where to start,i was taught all the vegetable cuts within my first week of becoming a trainee chef,paysanne,mirepoix,macedoine ,julienne were the basics taught in french and to me is the basics....i was taught basic knife skills,and how to maintain them,wash them etc,the correct knife is a good start ,use the full handle and also remember it is a skill and has to be learnt and practiced.
i can chop and look at you in the eye and hold a conversation ,at speed and deliver a correctly chopped item ,thats taken years to perfect,speed it not a must a well chopped product is ,and not cutting your self ,my fingers move ,just inside the knife,
butchery was always taught a bit latter ,and was basic jointing ,boning,tieing ,trimming ,portioning,how to french trim meats,again i had to experience a lot of watching before i was trusted,same as fish ,filleting ,and skining is a skill ,i learnt and practised and do it well,but i did go out of my way to work free at a fishmongers,spent a lot of time scaling fish,
but.......catering training has lost its way,the basics are over looked,young chefs don't seem to want to learn their trade,they want to be like the tv chefs,with out putting the work in ,there are lots of good chefs coming through the ranks,but some times it is a vocation