Author: Cyndie
Company: Microsoft

Segment 3: Knife Skills
Chef Cyndie: School kitchens should be stocked with a variety of knives that are uniquely suited for the task.  Properly stored and handled knives should last a very long time.
Ideally, knives are stored in a knife rack close to the work station. It is important that the correct knife be used for the job.  You would not want to dice a cantaloupe with a utility knife.  It would take all day and the product quality would not be good.
After the correct knife for the job is selected, make sure the knife is sharp.  You can sharpen your knife several ways.  The school district may use a sharpening service, or electric or manual knife sharpening equipment.  
There are two types of steels, honing and sharpening.  A diamond steel will sharpen your knife.  Hold the knife at a 20 degree angle and place the heel of the knife at the top of the diamond steel.  Then press the knife blade against the steel firmly.  Slowly drag the knife down the steel while pulling the knife towards your body.  You should end with the tip of the knife at the bottom of the steel.  Be sure to alternate down one side of the blade, then the other.  Always finish the job using a regular knife steel.  Some think that a knife may be sharpened with a steel, however, it simply hones the edge to make the sharpening last longer. To use a steel, hold the knife at a 20 degree angle and place the heel of the knife at the top of the steel.  Then press the knife blade against the steel firmly.  Slowly drag the knife down the steel while pulling the knife towards your body.  You should end with the tip of the knife at the bottom of the steel.  Be sure to alternate down one side of the blade, then the other.  Continue to do this until all of the rough edges are gone, and the knife runs along the steel smoothly.
Remember, a sharp knife produces a quality product with the least amount of effort.
To slice and dice safely, select a clean and sanitized cutting board.  Secure the cutting board to the work table if the cutting board does not have the rubber edges.  Cutting boards may be secured with sanitized terry towels or sanitized rubber matting.  Next, place the cutting board close to the table’s edge to reduce strain in your lower back.  If the table is too low, consider stacking cutting boards to create a higher work surface.
OK, our knife is sharp, our work station is set up, so we are ready to move on to cutting product safely and efficiently.  
The way to grip the chef’s knife is to hold the blade with your thumb and index finger, and grip the handle with your other three fingers.  Be sure not to place your index finger along the top of the blade.  This could cause injury.  Your other hand is used to hold the produce.  Keeping your fingertips curled back, grip the zucchini with your fingertips and thumb.  You should not be able to see your fingernails.  The tip method is to hold the knife and lift the heel of the knife keeping the tip on the board and cut through the zucchini. Use the front of your index finger as a guide to the width you desire.  Try not to saw the product.  
Whenever possible, use drop delivery, especially when slicing and dicing fruits and vegetables.  To use drop delivery, place your cutting board at the corner edge of the work table.  Place another pan on a lower surface such as a cleaned and sanitized work cart.  Using your knife, drag and drop freshly cut product into the pan.  This also works great to remove unwanted peelings and waste from your cutting board.  When preparing diced cantaloupe, use this drop delivery for the melon peels.  How’s that for cleaning up your work space?
The versa prep was designed with drag and drop in mind.  It is much faster and easier to use this method rather than picking up product and placing it into a serving pan.  Or use the space to catch unwanted produce like peelings and seeds and drag the product to be served to the side to be dropped in a serving pan.
Let’s move on to cutting methods.  To make vegetable sticks out of just about any product, cut the product into planks of desired thickness, and then cut the planks into the size stick you want to serve.  Typically, the planks and sticks are one-fourth to one-half inch thick. If you want dices, simply cut the sticks into dices.  
At times, your recipe may call for chiffonade, or finely sliced leafy greens or herbs, such as cilantro or parsley.  The term chiffonade literally translates to the word ribbons.  To do this, simple roll the rinsed bunch of parsley tightly, and while keeping the bunch tightly rolled, slice into fine strips.  For quantity food production, don’t remove the stems; just slice the leaves until you reach the stems.  But don’t throw the parsley stems away; these are great for soups and vegetable broths.
Please view Segment 8 on Small Equipment and Segment 4 on Fruit and Vegetable Preparation for more information on slicing and dicing fruits and vegetables.