chef's uniform

Chefs, for the most part, wear their uniforms almost every day of their working lives, replete with toque, checked pants and double-breasted jacket. Though these uniforms are ubiquitous in the foodservice industry worldwide, they are often taken for granted and worn without much thought. However, many may find that the origin and reasons behind traditional chef’s attire are as interesting as it looks.

Much of the chef’s uniform has developed out of necessity. The jacket, for example, is double-breasted so it can easily be reversed to hide stains that may accumulate throughout the day; the double layer of cotton is also designed to insulate our bodies against the intense heat of the stove or an accidental splattering of hot liquid. Even the knotted cloth buttons were fashioned for a reason-cloth will withstand the frequent washings and abuse buttons often take from contact with pots, pans and other heavy equipment. Though executive chefs often wear black pants, working chefs and cooks usually don pants with black-and-white checks-the dizzying pattern of hound’s tooth camouflages minor spills and soilings. Today neckerchiefs are primarily worn for aesthetic purposes, to give our uniforms a more finished look, but originally cotton cloths were draped around ones neck to soak body sweat while working in the inferno-like kitchens of yesteryear.
The traditional chef’s hat, or toque blanche, is what is most distinguishing and recognizable of the uniform, and also the component which often causes the most debate. Chefs as far back as the 16th century are said to have worn toques. During that period artisans of all types (including chefs) were often imprisoned, or even executed, because of their freethinking. To alleviate persecution, some chefs sought refuge in the Orthodox Church and hid amongst the priests of the monasteries. There they wore the same clothes as the priests-including their tall hats and long robes-with the exception of one deviating trait: the chef’s clothes were gray and the priest’s were black.
It wasn’t until the middle 1800′s that chef Marie-Antoine Carême redesigned the uniforms. Carême thought the color white more appropriate, that it denoted cleanliness in the kitchen; it was also at this time that he and his staff began to wear double-breasted jackets. Carême also thought that the hats should be different sizes, to distinguish the cooks from the chefs. The chefs wore the tall hats and the younger cooks wore shorter hats, more like a cap. Carême himself supposedly wore a hat that was 18 inches tall! The folded pleats of a toque, which later became an established characteristic of the chef’s hat, were first said to have been added to indicate the more than 100 ways in which a chef can cook an egg.
Escoffier too, thought the cleanliness of the cook’s uniform was very important, and that it promoted professionalism. His staff was required to maintain clean and complete uniforms while on the job, and were also encouraged to wear coats and ties while not at work. To this day cooks and chefs around the world wear the same attire that has traceable origins back to more than 400 years. Along with the other conveniences the 1950′s brought, paper toques were invented to look like cloth but could be disposed of once they were soiled.
The traditional chef’s uniform may be the standard for our profession, but it’s definitely not the law. Since the mid-1980′s a legion of chefs and cooks have begun to wear non-traditional “fun” chef’s attire. These nouveau uniforms run the gamut from pinstriped baggy pants and denim jackets to full blown wildly patterned outfits with chili peppers, flowers, and even the CIA logo. While some chefs may nay-say these new-style uniforms as non-professional, others retaliate that they are more comfortable and give chefs an opportunity to express their individuality through their clothes as well as their food.
Actually, the non-traditional uniforms of today may remind some of the late chef-philanthropist Alexis Soyer, author, inventor and one time chef of the Reform Club in London. Chef Soyer was known to have his entire wardrobe-including his work attire-tailor made. Some of his headgear was as eccentric as a red velvet beret; his jackets were often cut on the bias with large lapels and cuffs. He called his individualistic style “à la zoug-zoug,” and the more his contemporaries ridiculed him the more outlandish his outfits became. Like the old adage says, “What’s old is new again.”
As a professional chef myself, I prefer to adhere to traditional chef’s attire-the uniform and its history are something to be proud of. On the other hand, I can also understand a chef’s desire to want to be expressive. As the twentieth century comes to a close, these nouveau style uniforms have their place in certain establishments; restaurants today, after all, are considered a form of theater. As with anything, the chef’s uniform continues to evolve, who knows what the future has to hold? One thing is certain though, the image of a chef, in a pristine white jacket and toque, is recognized the world over as a professional, and we have our predecessors to thank for this.

