How To Pair Wines And Cheese
Wine and cheese is a match made in heaven. But pairing the two requires both art and science. Here are still some useful tips you need to consider when pairing...
https://www.chefspencil.com
How To’s
Our experts have been busy honing their skills to bring you an impressive feast of culinary techniques.
For those of you who are beginners – don’t despair! Our guides cater to everyone, from the experience chef, to the weekend foodie.
We have supplied some basic yet necessary tips, such as knife storage, egg freshness and how to poach an egg (which to be honest is a great refresher for any seasoned cook to go back to). This is wonderful information for you to have in your arsenal all throughout your culinary journey.
The skilled cooks out there will also gain a great deal from these articles as they all include high resolution images and detailed step by step instructions. Attention to detail has been made with you in mind.
After all, these resources are about skill. Our chefs are passing on tried and true techniques to make your life a little easier; to ensure that your feast is created without a hitch.
How to Organize Your Kitchen Cabinets Like a Chef
Chefs are busy individuals who always work on the basis that time is of the essence. To enable swift movement and ensure they are functional and efficient in the kitchen,...
Oro Blanco Grapefruit | Sweetie Fruit (How to Eat)
Also known as Oroblanco, or “white gold”, the sweetie fruit is a seedless citrus hybrid between a white grapefruit and an acid-less pomelo. The juicy result is round or oval...
How to Make Clarified Butter (Ghee)
Before learning how to clarify butter it’s helpful to understand what clarified butter really is. This will make the process as well as its uses much simpler to understand. What...
How To Cook With Banana Leaves
Throughout South East Asia and in many other tropical regions around the world, banana leaves are often used for cooking. Banana leaves are used to wrap marinated fish or meat,...
How to Cook White Asparagus
Spring, or more accurately May and June, is white asparagus season throughout Europe. I’m from Switzerland, but have been living abroad for 20+ years and I truly like asparagus sautéed or grilled,...
Tomato Powder Recipe
This is perhaps the simplest of recipes - just 1 ingredient. But, tomato dust or powder is a handy thing to have around the kitchen. I use it as simple...
How to Make Tomato Concassé (Explained by a Chef With Photos!)
The term concasser as defined by the Larousse Gastronomique (The Chef's bible) defines it as: "The French term for chopping or pounding a substance, either coarsely or finely. When skinned...
Peeling Pomelo (Suha Fruit)
Pomelo is one of my favorite fruits. Available throughout South East Asia, Pomelo is the largest citrus fruit, with a very thick green to yellow rind and yellow to pink...
Peeling and Deseeding Tomatoes
Ever wonder how they get the skins off the tomatoes you buy in cans? It's really quite a simple process. In this tip I'll show you exactly how and also...
Shucking Oysters (From the Front & Back)
Shuck em yourself and you'll know they're fresh. Shucking oysters is something every Chef has done at some stage. When I was initially taught we were always taught to go...
Chef Tip: How to Sharpen Knives
I'm sure you've heard it before, "a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one" well like most cliches it becomes a cliche because it is partly true. A...
Chef Tip: How to Keep Knives Sharp
One of the first things they teach in culinary school is how to look after your knives. There's good reason for that as well, without a nice edge on your...
How to Poach an Egg
You can't make eggs Benedict until you master the simple art of poaching. When I worked at a restaurant that specialised in breakfast I remember poaching over 400 eggs every...
How to Make Almond-Shaped Quenelles
Those beautiful almond shaped morsels of ice cream, mash potato, mousse, poached minced meats and purees you find so elegantly adorning your plate in that 5 star restaurant are called...
Chef Tip: How to Make the Perfect Cheeseboard
No party is complete without an artisanal cheese board. Luckily for home cooks, and thanks to the popularity of media outlets such as Food Network, the Internet, et al, there...
Guide to Dicing Vegetables (Carrots, Onions)
I remember when I was young, well before I was a Chef, watching cooking shows and being amazed at their knife skills. They could cut up an onion into perfect...
What is Deglazing & How to Deglaze a Pan
Putting the flavour into your food and not your kitchen drain. Deglazing is one of the easiest processes in the kitchen yet yields so much flavour. To deglaze a pan...
What is Crumbing? (French & Italian Crumbing Explained)
Used on everything from squid to cheese to schnitzel, coating foods with bread crumbs gives them a beautiful crispy coating when fried.
What Is Braising?
Definition: To slowly cook seared meats, vegetables, poultry or seafood's in their own or added juices in a sealed vessel in a low oven. Braising is a great technique for...
What is Blanching & How to Blanch Vegetables
Blanching essentially means to partially or fully cook foods in boiling water or stock. Items may be refreshed in ice water after being blanched or simply removed and served. Blanching...
How to Cook Artichokes
Artichokes are native to the Mediterranean countries and are widely used in the cuisines of southern Europe. They make a great addition to any salad or appetizer buffet. The edible...
How to Clean Mussels
A lot of people don't eat mussels at home. I think it may have something to do with the fact that they look so much different at the fish monger...
Dinner Party Checklist & Step-by-Step Planning Guide
Things to Consider when Planning a Dinner Party Most successful dinner parties are planned well in advance. By doing so you will not only relieve yourself of unnecessary stress but...