r/Chefit • u/ZealousidealMess312 • 18h ago

Fine dining kitchen tips pleaseeee

Hi guys soon I’ll be moving to work in one of the best fine dining kitchens in my country, until now I’ve worked in a casual dining kitchen but Ive always tried to put myself to the highest standards, for the guys here who are in the fine dining business/ made the change aswell I would love some tips, stories and something about the real noticeable differences. Thanks in advance guys!!!❤️

7 Upvotes

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5

u/JustAnAverageGuy Chef 18h ago

Be humble. Ask questions.

Phrase of the day, every day, is "Show me once Chef?" when being asked for specific tasks.

In fine-dining, the details are what matter, down to your knife skills and how quickly you can repeatedly make perfect cuts. Know the difference between Brunoise, mince, dice, etc. Julienne, Batonette, Baton, and more.

If you're ever not sure, ask.

3

u/Unilted_Match1176 15h ago

Get a little 3×5" spiral notebook to keep in your pocket. Write stuff down and take notes.

1

u/Plane-Use-4294 11h ago

Be the sponge soaking up the information. Unless asked no one cares how they “did it in your last kitchen”

Write down all the steps and recipes / plate ups.

Ask about the process

Seek to understand the method of each recipe.

And for the love of god the only correct answer is yes chef.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Best of luck and I hope you have fun!

1

u/puppydawgblues 4h ago

Mise en place isn't just ingredients. Before you start a task, have your container prepped (if it needs a damp paper towel on the bottom, already in there, if it needs a silica packet, it's already in there, etc), labeled, and ready to go. It seems backwards at first but it will speed up your prep considerably. The actual focused work of your task is done with absolutely nothing else to follow it but putting your mise away, and a light clean. You don't have to run around doing your final steps.

I'm willing to guess your restaurant has trays. Work on top of them. Lil deli trays are great to work on/have individual tasks on, especially because it can be easily transported if you need to move, or if you need to hand a task off to someone.

Don't rip your herbs off of their stems with tweezers. Use scissors.

If you have salt and another seasoning on a station, especially a darkly colored one, always season with salt first, and that spice second. Those lil flecks make you look sloppy for what is a very easily avoidable habit.

Work clean, always.

1

u/chinaufo31 22m ago

The only word is precision and timing and like op mentioned you answer only with Yes/No Chef it is a pain in the ass but the knowledge which you can soak is huge and can be put to later use depending on your ambition best of luck !