A blender is an integral part of a chef’s kitchen. Choosing the right one for you depends on a number of factors, including storage space and what functions you want it for.

Some key features to look out for when blender shopping? An internal storage drawer or separate storage box can be useful in keeping all the attachments and blades together.

Blender jugs and food processor bowls will differ in size, so opt for that which suits the amount you’ll need to process or blend.

A mini-processor bowl, which sits inside the main food processor bowl, and a separate grinder unit can be good add-ons for small loads.

Rubber feet on the motor unit will help keep it stable. And, a pulse function will provide short bursts of power, helping to distribute the load more evenly.

For making chips or vegetable strips, look for a model with a chipping blade. As well, there’s a reversible blade, which has a grating blade on one side and a slicing blade on the other – reducing the number of separate blades you need to store.

A beater or whisk disc attachment will whip cream and beat egg whites. Some models also come with a citrus juicer.

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the latest blender models on the market…

Sunbeam Café Series Blender (PB9500)

The Café Series Blender combines power and heavy-duty materials. Prepare fruit frappes and other blended frozen drinks and desserts in seconds. Or, blend ingredients for pastes and dips or puree soups and sauces to a perfect consistency. Features include a 1000 watt motor with a five-year guarantee, Smartcontrol technology that maintains RPM speed when under load, a two-litre square jug, stainless steel blade assembly, and variable speed control and pulse.

Sunbeam MultiBlender Electronic (PB7950)

The PB7950 comes with seven programmed blending functions. Its innovative, 1.6-litre, square, blending jug has also been pioneered by Sunbeam for consistent results. Other features include a 850 watt motor, high, low and pulse controls, a heavy duty, six-way, serrated stainless steel blade system, and detachable blades for easy cleaning.

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Hamilton Beach Commercial High Performance Food Blender (HBF600)

Hamilton Beach launched its brand new, variable-speed blender at the Fine Food show in Melbourne in September. Due to its variable speed control, the HBF600 can blend, chop, grind or puree the toughest food products. It is equipped with a powerful 3HP motor, which is covered by a two-year parts and labour warranty. The model is at the same price level as its sister blender, the TEMPEST (HBH650), which has a timer function rather than the variable speed – ideal for smoothies, frappes and any other blended, ice-based drink.

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Vorwerk Thermomix (TM 31)

The Thermomix is an advanced all-in-one food processor and cooker, featuring precise, powerful speed and temperature settings, allowing for smoother textures, better colour retention and a fast speed of execution. The speed is adjustable from 100 to 10,200rpm and the temperature from 37 to 114°C. The lowest settings are ideal for tempering chocolate, while at its top speed, it can mill flour from grain in 20 seconds. The rapid rotation and strength of the Solingen steel blade can crush the hardest foodstuff. (It’s even been known to make short work of an avocado pit!)

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Breville Professional 800 Collection Die Cast Blender (BBL800)

The BBL800’s secret is in its Kinetix blade and bowl system. The unique, extra wide blades – made from surgical grade stainless steel to stay sharp for longer – hug the bowl contour to minimise food traps. This is combined with a powerful 2000 watt, high torque motor and die cast construction. Other features include a two-litre jug, non-slip handle, and a two-year product warranty and five-year motor warranty.

One of the most popular styles of Asian knives to catch on in the kitchen is the Santoku style knife. But the re are others: gyuto, Asian chef’s knife, nakiri, petty knife, deba, yanagiba, and possibly usuba and kiritsuke.

Let’s make it simple and define what they are. Following knives are double-beveled, meaning that both sides of the edge are ground at an angle to the center-plane of the edge.

