You don’t always need to move food around the pan. Steak, fish, stock. Whatever it is you’re cooking, leave it be. If you want something to brown, patience is key. The only exception to this is wok cooking. If you’re using a red-hot wok, go crazy.
Making a sauce? Always cook your vegetables first. Adding raw onions, garlic etc to a sauce won’t make it taste amazing. Cook your base ingredients first to maximise the flavors.
Read the whole recipe first. Then get everything set out and ready to go. This will minimize stress and mistakes and will ensure you have everything you need to cook the meal.
When chopping vegetables, keep your fingers behind your knuckles. Keep the blade on the cutting board and use a rolling motion to chop safely and quickly.
Don’t just season the pot at the end. Season every ingredient individually as you add them to the meal. And remember to constantly taste!
If it’s brown, it’s tasty. If it’s black, it’s burnt.
Use a little wine to deglaze the pan after cooking. All the burnt bits combined with the wine will make an amazing sauce. It will also make doing the dishes much easier.
Icing is made with sugar and liquid. It tends to be pourable. Frosting is made with sugar and fat and is spreadable. The two are not interchangeable!
Keep you chopping board in place by putting a damp towel underneath it.
Buy yourself a real quality knife and a sharpening stone. It will last longer and give you so much use. As a side piece of advice, if you can, try the knife in the store. They are all weighted differently and some will feel awful to you.
Don’t store spices in sunlight or hot places. Heat and moisture will kill the flavor.
To remove the smell of garlic from your hands, rub them on the sink. Stainless steel helps to remove the odour.
Clean as you go. Have two minutes while something browns? Wash / tidy up any mess. In the long run, it makes cooking a lot less stressful!
When putting something into a fryer, use tongs and lay it away from you. To chance to burn or splash yourself now.
When chopping herbs, sprinkle a little salt on the board first to stop them moving around too much.
When baking, follow the recipe amounts exactly. If you don’t, be prepared to be disappointed.
When you sear something. make sure your pan is hot enough. Wait until it starts to smoke a little before you sear.
If you feel your dish is missing “something”, it’s usually acidity. Add a little lemon juice or even vinegar.
Butter is delicious. When you go to an expensive restaurant and everything tastes amazing? Most of the time it’s because it’s covered in butter.
Lastly in our top chef tips, have fun. Experiment and if you mess up, don’t be too hard on yourself.