What's the best tip you ever received from a professional chef?

[Sandra Piddock]

A friend of mine is a talented chef, although she has now retired from full time work and only goes into action occasionally for functions and special events. She passed on a lot of valuable information, but this is one of the best tips she ever gave me.

We used to work together on a Sunday carvery, and there was always a lot of cooked vegetables left over at the end of service. Cathy would use these as the base for a soup, which she would make, blend and freeze for the starter the following Sunday. Until then, I'd never have thought of making a soup from cooked vegetables, but with the right mixture of seasonings, and a base of chopped onions and tomatoes, you can achieve some stunning results. You'd never think they'd been made from leftovers.

Do you have a great tip from a professional chef to share?

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Several, was living with one for many years
One springs to mind: pepper is more important as seasoning than salt.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Used to work in a pub/resturant kitchen and the one thing that always went down really well and customers always complimented the place on was the gravy (and therefore the steak & kidney pie which was made with same gravy). They all wanted to know how it tasted so good.

The answer was it was the beer spilled the day before from the beer on tap. Simply as that.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Used to work in a pub/resturant kitchen and the one thing that always went down really well and customers always complimented the place on was the gravy (and therefore the steak & kidney pie which was made with same gravy). They all wanted to know how it tasted so good.

The answer was it was the beer spilled the day before from the beer on tap. Simply as that.

Not even fresh beer, eh?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Not even fresh beer, eh?

Nope, not the fresh stuff - apparently (and given I was already veggie at the time, I can't comment) but the best steak & kidney pie and gravy came from stale, flat beer!

 

[Sandra Piddock]

Nope, not the fresh stuff - apparently (and given I was already veggie at the time, I can't comment) but the best steak & kidney pie and gravy came from stale, flat beer!

I can believe that - my friend makes the most wonderful, lightest scones you can imagine, and she uses sour milk to make them. Sometimes, something you may be going to throw away - like cooked vegetables, stale beer and sour milk - can make all the difference to the texture and flavour of a dish.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Ahh Scones. I did finally try the Pure (vegan margarine range) and it makes stunningly soft and light scones as well.

 

[ttcycle]

Both my dad and my brother are chefs - so I got 'trained' read forced in the family business from a very early age!!

it's why despite loving cooking from scratch and making great meals I wouldn't choose to work in catering/cheffing - it's a super hard profession, not glamorous and super long hours and sometimes not for very good pay!

Anyway my tip one of many - if you're chopping using a large knife, fold the fingers on the hand you use to hold the veg you're chopping back so it's the knuckles touching the knife mid blade as you're holding whatever you're chopping - less likely to cut your finger tips off then!

 

[lukesdad]

Im a chef and here is my tip,don't eat the yellow snow.

seriously now when making a sauce or gravy for lamb add a few grains of coffee to it

 

[ttcycle]

Im a chef and here is my tip,don't eat the yellow snow.

seriously now when making a sauce or gravy for lamb add a few grains of coffee to it

Instant coffee freeze dried or the leftover grains from coffee grounds?

 

[lukesdad]

Instant is fine just enough to lift the flavour of the lamb you shouldn t be able to taste the coffee.
A spoonfull of redcurrant jelly finishes it off beautifully.

 

[Sandra Piddock]

Used to work in a pub/resturant kitchen and the one thing that always went down really well and customers always complimented the place on was the gravy (and therefore the steak & kidney pie which was made with same gravy). They all wanted to know how it tasted so good.

The answer was it was the beer spilled the day before from the beer on tap. Simply as that.

I always add beer or wine to the gravy, depending on what it's being served with, and I always make it with vegetable water as well. That makes a big difference.

 

[OhioTom76]

When pan frying boneless skin-on chicken breasts, aside from pounding them to a more even thickness - cook them in a cold pan, skin side down. The gradual build up of heat helps the fat to start rendering out of the skin so the chicken is frying in a nice puddle of its own fat and gets a great crispy skin on it. They also suggested to cut a few short slits in the skin and on the back of the meat before doing this.

When cooking pasta, I was also told to wait until the steam stops rising from the pasta before tossing it with the sauce and plating it - prevents puddles of water when the pasta is finally plated.

 

[Enimrac]

Several, was living with one for many years
One springs to mind: pepper is more important as seasoning than salt.

For sure! It took me a while to figure that one out as well. Pepper is definitely a healthier option than salt as well. Unfortunately I always forget to use pepper for my cooking, until after I already finished.

 

[lizzief79]

I used to work as a chef, although I wasn't professionally trained. I ended up in the role almost by accident really. I have a close friend who is a chef and he gave me two really good tips. 1) When cooking meat, always make sure the pan is hot enough before putting the meat in. It needs to sizzle. 2) Make sure your knives are sharp.