Gyuto literally means something like “cow blade,” and it is an equivalent to the French-style chef’s knife. As a rule, Japanese-made chef’s knives (gyuto) are less deep-bellied than their German equivalents, and are closer in profile to French-made knives (e.g. the many Sabatier lines).
A santoku is essentially a Japanese housewife’s knife, and became popular in roughly the 1930s or so — fine details on this are unclear, and it could be as late as the 1950s. The term “santoku,” means “three virtues” and is supposed to be an all-rounder. It has precisely one virtue by comparison to the chef’s knife: it’s short. The ideal for the santoku is about 165mm.
“Asian chef’s knife” means nothing consistent. Probably it’s something like a santoku, but possibly not. This is very loosely used term.

A nakiri is an old-fashioned Japanese housewife’s knife, the one superseded by the santoku. It has some slight advantages over the santoku when it comes to chopping vegetables, but it loses out for every other purpose. Nakiri are double-beveled, although some are ground so asymmetrically that they are similar in many respects to single-beveled knives.

A petty knife is basically a slightly longer paring knife. They’re quite useful, but they can be expensive by comparison to paring knives. On the whole, the petty is probably a better design, but not by so much that you should pay a lot for one.

Now lets talk about single-beveled knives:
A deba is a fish-butchering knife, which is not commonly sold in Australia. It’s for breaking down whole fish. It is massive and stiff. A deba requires a fish-cutting technique that is radically different from the French system, so if you are familiar with the latter you should not purchase a knife like this unless you’re planning to re-learn completely. If you do buy one, 180mm is a good length for normal usage; old-fashioned Japanese pros lean toward 210mm or so, because they use the heel of the knife to mince things, but if you have a chef’s knife of some kind that will work just fine and a shorter deba will be easier to manipulate. They are mildly tricky to sharpen and keep that way.

A yanagiba (could be called yani, yanagi, yanigaba, or yanigiba by westerners, is a slicing knife for slicing raw fish to make sashimi. It has no other function in life, although people quite good with them do use them for other slicing jobs. The ideal length is about 300mm. A decent yanagiba is quite expensive, they are quite tricky to sharpen and keep that way.

A usuba is a professional’s vegetable knife. The edge is die-straight and it is truly single-beveled. Good length is about 210mm, give or take. It comes in square-tipped (Tokyo-style) and sickle-tipped (Kyoto-style). It is about the most awkward, irritating knife you are ever likely to use, and in the hands of a master can do frightening, beautiful things.
A kiritsuke is a peculiar half-breed professional’s knife that is sort of like Japan’s answer to the chef’s knife. Some people love them, many hate them. It’s supposed to be an all-rounder, like the chef’s knife, but a lot of serious knife people think that it ends up being just a little bit mediocre in every way. Good length is about the same as for a chef’s knife, i.e. 240–300mm.

Today, use of these knives depends enormously on the type and location of the kitchen. Sushi chefs in Tokyo have embraced the petty knife and chef’s knife (gyuto), and retain the usuba primarily for peeling sheets of daikon, carrot, and cucumber (katsura-muki). Kyoto kaiseki chefs commonly retain the traditional set, and some disdain the use of any double-beveled knives; serious Kyoto chefs also have a lot of use for hamogiri in season, as hamo (pike conger eel) is a favorite summer fish in Kyoto and unusual elsewhere. Santoku and nakiri are almost exclusively used in home cooking and the occasional low-end professional kitchen.

Single and Double Bevels

A double-beveled knife can be ground symmetrically or asymmetrically. If it is symmetrical, the two angled lines flaring outward, forming the two bevels, are at the same angle from the plane. If it is asymmetrical, those bevels are at unequal angles. Any double-beveled knife may be ground this way if desired. There is some debate as to whether, and under what circumstances, there is anything much to be gained by doing so. It is fairly usual in Japanese double-beveled knives.

A single-beveled knife has advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages: The flat bevel means that sharpening is less a matter of hand stability, which allows a great deal of precision grinding. The hollow knife back tends to refuse to stick to food. This shape works well to produce relative blade strength despite a very thin total included angle (the total of the two bevels’ angles from the plane).

