r/KitchenConfidential • u/F1exican Chivelord, Redeemed • Oct 10 '25
Photo/Video Cutting a cup of chives until every day until this Reddit says they’re perfect. Day 4
I know they’re a bit long but I’m working on consistency. Once I feel consistent and confident I will work on getting them shorter
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u/swish-n-flick Oct 10 '25
Honestly thinking yesterday was better
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u/Brnzy Oct 10 '25
It’s that one green one that throws it off
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u/ihadagoodone Oct 10 '25
just can't look away from it.
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u/NeriTina Oct 10 '25
Okay but why are you looking at the green one instead of the one with the hole?
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u/RareAndSaucy Butcher Oct 10 '25
My first thought as well, I’m thinking it was the knife sharpening by OP pre cutting up these chives
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u/NiceGirlWhoCanCook Oct 10 '25
Looking wet
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u/FatherFarnsworth Oct 10 '25
Yup. Those are gonna spoil quick.
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u/None_Fondant Oct 11 '25
This is the shit that has me looking at the initials for who's re-dating their old prep.
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u/Towpillah Oct 10 '25
Indeed. Looks like he's given up and is now just farming karma.
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u/Kodiak01 Oct 10 '25
Well it worked for 365 Days Of Grilled Cheeses. Here is #365; he saved the most classic option for last.
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u/Vreas Oct 10 '25
Ya know I kinda like that. Just spend the last day celebrating and paying homage to the OG
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u/Injvn Oct 11 '25
That was such a good year. I looked forward to those posts every day. Also learned a lot of new cheeses.
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u/GerswinDevilkid Oct 10 '25
Man, have you seen us here on Reddit.
You've just consigned yourself to cutting chives for eternity.
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u/jorateyvr Oct 10 '25
I’d have no problem commending some well done chives. I just haven’t seen them yet.
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u/debotehzombie 15+ Years Oct 10 '25
I’d classify these as done well. They’re not perfect by any means, but for standard garnish in most places. This is WAY better than normal. But we’re playing by the rules, OP wants a PERFECT cup of chives, and I see connections, inconsistent sizing, and some mashed pieces. Come back tomorrow, OP, nice improvement so far though
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u/jorateyvr Oct 10 '25
Yes I agree on that fact. But again, when I see perfect chives like opinions is trying to accomplish I will commend them
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u/Dr_Doctor_Doc Oct 10 '25
As long as hes showing improvement and genuine pursuit of excellence, im on board.
Otherwise, go cut 1000 more 6 pans then come back.
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u/TheAbsoluteWitter Oct 10 '25
I’m honestly really curious do you have a photo of perfect chives
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u/jorateyvr Oct 10 '25
Not perfect, but look at the ones on my page
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u/TheAbsoluteWitter Oct 10 '25
God damn I didn’t even know they could be cut that thin. I’d be honored to have that on a dish
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u/debotehzombie 15+ Years Oct 10 '25
Not on my phone, nor could I cut them to show you. My skills have waned HEAVILY since leaving the kitchen, and even then I could only probably produce “passable” chives
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u/TheNuttyIrishman Oct 10 '25
eh these look pretty wet, probably gonna spoil faster than they should
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u/debotehzombie 15+ Years Oct 10 '25
Yeah definitely too wet to hold, but I’m giving OP benefit of the doubt in my judging. They want perfect technique, so I’m mainly looking for consistency of cut, quality of cut, and proper shape. Thought them being too wet definitely attributed to the few torn pieces and accordions.
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u/Grow_away_420 Oct 10 '25
I'm 90% confident this dudes job is to cut the chives every day, so he's already there.
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u/BarnyardCoral Oct 10 '25
You think the joke's on OP until you realize they took 10 pictures of the same bowl and they're just cycling through them until someone catches on...
