Four Indispensable Kitchen Tools

It’s that time of year when Americans around the country are either wincing as they write checks to the IRS or waiting expectantly to spend their tax refund. If you’re lucky enough to be getting a little money back this year, why not spend it on some high-quality kitchen gadgets that will make your cooking practice more enjoyable and help you feel like a professional chef? 

The following list is made up of kitchen essentials. If you’re serious about a career in culinary arts, spend the extra money on tools of the highest quality so you can use them for years.

• The Knife - If you haven’t already invested in a chef’s knife for yourself, now’s the time. While the best knives run over $100 apiece, this is not an item to scrimp on. Five years from now, when you’re still slicing and dicing with ease, you’ll be glad you spent the extra $60.
• Cookware - If you still have some cash left after the knife purchase, invest in some pots and pans. Don’t have enough for that Le Creuset set you’ve been drooling over? Check out last month’s posting on cast iron cookware, a economical and practical alternative.
• Wooden Spoon - You’ll be stirring many a soup, chowder, batter and dough over the next thirty years. Find yourself a wooden spoon that feels good when it’s in your hand. If you’re partial to beautiful tools, look for a hand-crafted spoon which could become a family heirloom if you care for it correctly.
• Cutting Boards - Still got some cash to burn? You won’t regret investing in a good cutting board. Measure your counter space before you go shopping to ensure that you pick a board that fits. A good wooden cutting board will be a functional and attractive addition to your kitchen for years to come.

The Industry’s Most Valuable Nose

Insurance policies for body parts are no longer reserved for models and musicians. The Associated Press reported in Forbes this week that one of Europe’s foremost winemakers and tasters, Ilja Gort, had his nose insured by Lloyd’s of London for 5 million Euros. While insuring a nose might seem outlandish to some, Gort’s policy is actually not the first of its kind. In 2003, British wine taster Angela Mount took out a policy for 10 million pounds ($20.1 million; Euro12.7 million) to cover her senses of taste and smell. Although many people, especially chefs, depend upon their taste buds and nose to create culinary masterpieces (and earn a living), few can afford to protect themselves against an accident that could leave them without a way to smell or taste the foods they cook.

However, according to an article in Reader’s Digest, there are a few things you can do in your everyday life to keep your senses sharp.

The suggestions from the experts include the following advice:

• Stay active - research suggests that your sense of smell is more effective after exercise.
  
• Keep yourself hydrated - a dry mouth adversely affects your ability to taste.
  
• Check out your medicine cabinet- many common pharmaceuticals have side effects that can impair your senses.
  
• No smoking - with every inhalation you’re damaging smell and taste receptors.
  
• Keep your airways clear - try using a Neti pot or saline solution to remove obstructions and moisten your sinuses.

The Socially Active Chef

If food is your passion (a likely guess for those reading this blog), why limit it to a career? Your interest in all things culinary doesn’t have to stay in the kitchen, and a group of socially active chefs has created an organization to help anyone working in the food service industry get involved. Founded 15 years ago, the Chefs Collaborative has over 1,000 members nationwide, the majority of whom are chefs.

 

According to the organization’s mission statement, the Chefs Collaborative values local food in an effort to support a more sustainable food supply. An ambitious vision statement directs their activities:

“As a result of our work, every chef in the U.S.A. will be aware that food purchasing choices affect the environment and our communities.”

 

How do they hope to achieve such an idealistic and inspiring reality? Chefs Collaborative (CC) offers information about sourcing local ingredients and sponsors chef trainings (most recently in the Boston area) on topics such as how to break down a whole pig. In addition, CC is active in the Renew America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) coalition, to encourage members to use regional animal breeds and produce varieties in their kitchens. Finally, through a program called Seafood Solutions, CC educates chefs on the complex issues surrounding the fishing industry to help them make sustainable choices.

 

Interested in joining this high-minded group? Next month’s Earth Dinner, organized by CC and Organic Valley at participating restaurants around the country will be one opportunity to meet other culinary professionals working on these issues over a delicious and environmentally-friendly meal.

  

Life in the Slow Lane

Whether you’re considering a career in culinary arts or already enrolled in culinary school, get informed about the Slow Food movement, an organization whose goal is, in part, to help people enjoy the act of eating.  Founded nearly 20 years ago in Europe, Slow Food now numbers close to 90,000 members in 100 countries worldwide.Here in North America, many well-known chefs are outspoken supporters of Slow Food. One of the most notable and accomplished is Chef Alice Waters, owner of famed Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California, author of 9 cookbooks, and winner of more culinary awards that you can shake a stick at.Waters’ most recent cookbook, The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons and Recipes From a Delicious Revolution pays homage to Slow Foods principles, using high-quality ingredients to make simple, yet exquisite meals. As described by Boston Globe reviewer T. Susan Chang, “In “The Art of Simple Food,” Waters has done nothing less than write the basic cookbook you need to get started on a lifetime of good eating from your own kitchen.” Might be one to add to the bookshelf next to old standbys such as The Joy of Cooking.In an interview/luncheon date with Waters last fall, New York Times food writer Kim Severson explains the chef’s distinct style, which begins with the freshest, best produce around. Part of Waters’ dedication to the Slow Foods movement centers around this focus on the source of food, which both Waters and SF members agree should be purchased locally and grown using environmentally friendly practices. Quoting Waters, “If you are not buying the right ingredients, this is going to taste like any other food.”If we can all slow down enough to notice the difference, most people would probably agree.

Cooking on the High Seas

A recent press release from the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) reports that among their 24 member lines, 12.6 million passengers were carried in 2007. Growth in the cruise industry is expected to continue, and CLIA member cruise lines plan to add 35 new ships to their fleets in the next 4 years.

These figures represent good news for chefs who hope to take their culinary careers to the open ocean. Each new ship that embarks carries hundreds or even thousands of hungry mouths and requires a large team of skilled cooks to feed them.

If life at sea appeals to you, check out the many culinary job opportunities on cruise lines. Several websites have detailed information about how to find employment on a cruise ship, usually through a recruitment agency. While you may not qualify for the highest-paying positions of executive chef or chef de partie, a job as sous chef or first cook could set you up for a promotion after a few successful contracts.

While not everyone is cut out for the long hours and close quarters of life on a cruise ship, the opportunity to travel, meet scads of new people, and earn a salary that can mostly be saved (room, board, and medical costs are covered by employers), is hard to pass up. Do your research and by this time next year you may be mastering the art of cooking to the rhythm of the ocean waves.

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