Knife Skills in the Kitchen

The lightning pace of professional chefs' knife skills can be both intriguing and intimidating to home chefs. With, DK's Knife Skills, cooks can learn to chop, slice, dice, carve, and fillet with the best.

Written by three Michelin-starred chefs — Marcus Wareing, Shaun Hill, and Charlie Trotter — and food writer and cooking instructor Lyn Hall from the renowned La Petite Cuisine School of Cooking — aspiring cooks will learn to cut every relevant type of material — from vegetables and herbs, to fish, meat, breads, and fruits.

Including step-by-step color photographs that help a wide variety of cutting techniques easy to understand and simple to master, this practical guide — enables enthusiasts to learn lifelong skills at their own pace.

 

 

Marcus Wareing is one of Britain’s brightest young chefs. He was named Young

Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association in 1995 while working at Gordon

Ramsay's Aubergine in Chelsea. At the age of 25, he earned his first Michelin star

at L’Oranger in London, then in 1999 gained another Michelin star at Pétrus, the

restaurant he opened with Gordon Ramsay in St James’s. In 2006, he was a winner

of the Great British Menu challenge. His perfect custard tart, which he went on to

cook for the Queen’s 80th birthday banquet, was the only recipe in the competition

that all three judges gave 10 out of 10. Marcus now divides his time between Pétrus,

which has recently gained a second Michelin star and has relocated to The Berkeley

Hotel, and the Savoy Grill. His first book How to Cook the Perfect... was published

by Dorling Kindersley in April 2007.

 

Charlie Trotter started cooking professionally in 1982, and in 1987 opened Charlie

Trotter’s in Chicago. Now recognized as one of the finest restaurants in the world,

it has received five stars from the Mobil Travel Guide, five diamonds from the AAA,

and seven James Beard Foundation awards. Wine Spectator named it Best Restaurant

in the World for Wine & Food in 1998, and America’s Best Restaurant in 2000.

Charlie is the author of 11 cookery books, hosts the TV series The Kitchen Sessions

with Charlie Trotter, and produces a line of gourmet products under the Charlie

Trotter brand name. In 1999 he founded the Charlie Trotter Culinary Education

Foundation, which awards funds to individuals seeking careers in the culinary arts.

 

Shaun Hill has been described by Delia Smith as “one of Britain’s most outstandingly

gifted chefs”. He was made the Egon Ronay Chef of the Year, and received the Catey

Chef Award, and the AA Restaurant Guide’s Chef Award, all in 1993. His restaurant, The

Merchant House in Ludlow, won a Michelin star almost on the day it opened. It held

the award throughout its 10 years and was voted 14th Best Restaurant in the World in a

2003 poll of international food writers and chefs. He now divides his time between The

Glasshouse in Worcester, where he can be found in the kitchen at least four days a week,

and London, where he consults for Fortnum and Mason.

 

Lyn Hall created a name for herself as chef of Blake’s Hotel in London before

setting up her own La Petite Cuisine School of Cooking in the 1980s, the only school

in which Michel Roux (3 Michelin stars) would agree to work. He has described

Lyn Hall as “the best teacher in England to-day, very gifted, methodical and kind.

Most importantly, she has a passion for her subject and her students are always

the best.” Lyn Hall’s dynamism has earned her international respect as a cookery

teacher. She contributed to the epic Great Chefs of France whilst studying in the

finest restaurants in France, including La Tour d’Argent and Le Pré Catelan. Lyn now

organizes cookery theatres, celebrity programmes, chef’s competitions, and major food

exhibitions. She is the author of Lyn Hall’s Cookery Course (Conran Octopus, 2004).