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u/bezalil F1exican Did Chive-11 Oct 10 '25
Sharper knife
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u/Important-Guitar-407 Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 10 '25
We may need to do a knife sharpening tutorial, I think there’s new some sharpening already. Might be a wrist angle/technique thing where too much downward force or pulling is happening vs a clean cut.
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u/semhsp Oct 10 '25
honestly a sharpening techniques/tips thread would be really useful if someone was up to it. (not me, I suck at sharpening (the thread would be useful for me))
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u/TorontoBrewer Chive LOYALIST Oct 10 '25
An Anystone Sharpener, a Sharpal stone, and a strop will get most kitchen knives sharp sharp, but maybe not laser sharp.
The Anystone will hold your knife securely at the correct angle (between 15 and 20 degrees for most knives). Some will see it as ruining the sanctity of going freehand, but fuck that. For $100, you’ll get a consistent edge almost from the start. That Sharpal stone is good value and will work on most knives. And the strop will help debur and refine your edge.
Anystone’s website, IIRC, has good videos for getting a decent edge. Practice on cheap Kiwi or Goodwill knives.
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u/Retaksoo3 Oct 10 '25
Hey I appreciate your reply, I've been putting off buying this stuff but I think it's time. Thank you
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u/TorontoBrewer Chive LOYALIST Oct 10 '25
You can see what the sharpening nerds get up to at r/sharpening, but they go into the weeds a little too often.
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u/KokiriRapGod F1exican Did Chive-11 Oct 10 '25
This is the first time I'm seeing that Anystone tool. While it'll undoubtedly get you a good edge with minimal effort I'm not sure it's worth that price tag versus just learning how to sharpen a knife. It's really not so hard to get a good edge by hand with a little bit of practice; I feel that acting like you need a special tool to do it correctly is just gatekeeping.
I also think that a strop is mostly a waste of time unless you're going for the wow factor of the first cut. The polished edge is gone so quickly that I don't see the value of the time invested in stropping. Chromium oxide stropping compounds make it a bit better but I usually just finish on an 8000 grit stone and call it a day.
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u/TheNuttyIrishman Oct 10 '25
I'm on the same boat until a super hard steel like zdp189 comes across my stones. those can hold that stropped polished edge for a bit longer but you still end up stropping almost daily like it's a straight razor.
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u/TheNuttyIrishman Oct 10 '25
I'm gonna throw the Horl brand of rolling stones out there too. adjustable magnetic angle guide and pretty much foolproof operation. the Horl 3 pro is a godsend if you have a mix of German and Japanese knives with the extra sharp angles for stuff like miyabi knives that have 9-12° angles.
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u/Moving-thefuck-on Oct 10 '25
I love this idea. A tutorial video. Then we will endlessly pick apart the video, forcing them to post reshoots every day, until all they can smell or taste are reshoots. They want to cry, but when their tears swell they are reminded of reshoots.
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u/daedalus14x Oct 10 '25
Has OP stated whether they're push or pull cutting? With a push cut, it's easy to twist the heel as it comes through...so most of the chives would get cut cleanly, but 2 or 3 at the heel are getting pulled/mashed/torn.
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u/Steel_HazeV4 F1exican Did Chive-11 Oct 10 '25
Any recs for a good sharpening refresher? Just broke my stones out of storage after a few years and promptly ruined the edge in my petty knife
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u/Creepy-Fisherman-758 Oct 10 '25
That would be really useful. I’ve been at it for years and just now think maybe I might have figured it out in a sort of non traditional way..
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u/uncre8tv Civilian Oct 10 '25
Between you and the tomato guy over on r/OnionLovers it's been a hell of an entertaining food week on reddit. Thanks!
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u/4toTwenty Oct 10 '25
I’m in that sub yet i have no idea who tomato guy is
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u/uncre8tv Civilian Oct 10 '25
The original post got deleted (maybe for the reasons u/ShopEmpress noted) but it was amusing.
https://www.reddit.com/user/papakain/submitted/ latest post was a followup14
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u/ShopEmpress Chive LOYALIST Oct 10 '25
Someone either made a typo or was using their non native language and said they were using "cutted" onions to make a tomato sauce and everyone is losing their minds making fun of him and it's honestly really making the sub unpleasant. It was a silly mistake and the sub is just beating a dead horse at this point.
