you like. Rocking the knife back and forth results in a very fine mince.
Mince- To mince with a knife, press the vegetable tightly to the cutting board, chopping as you go until
it’s as fine as you like. Rocking the knife back and forth results in a very fine mince. Mincing does take
some time, but for some recipes it’s important to do it. Not just for the texture, but also because it helps
the flavor of the vegetables to meld better with the other ingredients.
Slice- Slicing is a general term that means to cut across the grain into thin, uniform pieces. Almost every
fruits or vegetable can be sliced, as well as other ingredients like cheese and bread.

Mise en place
Mise en place (meez ahn plahs)- The French term, mise en place literally means “to put in place” or
“everything in its place”. This means gathering and preparing the ingredients to be cooked and
assembling the tools and equipment necessary to cook them.
Why practice effective Mise en Place?
• Saves time by having everything ready to combine.
• Deters disasters of not being ready.
• Save space on counters.

Importance of Mise en place

• Mise en place is deceptively simple but being organized and prepared in the kitchen saves time
and frustration.
• It’s important to have everything ready and laid out, because timing is often the difference
between a successful dish and one that’s not. Trying to multi-task between ingredient preparation
and cooking is a recipe for cooking stress and even disaster.

Planning and Organizing Production

• Selecting tools and equipment
o Knives should be sharpened
o All equipment should be clean and sanitary
o Measuring devices checked for safety
o Assembling ingredients
• Wash, trim, cut and prepare raw materials
• Ovens and cooking surfaces preheated, if necessary

The solution
• Break each menu item down into stages of production.
• Determine which stages may be done in advance.
• Determine which way to hold each item after pre-preparation.
• Determine how long it takes to prepare each stage of the recipe.
• Check recipe to see if there is a more efficient way to prepare the item.

Preparing ingredients
• Some ingredients that are used frequently should be stored throughout the kitchen and accessible
to everyone, when needed
• Consider these tasks as part of Mise en Place:
 Clarifying butter
 Toasting nuts and spices
 Making bread-crumbs
 Marinades
 Rubs and paste
 Blanching food
Using the knife
• Knife Safety- extremely important
• Use the correct knife for the appropriate task
• Always cut away from yourself
• Always use cutting board. Do not cut on glass, marble or metal
• Keep your knives sharp
• Always carry a knife with the point down
• Never try to catch a falling knife
• Never leave a knife in a sink

 To properly use mise en place, follow these simple guidelines.

1. Have your recipe handy and develop plan.
2. Gather all of your ingredients, utensils and equipment needed.
3. One by one, wash, cut, dice, chop and measure all of your ingredients.
4. Place them into appropriately sized dishes, bowls and container for easy grabbing.
5. Set your ingredients around your cooking station for better accessibility.

Menu Planning Principles in Food Establishment

Menu- is called "the driver" of a food service operation. A list of dishes available in a restaurant. The
arrangement of food offered by the organization. It serves as communication between the costumers and
the food establishment.
Objectives of Menu Planning
1. The menu must satisfy guest expectations.
2. The menu must attain marketing objectives.
3. The menu must help achieve quality objectives.
4. The menu must be cost effective.
5. The menu must be accurate.

The Purpose of Menu

• To list items sold in the restaurant.
• To educate costumers
o List of prices
o Menu description
• Act as a marketing tool
• Major determinant for the budget

Types of Menus

1. Table d'höte- Food items grouped together & sold for one price. Comprises a complete meal
at a predetermined price. It usually includes three to five course meals available at a fixed
price.
2. A la carte- Food items priced individually. A multiple-choice menu, with each dish priced
separately.
3. Static Menus -Are those to that basically stay the same every day and are most typically used
in quick service to upscale casual restaurants.
 4. Cycle Menus -are most often used in non-commercial food service operations that serve the
same group of costumers every day.
5. Daily (or single-use) -menus change on a daily-basis or may be planned for a special event
with a one- time use.
6. Event Menus -these are organized for events such as wedding, birthday, anniversary and
similar other. Such menus are designed well in advance by considering availability of seasonal
ingredients.
7. Hospital Menus- a dietician is generally involved while compiling such menus to ensure the
recipient eats healthy food always. The patient has least choice.
8. Institutional Menus- it is the menu of meals offered for the staff or students at the college, or
school. It is generally healthy breakfast and/or three course meals.

Structure of food menu

The menu must contain the following fields:
• Name of the food item- preferably in in English and in Local language
• Short description on preparation- a classy description of what exactly the costumer is going to
get.
• The scale of hotness- in case the dish is savory.
• Variants- the subcategories of main food item.
• Price- cost per unit dish/serving.

Factors to consider in menu planning

1. Knowledge of the costumers to be served- Eating habits play a larger part in menu selection
that actual physical needs. Such habits depend upon racial and social background, climatic
and geographical conditions, economic condition and individual differences.
2. Physical equipment -this includes the equipment and arrangement for the preparation,
service and storage of food influence directly the menu planning.
3. Personnel-aside from the skills and abilities of the personnel the total man hours available
and the numbers of employees on duty at any given time will be the limiting factors in
selecting foods and food combinations that can be included in the menu.
4. Food Budget-Before planning any meal, a knowledge of the food budget to be spent must be
known.
5. Style of service-a restaurant using waiter service will have a different menu planning than a
do-it-yourself vending cafeteria or buffet service in a department store.
6. Seasonal factors-the weathers exert a definite influence on both appetites and body needs of
the people.
7. Menu appeal
The individual dishes can be varied and made appealing by contrast in:
a. Color
b. Texture
c. Consistency
d. Flavor combinations
e. Shape
f. Arrangement
g. Temperature
Constraint of Menu Planning
Age- The preference of food items varies with age group. The children and aged people prefer less spicy
food while the younger likes rich and spicy dishes. Ideal menu should take care of people in each and
every age group.
Profession– People in different profession have different food preferences, athletes, sport person will go
for high carbohydrate while people in entertainment business will prefer low fat/ cholesterol diet.
Nationality– people of different nation have different food preferences. An European will like mild
continental food, while Indian, Thai and Mexican will prefer spicy food
Group size– when group size is large it is difficult to serve elaborate menu.
The people responsible for planning menus must have the following qualifications:
1. Wide knowledge of foods.
2. Knowledge of ways of aesthetic presentation of foods.
3. Knowledge of different methods of preparation and service of foods.
4. The suitability of menu to the different types of occassion and type of establishment.

 To sum up, menu planning is a learned skill improved through practice. Effective menus
are critical to the financial health of a food service operation and serve as a "driver" of the
business. Their importance to a successful food service operation cannot be over-stated.

Prepared By:
Chona M. Brucal
MAED-TLE