Now that we’ve gone through the first 10 rules and applied them, we should have a pretty good idea of what to do in the kitchen and how to deal with our food. The next five rules have to do with operations in the kitchen. take notes because there’s lots of value here!
11. Clean Your Mess!- Chaos breeds confusion and confusion makes everything more difficult! Cooking is messy! Accept this fact and resolve yourself to cleaning up after the inevitable train wreck that you will make of your kitchen. Minimize clutter and move unnecessary tools out of the way. Use any “down time” -when there is nothing that needs your attention at the time- to put away ingredients, throw away scraps and organize your work space. Take the time to clean up as you work and your next task will be much easier!
12. Food is Already Good! – All you really need to do is let it be good and NOT mess it up! Be gentle when handling the food and don’t over work it. Example: parsley is amazing when chopped and sprinkled over pasta. But it is far less amazing when it’s been chopped too small and is almost a paste. It actually look like boogers at that point. GROSS! Use your good judgement about how to process your ingredients for what is right for your dish. Not everything needs to be transformed.
13. Take Care of Your Equipment! – If you do, your equipment will take care of you. Use the minimum amount of force necessary to accomplish each task. Example: there’s gravy stuck to the wooden spoon you are stirring it with. Lightly tapping it on the side of the pan is all that is needed to remove it. If it’s really stuck on there, use another spoon to scrape it off. Slamming it down on the pan is not necessary and will eventually break your spoon. My boss spends a small fortune on new equipment because stuff is bent, dented or broken. (That’s my raise, damnit!) Be mindful of your tools and they will serve you well fir years to come!
14. Slow is Smooth, Smooth is fast – Sound like a paradox? It’s really not. The slowest and most inefficient cooks I have seen in the last 3 decades were all focused on hurrying. When you hurry while trying to cook, you WILL ignore at least one of the rules I have presented, you WILL make a mistake and it WILL show up in your results! Even if you are moving 30% faster, if you mess up and have to repeat a task, it will take more than twice as long.That will cost you time, not save it. FOCUS INSTEAD on doing things right the first time with a clear and deliberate method. Refine your method as you go and remove unnecessary movements/steps. Speed and efficiency comes with continued practice which brings us to……
15. Practice, Practice, Practice!! – You can read every article and watch every video and memorize every recipe but you will still not be a better cook unless you apply your knowledge. “To know and not to do… is not to know.” — Leo Buscaglia. You can watch swimmers all day but you have jump in the water to do it yourself! Don’t be scared of failure! You will fail on occasion, that’s life my friend. But every failure gets you closer to success! Keep failing and keep learning! Imperfect action beats no action every time.
You know what to do now….
Apply what you’ve learned so far and keep cooking!
Sunshine and bubble gum to you all!
Be on the lookout for the last 5 of Ricepaddy’s Rules!
