Are Knife Skills Important?

So what is the big deal about using a knife properly and learning how to julienne, chiffonade, emincer, ciseler, etc., etc.? Good knife skills allow you to be more efficient, they allow you to cut precisely so foods cook evenly, and ultimately they help make cooking more enjoyable. In class, we take knife skills one-step further by learning how to make food more visually appealing using classic vegetable cuts -- something I keep practicing and practicing and practicing. While speed is not necessary for the home cook, it is essential if we are going to survive in a professional environment. Speed and precision is part of how we are graded in my current Foundations I Class. The ability to present food more artistically also means, as Chef Ron says, “you get to charge more.”

To help you improve your cooking skills, I partnered with Rouxbe Online Cooking School, the world's first-ever online cooking school. As part of their affiliate program, I am able to give you a free, full-access, no-videos-barred, 14-day pass to their site. All you have to do is go to the Rouxbe Online Cooking School and redeem the 14-day Gift Membership. After the trial, you can join for as little as $29.95 per month; however, there is no obligation. It's awesome! Check it out at

Rouxbe Online Cooking School

This is an example of one of their cooking lessons, Handling a Chef’s Knife.

Rouxbe Online Cooking School & Video Recipes

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers!