Professor: “I have heard you mention ‘Mise en place’ several times. How exactly does it relate to cooking?” Chef Alex: “The French culinary term ‘mise en place’ is, or should be, known and understood by every chef. It means “setting in place,” or “everything in its place,” and is similar to the old scout motto…

There are many variables to consider in the debate about using recipes or not. For this discussion, we will pretend all recipes are good, well-written, and tested. I surveyed professional chefs and home cooks new to cooking about the importance of using recipes or not. As expected, seasoned Pro-Chef was less likely to use recipes…

Professor: “What is a standard recipe?” Chef Alex: “A standardized recipe is a set of written instructions used to consistently prepare a known quantity and quality of a dish. Professor: “Who uses standardized recipes?” Chef Alex: “Food manufacturers, institutions, caterers, and chain restaurants all use standardized recipes. It is an important process to ensure consistent…

Professor: “Why do you want me to test a recipe?” Chef Alex: “A chef called me the other day. He is being interviewed by a local paper next week. They asked him for a couple of original recipes to be published, one of which must be a winter dessert. He didn’t have any original dessert…

Professor: “I’m struggling with measurements; that is the hardest part of a recipe.” Chef Alex: “Using measurements in recipes is crucial to ensure accuracy and produce food of high quality. It also provides consistent results so that the recipe will turn out the same way every time it is made. Professor: “I think that all…

Recipe Testing Sheet       Date Recipe Title:   Ingredients Qty Unit Direction                                                                                  …

Professor: “I’m new to cooking and using recipes, but I have already had several dishes that didn’t come out as I had hoped. Is there any way to fix or correct a recipe?” Chef Alex: “No matter how experienced you are in the kitchen, mistakes happen. In a kitchen, it can be catastrophic to the…

Professor: “One thing is to write down an existing recipe, but how do you create one from scratch?” Chef Alex: “Several years ago, a woman submitted a recipe to one of the leading food magazines and wrote: “Here is a recipe that my husband, the doctor, invented one weekend at our summer home.” The recipe was easily…

                                                                                                                         Recipe Writing Basics Professor: “Do you have a formula or template for writing a recipe?” Chef Alex: “Writing a recipe uses the same recipe structure we talked about in ‘How to read a recipe’” Professor: “I know you have written hundreds of recipes for others, but do you also write for yourself?” Chef…

A well written recipe should be easily understood, but some recipes sometimes use words and terminology not understood by all. Learning a few cooking terms, you might encounter can make the difference between a failed or successful outcome. If the instruction to a recipe says: “Sauté the blanched, julienne carrots.” It is helpful to know…