Disadvantages: Single-beveled knives are very tricky to set up initially (see below). They are expensive. Sharpening requires special care to avoid having the flat bevel stick to the stone, making the edge jump toward one’s hand. They are very strongly “handed,” meaning that a lefty and a righty knife are mirror images of one another and will not work at all the same for both cutters. Lefty knives (for those who need them) are far more expensive. The knives tend to “steer” in a cut, something requiring considerable technique to overcome.

A Note On Opening

A single-beveled knife must be “opened.” That is, it must be ground the first time to set it up for use. This is very hard to do well, and you will regret it if you don’t do it well.

Living With Carbon Steel

Carbon steel can rust easily; stainless can rust, but not easily. With time and contact with food, carbon steel will patina: it will react with onions and other acidic foods and start to turn a dull, blue-gray color. Once this patina has formed, it will not discolor your onions. Some people force a patina, and there are a number of methods for doing so, generally involving an acidic paste and a controlled exposure — for example, spreading prepared mustard on the surface for a given time and then washing it off.

To take care of carbon steel, simply wipe it with a damp cloth every time you switch ingredients, and as soon as you are done cutting for a while, rinse it very well in hot water, dry thoroughly with a dry kitchen towel, and then put it up in a rack or the like, out of the way, to “rest” for about half an hour — during this time the trace moisture will evaporate, leaving the knife bone dry. Now you can put the knife in the block or sheath or whatever. Scouring a knife with a ScotchBrite pad and detergent, in place of simply rinsing with hot water, is also workable, and probably a good idea when dealing with meats of any kind.

As a rule, the best single-beveled knives are made of carbon steel.

Japanese Forging Styles

Kasumi means “mist.” It refers to a misty line on the blade, down near the edge, on a single-beveled knife. This arises because the knife is a sheet of steel welded to a sheet of softer iron. The edge is steel, the part up the bevel from the foggy line upward is iron.

Many makers distinguish between kasumi and hon-kasumi. This normally means nothing technical: it is a grading, such that hon-kasumi is higher grade than kasumi. Both are made the same way.

Honyaki means “true-forged” or something like. It means that the entire knife is made of steel, not steel and iron welded together. Honyaki knives are much more expensive, a little less consistent, and tend to hold their edge fractionally longer.

Some high-end professionals insist on honyaki knives for certain applications, notably for their yanagiba that slice raw fish. This is because they retain their edges a little longer. Every time you grind the knife, it produces just a little bit of metal in the first several cuts, and thus if you don’t have to grind it as often, your sashimi will be that little bit better. (Note: very few people can actually tell the difference in the flavor or texture of the sashimi.) Bear in mind that this assumes you’re dealing with the finest fish, have superlative technique, and will grind your knives every single day on a fine polishing stone; otherwise it’s largely irrelevant.

Some high-end professionals, by contrast, claim that honyaki knives are quite inconsistent, in the sense that two honyaki knives in the same line from the same maker or brand vary, and as a result they prefer to use the very consistent kasumi knives.

Cladded Knives

A “clad” knife consists of a core of carbon steel surrounded by a jacket of another metal usually stainless. These knives are made in several ways. They are easier to care for than pure carbon steel (or kasumi knives with iron and carbon steel welded together), but harder to care for than pure stainless knives. Some experts find these knives “dead” to the touch, meaning that the vibrations that pass along the knife as you cut with it are deadened by the cladding, but others maintain that this is an illusion or a myth.

Handles

Handles on Japanese-made knives come in three basic varieties: Japanese-style, Western-style, and custom.

Japanese-style handles are normally made of ho wood (Japanese magnolia), which does not become slippery when wet, and requires little maintenance.

