Last Thursday I went to an Essential Knife Skills class at Sur La Table in Carlsbad, California. It was taught by Chef Cindy Mushet who started at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse and went on to become an accomplished pastry chef and cookbook author.

She started by talking about knife safety and then went on to explain and demonstrate the parts of a knife, the different types of knives and their uses. But this was a hands-on class and she wasted no time in getting down to business. There were fifteen of us, five to a table. Each place setting had a cutting board, chef’s knife, paring knife, vegetable peeler and an apron.

First she taught us how to hold a knife and how to grip food using the claw technique. That’s the method where you curve your fingers under and extend the knuckle of your middle finger forward a little so you can use it as a guide (you’ve seen this whenever you’ve seen a professional cut anything).

Then she showed us how to dice an onion without it falling apart (it works on tomatoes and shallots as well). We also learned how to julienne and dice carrots, peppers and potatoes. We used our chef’s knife to strip the leaves off parsley and mince them. We got to chiffonade (cut into long strips) basil and Swiss chard. As we finished each group of vegetables Cindy and her helper collected them and put them in a stock pot with chicken stock and some extra tri-tip they browned and added.

Finally, she showed us how to use the paring knife to peel and section citrus fruit (grapefruit and oranges) so that each section was perfect without any pith.

After the lesson, we took a break while she finished cooking the vegetable soup. During the break we could do some shopping with the reusable coupon we had for 15% off that night and 10% off for the next seven days. After the break we had the vegetable soup and fruit while we listened to Tom Budinger, Sur La Table’s resident knife expert, give a talk on what to look for in a quality knife, the difference between German and Japanese knives (German knives have a wider angle of attack) and how to sharpen your knife. He also answered questions truthfully:

Attendee: “What do you think of this Rachael Ray knife?”
Tom: “To be honest, that’s the one knife everybody brings back. The orange handle has a tendency to crack.”

When the evening was over we got to sample some wonderful cookies that Cindy was making to include in an upcoming Sur La Table cookbook on items you find in a bakery. The initial draft is due to the publisher in November, so it probably won’t be out until late next year.

The evening was worth the $65 (especially when you include the value of the coupon). I will probably sign up for the Next Level Knife Skills class the next time it is offered.