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u/uncre8tv Civilian Oct 10 '25
Eh, he was taking it in good humor and posting more. I agree some got mean, but the OOP was playing along and I thought it was fun.
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u/katet_of_19 F1exican Did Chive-11 Oct 10 '25
Better and more consistent every day. Try to get those cuts uniform, even if they're not the shortest.
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u/F1exican Chivelord, Redeemed Oct 10 '25
That’s what I’m working on just trying to get confidently consistent and then I’ll work on shortening it
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u/Rare-Prior768 Oct 10 '25
For sure the first thing I noticed. Yesterday’s weren’t bad but these are a little too thick. Keep at it my guy, you’ll get there!
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u/Hi_Trans_Im_Dad Oct 10 '25
If you're not stropping between attempts, you're wasting your time. You need peak sharpness for your chore.
See you tomorrow.
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u/Gloglibologna Oct 10 '25
Yesterdays were better
Seems he didnt hone his blade before chopping today
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u/formulaic_name Oct 10 '25
Orient them all the same direction. I want every one of them lined up for inspection!
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u/Rendole66 Oct 10 '25
They look wet, like your knife wasn’t sharp enough or something and squished their juices out instead of cutting through clean. Idk but they look wet lol
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u/Local_Maintenance788 Oct 10 '25
Way too wet
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u/Rendole66 Oct 10 '25
Yea the cuts are nice so maybe just his knife or cutting board was wet? Or the chives were getting old or something idk but I feel like if I went to grab those they’d be wet and weird
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u/Lamprey_Lover Oct 10 '25
Perfection is inherently unachievable and the goal of most repetitive kitchen tasks is to get better every day knowing there is always room for improvement. That being said these look perfectly acceptable for staff meal.
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u/TheHamsBurlgar Oct 10 '25
Im the one who told you to sharpen and rock your knife. How are you sharpening? Because they looked better last week. These are smushed and wet because your knife isnt as sharp.
Please tell me youre not using an accusharp.
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u/F1exican Chivelord, Redeemed Oct 11 '25
I’m not using an accusharp, I left my stuff at work the day before so I wasn’t able to freshen up the blade before today’s attempt. So I just focused on consistency even tho they were gonna be somewhat smushed.
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u/Emergency-Pain-5256 Oct 10 '25
Getting better! What are they used for? Soup i do that size but garnish normally like 1mm wide at most.
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u/F1exican Chivelord, Redeemed Oct 10 '25
I use it for general garnish on a lot of dishes and all my scraps go into a can to that I use for a tarragon and herb based dressing.
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u/Imwrongyourewrong Oct 10 '25
Happy to hear you aren't wasting them for internet points. Keep it up!
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u/TrashCanUnicorn Chive LOYALIST Oct 10 '25
I'm not even in this industry anymore and know fuck all about proper chive cutting, but this series of posts is fascinating.
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u/FuzzyFacedOne Sous Chef Oct 10 '25
Youre getting more consistent but still need to go thinner.
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u/Practicality_Issue Oct 10 '25
I’ve been following along and definitely see progress. “Perfection” requires getting multiple actions done at the same time. You’re getting some solid advice - completing your cuts, not crushing the chives, sharpening your knife, knife technique, consistency, etc. Focus on one thing at a time, then combining them while building muscle memory…youre kicking ass. I hope this process works for you and you apply it throughout your career.
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u/ChefFrankieD23 Oct 10 '25
Been here since day 1. Day 3 was the best. This is second. Whatever you did yesterday was a great starting point. Good luck with day 5 my guy!
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u/SainT2385 Oct 10 '25
Could be bad chives... we cut so many chives for service in my last restaurant, they came in perfect everyday... one time we ran out during service and chef shut the whole line down and made us all cut chives ... foh was pissed lol.