Western-style handles are what you expect, more or less: shaped, grip-formed handles. They may be affixed to the knife in various ways, depending on the maker and design. There is no longer much truth in the notion that a full tang is necessary: an excellent Japanese knife maker’s blades will not fall out any more often than those from your favorite Western maker. Sometimes the term “yo-” attached to a knife title refers to a handle like this, but not always. Most notably, the term yo-deba means a very heavy, tough knife — like a deba — that is double-beveled (thus yo, Western-style). The handle of a yo-deba is whatever the maker chooses to put on it.

Custom Handles: Some purchasers enjoy elaborate handles made of all kinds of things, from rare woods with inlays to lacquer and the like. Functionally, the only issues are (1) weight, (2) hand-feel, and (3) durability under expected conditions. The only one of these that can be commented on in general terms is weight: a long, heavy knife such as a yanagiba or kiritsuke, if used largely on a draw-stroke, benefits from a heavier handle. Standard choices for such handles are itchii (a type of Japanese oak) and ebony, the latter being quite a bit more expensive. This extra weight is not really necessary, but it can be nice. Most knife dealers can arrange handle changes – for a price.

Ferrules

In general, Japanese-style handled knives have a ferrule made of water buffalo horn between the blade and the wooden handle. Some makers and dealers offer different colors of horn, but the standard is slightly irregular black. A plastic ferrule is a dead giveaway of a cheap knive.

Knive Technique

Using good-quality Japanese knives requires (and allows) somewhat different techniques than are normally taught as French-style classical technique.

One of the usefull features is customized POS integration. The orders are then sent directly to the point of sale or a ticket printer in the kitchen, which eliminates errors and allows for quicker, more efficient service.

“This application is perfect for restaurants that want a ‘line buster’ approach so customers can order in line and then have their order ready when they get to the counter,” said Patrick Eldon, CEO of orderTalk, Inc. “It also works in casual dining, allowing guests to order and pay directly at their table from their personal or restaurant supplied devices.”

The customer platform includes the ability for patrons to download applications built specifically for their favorite food destinations on their iPad, iPhone or iTouch. These restaurant specific applications allow patrons to place pick-up or delivery orders, browse and select menu items for an in-location experience and even pay the bill directly from their hand-held devices.

But between work and the daily circus of family life who has the time to shop, chop and cook these winter warmers?

This winter leave the hard work to Thermomix, the world’s only one-stop-shop kitchen appliance.

Like a personal chef in your kitchen, Thermomix can deliver creamy risotto in a matter of minutes or piping hot soup in even less time.

Thermomix combines over 20 functions in one appliance and has already earned its place in some of the most famous kitchens in the world, including Gordon Ramsay’s Maze in London and El Bulli in Spain.

This feat of German engineering will de-clutter your kitchen rendering your old blender, mixer, grinder, steamer and slow-cooker obsolete.

And with all that extra space you can let your imagination run wild with Thermomix’s cookbooks to suit all tastes and diets.

Thermomix can chop, beat, mix, whip, heat, stir and even weigh. And the best news for busy families is its operation is practically fool proof.

Start making your own fresh sauces and condiments without nasty artificial additives and preservatives.

Make home-made pizza dough in a few minutes or start baking your own bread.

Curry, Goulash, Bolognese, Béchamel, Soft Polenta, Mash, Chilli Mussels, the list is endless. All made by you and Thermomix in minutes.

Put Thermomix to work in your kitchen this winter – leaving you free to actually spend time with your family and friends.

Visit thermomix.com.au to find out more about this revolution in the kitchen.

For more information, interviews or images please contact:

Ivona Gaspar

Magenta

08 9228 4111

0421 876 857

ivona@magenta.net.au

Kate Lamont with 20 years experience as owner and operator of four restaurants and a winery, commented, “The bottle crusher that I now use has made an enormous difference in improving relationships with nearby residents for my restaurant in Cottesloe, Western Australia.  Our business is on a lane way with homeowners on one side and that whole big issue about noise at the end of the night is completely eliminated.  Also, just the sheer volume of waste is so much smaller and it so fast and efficient.  The equipment has been so positive in so many ways and I do mention it to customers quite often, particularly since I really feel that I am actively doing something positive for the environment as all our glass waste is now recycled.”

