Tips from the World’s Top Chefs
Ever wish you could ask Wolfgang Puck or Gordan Ramsay for help in your kitchen? Lucky for us, these great chefs – and many others – have handed down tips down in books, articles, and in television and radio interviews. Here are some of my favorite top chef cooking tips – ideal for combining with Gourmandia’s Michelin Star chef recipes on video:
* Prep. When you’re cooking at home for your family, prep makes the cooking go more smoothly. And if you’re having guests, prep is vital if you hope to spend time outside the kitchen. Susan Feniger of Los Angeles’ Border Grill and the television show “Too Hot Tamales” says home chefs should “prep stuff ahead so you’re not constantly in the kitchen the whole time people are there.” Her co-star Mary Sue Milliken takes this even further, saying she preps immediately after shopping.“Everything gets washed and spun dry and put it in plastic bags, wrapped in towels,” or whatever else is necessary to get it ready for quick cooking, she says.
* Let it Rest. Michelin Star chef Gordon Ramsay says: “The secret of cooking meat is in the resting. I find it so dispiriting when I cut into a steak and watch all the juices leak out on to the plate because it hasn’t had time to relax and reabsorb all that goodness. Always start with your meat at room temperature….If you are cooking a rare fillet, for example, give it two and a half minutes on each side and let it rest in its own juices for three. Then, just before serving, roll it in its juices again before flashing it through a hot oven.”
* Let ‘em steam. Wolfgang Puck recommends this twist on traditional mashed potato making: “After you drain the potatoes return them to the hot pan, cover tightly, and allow them to steam for 5 minutes. Doing this allows them to dry out so they’ll mash to a beautiful texture and soak up the butter and cream more readily.”
* Learn to season. “Salt and pepper are the building blocks of any kitchen,” Gordon Ramsay says. “The art of seasoning is one of the most important skills that you can learn…Too many people wait until the end to season their food – normally once it is on the table. There are two problems with that. First, you’ll probably use much more salt that way – and that’s something we have all got to watch – and second, there will be no subtlety. Your taste buds will be clobbered. Better to add it at the beginning of cooking so that the raw taste can be cooked out and it becomes more of a background flavour.”
* Taste it. If you watch any popular reality cooking television programs, you know chefs are constantly talking about tasting the food before serving it. Australian chef Benjamin Christie suggests all cooks “carry a spoon…at all times and taste everything.”
* Get a green thumb. Iron Chef Cat Cora suggests cooks grow their own herbs for flavor that’s far better than anything you can buy. “Having fresh-picked, homegrown herbs whenever you like is much more affordable than store-bought each week,” Cora says.
* Learn the basics. The test of a true chef, says 2008’s Best New Chef Michael Psilakis of Kefi, Anthos and Mia Dona is “when you can use [lesser meat cuts] and make something beautiful.” he says. “A veal chop is just a veal chop,” but if you understand basic cooking techniques, you can make that veal chop special.
* Learn to cook vegetables. Americans, Julia Child wrote, overcook their vegetables – which could be the reason so few Americans eat all the vegetables they should. Child said, for example, that “cooked green vegetables should be beautifully green, and just cooked through.” Accomplish this by learning to steam and blanche vegetables. These are both simple techniques, but can take your vegetables from blah to the star of the dinner table.