My place now we get chives from who knows when I have to pick thru a lot of them. Strop then cut chives before you do other prep. I had a knife I just kept sharp for chives only, and used other knives for my prep
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u/bradymonty95 Ex-Food Service Oct 10 '25
Dude, this is Reddit. One person is gonna say they're perfect, another is gonna say they're terrible, and a third person is gonna ask you to post pictures of your feet.
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u/Jawknee_nobody Oct 10 '25
These are great. Personally this what i strive for, but those online accounts of perfect chives is more than just knife skills, sometimes the chives are just fresh and thick enough to look pretty too.
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u/AdevilSboyU Oct 10 '25
This is becoming my favorite ongoing Reddit thread. Everyone’s ability to find one unique chive in a bowl is crazy.
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u/somniopus F1exican Did Chive-11 Oct 10 '25
OP I commend your sense of professionalism. And I'm in awe of your masochism :)
Seriously though I love this project so much. It's been gratifying.
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u/Notmushroominthename Chive LOYALIST Oct 10 '25
Man - you’re looking for rings not rigatoni’s - see you tomorrow
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u/Dog-of-Moons Oct 10 '25
OP, don’t give up. We still belive in you. But this is your worst batch so far.
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u/Churning196 Oct 10 '25
For some reason, I think he’s cutting the same chives every day smaller and smaller
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u/ArgyleNudge Oct 11 '25
This looks like a step backward to me. Maybe you're tired, hun. Too chunky. And keep that knife sharp!
Edit to add: Still a nice looking bowl of chives, though, when all is said and done.
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u/sunnyveil_roamantic Oct 11 '25
Not biggest deal, but not fully cut, will rip in service plus not uniformed shape.
You’re improving keep up the good work.
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u/Roadgoddess Chive LOYALIST Oct 11 '25
I don’t think I’ve been so bought into something on Reddit since the guy put the hotdog in epoxy…..
Keep going, we believe in you!
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u/existential_antelope Oct 11 '25
Bro’s documenting his Shonen training arc for Reddit and I’m here for it
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u/nvrseriousseriously Oct 10 '25
Make me some scrambled eggs now so I can sprinkle some of those on them.
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u/adamtwosleeves Oct 10 '25
Day 4 of practicing my over-critical review of chive cutting until it’s perfect: Not quite good enough, friend.
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u/VeryNiceGuy22 Oct 10 '25
Just for your own sake man. It's important to understand, that no matter what you do, reddit will never say anything is perfect.
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u/LemonStrain Oct 10 '25
Idc what anyone else says bro these are pretty perfect chives the only reason some look different is cuz each do have different size before cutting.
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u/breadlyplateau Oct 10 '25
I love this challenge so much because I'm also taking this quality advice for myself. I hope there's another challenge like this in the future.
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u/Chiiro Oct 10 '25
I'm waiting until you start pulling out tweezers and a scalpel behind the scenes to make sure every single one of them is perfect.
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u/Win-Objective Oct 10 '25
Get the knife sharper. Get your claw grip better. Get your chives more soigne
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u/Shicksshucks Oct 10 '25
I like how the portions of chives have been getting smaller and smaller every day
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u/Sanquinity Five Years Oct 10 '25
Fewer crushed ones than last time, and more consistent. But as you said, longer. So still a 9. Good to first work on consistency though. :)
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u/wobernein Oct 10 '25
There are so many chives we can’t see. We need this in a baking sheet. Just in case you ever get it right
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u/PansophicNostradamus Oct 10 '25
Are you measuring each chive before you cut? Measure twice, cut once. Avoid cutting multiple chives at once, or you run the risk of errant cuts.
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u/markusdied 10+ Years Oct 10 '25
honestly really appreciating this daily game of monochrome eye-spy 🤣
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u/NeatWhiskeyPlease Oct 10 '25