Increasingly, hotels vying for business from the resources industry must now have environmental policies in place and using the bottle crushing technology can provide direct assistance to many businesses including mining, oil and gas companies, cruise ships, hospitals and more.

For more information please visit www.bottlecrusher.com.au

What’s your style: French or German?
Take a look at the shape of your knife blade. There are two types of blade shape: French and German. Which is yours?
The German design, which is far more common, shows a pronounced curve towards the tip of the blade which allows the knife to be rocked up and down, chopping the food with the belly and heel of the blade.
The French design is more triangular, with much less curve at the tip and a longer straight section of blade. It is designed to be pulled towards the user, slicing the food instead.
The two different styles of knife offer different ways of cutting. Personal preference will dictate whether you cut French or German style.
Or you could go Japanese instead. A Japanese development of the chef’s knife, the santoku (literally “three good things”), has also gained popularity in the West.
The santoku is primarily designed for cutting fish, vegetables and boneless or lightly-boned meats such as chicken, and has a sheepsfoot blade.
A sheepsfoot blade has no point on the tip, very little to no belly and the spine of the blade curves down to meet the edge. The spine on the santoku’s blade drops sharply to meet the hardened, acutely-ground cutting edge.

Keep it sharp
In order to improve the chef’s knife’s multi-purpose abilities, it is often sharpened differently on the various parts of the blade. The fine tip, used for precision work such as mincing, might be ground with a very sharp, acute cutting bevel; the mid-section or belly of the blade receives a moderately sharp edge for general cutting, chopping and slicing, while the heavy heel or back of the cutting edge is given a strong, thick edge for such heavy-duty tasks as disjointing beef.
What’s it made of?
The blade of your chef’s knife can be made of one of these materials:
Carbon steel: An alloy of iron and approximately 1% carbon. Most carbon steel chef’s knives are simple carbon iron alloys without exotic additions such as chrome or vanadium. Carbon steel blades are both easier to sharpen than ordinary stainless steel and usually hold an edge longer, but are vulnerable to rust and stains. While some cooks prefer and use carbon steel knives (especially in Asia and the Middle East), others find carbon steel too maintenance-intensive in a kitchen environment.
Stainless steel: An alloy of iron, approximately 10-15% of chromium, nickel, or molybdenum, with only a small amount of carbon. Lower grades of stainless steel cannot take as sharp an edge as good quality high-carbon steels, but are resistant to corrosion, and are inexpensive. Higher grade and ‘exotic’ stainless steels (mostly from Japan – as used by Global, Kasumi and others) are extremely sharp with excellent edge retention, and equal or outperform carbon steel blades.
Laminated: A laminated knife tries to use the best of each material by creating a layered sandwich of different materials – for instance, a softer-but-tough steel as the backing material, and a sharper, harder, but more brittle steel as the edge material.
Ceramic: Ceramic blades hold an edge the longest of all, but they chip easily and may break if dropped. They also require special equipment and expertise to-resharpen. They contain zirconium oxide powder but are chemically non-reactive, so will not discolour or change the taste of food.

Choosing your knife
Here are some pointers to look for when choosing your new knife:
Pick up the knife that took your fancy and examine it carefully. Turn the handle to your face, cutting edge up, and keep it at eye-level. Look along the edge to the tip. If you see a solid matte line without any glowing, it means this is good quality blade without any distortion and chipping.
Examine the handle where the tang of the blade is inserted. If the handle is covered with plastic or other material, make sure that there are not even the slightest gaps between the handle and the steel. Any gaps will be quickly filled with dirt, and you’ll never be able to completely clean it. There are one-piece knives on the market, where the handle is not covered at all, leaving no possible crevices for dirt. Lastly, match the length of the knife handle with the size of your palms. If it is too big or too small, the knife will continually be uncomfortable to use.

BISTRO, December 2009