At the time I was an avid home cook, but looking back at my ability then; now I can't even believe I was able to cook the things I could with that skill set. I could do the things that all home cooks should be able to do well; make an omelet, break down a chicken carcass, fillet a whole fish (most fish are sold drawn), properly prepare a steak to desired temperature, sauté, rudimentary baking, and fruit/vegetable cookery. Most home cooks can do these things, if you can't I recommend that you learn how to.
I'm in my fifty-fourth week of culinary school; I will only be in the building for another sixteen weeks. Fifty-four weeks does a lot for one's confidence in the kitchen. The most important thing a cook looking to be better can learn is proper knife skills. Beyond that I think you should learn how to cook what you love to cook and fuck everything else. You're going to cook at a higher level if you love and respect what you're working with. You should, of course, know the fundamentals and be able to go through the motions.
The reason I wrote this is because my chef surprised us with a fundamentals practical today. I'm big enough to admit that it was rough for me. The lack of practice has really made me rusty and has humbled me. The practical went like this:
Potato 3 min.
4 Batonnet
4 Julienne
2 Large Dice
4 Paysanne
Carrot 2 min.
1 Tourne
5 1/4" Rondelle
5 1/8" Rondelle
Garlic
1 clove, paper thin slices, 10 sec.
2 cloves, minced finely, no time limit
Basil
3 leaves, chiffonade, 10 sec.
Mayonnaise
1 egg
Vinegar
Oil
2 Eggs, Over Easy
Uh...two eggs.
To be fair the last two were easy enough, but the former skill sets really shook me up. I'm disappointed in myself for letting my skills fall to that level. So with that.
Practice, practice, practice.
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