My Essential Pepin

Photo courtesy KQED from the Essential Pépin TV Series Photo credit: © 2010 – Cristiana CeppasToday, Sandy turns over her Monday spot to Mary Jane Reiter, Special Fork’s public relations manager, who blogs about her recent class with the legendary chef, Jacques Pépin.

By Mary Jane Reiter

Before there was Emeril, Bobby, Gordon or Martha, there was Jacques. Jacques Pépin has spent the last 60 years as a professional chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and host of many PBS cooking shows. His most recent TV show and companion book Essential Pepin contains more than 700 of his favorite recipes.

Jacques Pépin is MY celebrity chef. So when I had the opportunity recently to attend a techniques class for culinary students, taught by Pépin, I jumped at the chance. He spoke at the International Culinary Center in Campbell, California, where he is on the board.

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Knife Sharpening - Advanced Knife Maintenance

Knife maintenance is very important in the kitchen. There are two parts to knife maintenance: honing and sharpening. Honing is a simple task that anyone can do and should be undertaken frequently. Sharpening takes a little more skill and is usually best left to the professionals. But if you’ve ever wanted to take a stab at it, Craig demonstrates in today’s video. If you plan to take the plunge and try it yourself, Craig advises working with an old knife before moving up to your nicer knives.

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Advanced Knife Skills

By Craig Deppe

When you learn and apply some of the basic knife skills, working in the kitchen becomes so much more pleasant. I’ll never forget the first time I learned the easy way to dice an onion or shallot – it was an epiphany!

How could I have been so uninformed? I needed to learn more.

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Basic Knife Skills Mom Never Taught You

By Craig Deppe

We've all been wowed and amazed by the lightning-fast blur of a master chef’s knife as they deftly dispatch a defenseless mushroom or innocent onion.

There's no doubt we all would love to have such talent but the truth is, the home cook simply needs to know a few basics to make life easier at the cutting board.

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