Why are so few cooks learning how to maintain their edges?

[Salty dog]

"No sense of urgency, no second gear, no common sense, no cook sense, etc. No way he lasts in this business, not even for another year or two. "


There it is. THE single biggest issue with the noobs. It is the first thing I look for and and if he doesn't have it, can he be taught.

Outside of the kitchen, people may think I'm an a$$hole for riding some of these guys. But the most valuable lesson I can teach them is to find "second gear". If they can't find it, I'm not wasting my time on them.

I've also noticed how many of the new guys have a habit of putting there hands in there pockets. (Pet peeve) It usually takes about two shifts to break them of that habit.

As far as knives go: The boys keep their stuff sharp. In this kitchen it's oart of the culture. Wonder why?

 

[Dusty]

I hate hands on hips or leaning on a bench in the kitchen. Nothing worse. I also find knife skills pick up pretty quickly when any mise not cut to standard goes in the bin at ten minutes before service.

 

[macmiddlebrooks]

I hate hands on hips or leaning on a bench in the kitchen. Nothing worse. I also find knife skills pick up pretty quickly when any mise not cut to standard goes in the bin at ten minutes before service.

This made me smile.

 

[brainsausage]

I hate hands on hips or leaning on a bench in the kitchen. Nothing worse. I also find knife skills pick up pretty quickly when any mise not cut to standard goes in the bin at ten minutes before service.

 

[VoodooMajik]

I really shouldn't start.... I can tolerate using maybe 5 guys knives in our kitchen. Guys both green and vets don't seem to care about their knives. Hopefully that's something that changes with our industry in the coming years.

I try and make the odd suggestion "You might like to look at this, this or this instead of that Shun" or "I'm not an expert but I'd be happy to learn proper sharpening with you". Some people don't like when you try and open doors for them though.
I have been seeing a few more J-knives around the kitchen these days XD Even Shuns are a start.

On a funnier note, I work pretty closely with this Jamaican fellow who uses a bread knife for EVERYTHING. I honestly cannot understand how he produces some of what he does with that knife. Goes to show, it's 90% who is holding the knife though

 

[ajhuff]

Funny I see a lot of former classmates defaulting to a bread knife when no one is looking. I don't get it either. Heck I rarely use a bread knife for bread!

-AJ

 

[chinacats]

Funny I see a lot of former classmates defaulting to a bread knife when no one is looking. I don't get it either. Heck I rarely use a bread knife for bread!

-AJ

+1 That is funny...I just bought a Forschner bread knife a few weeks back and haven't used it yet...mostly cut baguettes and keep grabbing my chef's knife...

 

[VoodooMajik]

I look for reasons to use my Tojiro Bread knife, I'm not gonna lie.

 

[add]

Perhaps there may also be a generational component.

After WW2, most returning American GI's came back knowing (those that didn't already, ie farm & rural kids) the basics of gun handling and importance of care.
That applied to other tools soldiers used as well, including knives.

Kitchen knives, pocket knives, and hunting knives were tools best kept sharp.

And for the households of the late 1940's thru the 1960's that knowledge was either passed down or I'd venture to guess, most baby boomers were at least exposed to some sort of sharpening process by dad.

Now, we are a few generations beyond that combined with a disposable society ($15 Forschners) that heritage, for the most part, has disappeared...

 

[bikehunter]

Perhaps there may also be a generational component.


Kitchen knives, pocket knives, and hunting knives were tools best kept sharp.

And for the households of the late 1940's thru the 1960's that knowledge was either passed down or I'd venture to guess, most baby boomers were at least exposed to some sort of sharpening process by dad.

Now, we are a few generations beyond that combined with a disposable society ($15 Forschners) that heritage, for the most part, has disappeared...

Excellent point. I've carried a pocket knife since I was six years old (My dad was a butcher...not a meat cutter)

Numerous times over the years students have been suspended for bringing a table knife to school, including a third grader whose mother packed a butter knife in his lunch, along with peanut butter and crackers. The hysteria over weapons and lawsuits has become so rampant that school officials have become so stupid and lacking in common sense that children are completely unfamiliar with everyday items of life (some students have been suspended for possession of rubber bands). In today's insane society, ALL knives are considered weapons rather than tools.

 

[VoodooMajik]

This makes me sad... Kitchen Knives are a tool used to create. Not a weapon used to harm and destroy. Lovely rose colored glasses I have on aren't they?

Excellent point. I've carried a pocket knife since I was six years old (My dad was a butcher...not a meat cutter)

Numerous times over the years students have been suspended for bringing a table knife to school, including a third grader whose mother packed a butter knife in his lunch, along with peanut butter and crackers. The hysteria over weapons and lawsuits has become so rampant that school officials have become so stupid and lacking in common sense that children are completely unfamiliar with everyday items of life (some students have been suspended for possession of rubber bands). In today's insane society, ALL knives are considered weapons rather than tools.

 

[bikehunter]

Heh...I sheepishly must admit that the sight of Gordon Ramsay motivates me to think of a 10" chef's knife as a weapon, but that's just me. ;-)

 

[Crothcipt]

Lol I gave a knife to a 16 year old kid to try and make a saya for it. I told him to talk to his teacher and who ever else he needed to. A month later he tells me that he can't take the knife to school, because it is a weapon. Come on it was a santouku. Why are they even teaching shop class any more then?

 

[hambone.johnson]

Yeah, after going through phases of learning myself, then wanting to spread the good word and then trying to spread the good word, and then reverting to only teaching those who are envious enough of my edges and knife work to care to presue it on their own i would say that knife maintenance is just like everything else that being a professional cook is. and i mean cook. not chef. professional line cook. ..

a professional line cook who could be a sous chef somewhere else but does the hourly line cook grind just to work in a better kitchen is gonna care about thier knives because they want every edge possible. and they will persue every aspect of their day, they will think and consider every step, every piece, every pan, every everything just to get it right and be the most efficient and the fastest they can. i guarantee most cooks you come across with great edges (not great knives, that just requires $$$) are the same people who check their pans for flatness and heat conductivity, check their boards for flattness, and have their stations set up the same way every day, well maintained knives to these people are just one more facet of their days as a well maintained searing pan, a seasoned cast iron, or a properly folded set of side towels at the begining of service. sometimes we look too much into one specific situation, because knives are what we are passionate about. for some ... its just another part of "the grind".

 

[MadMel]

I think the problem starts in the culinary schools. The administrators and instructors generally know nothing about knives, steels, stones, sharpening and so on. Moreover, the German knife makers have them hypnotized in the past. That part of my culinary education was pitiful. So, the apathy and/or bad habits take root.

+1!! I have to show the instructors at school how to sharpen.. That's after the enormous fees they are charging...