Took me 6 months to realize people slice onions wrong at my station

I swear every new cook I train attacks an onion like they're wrestling a bear. They go pole to pole and wonder why the slices are all wonky and half the pieces fall apart. Cut through the equator first so the root holds everything together, it's not that hard lol. My sous chef at The Gilded Spoon in Austin finally pulled me aside after service last Tuesday and said 'show them or send them home.' Anyone else deal with this or am I just cursed with bad luck?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrewt411mo ago

Man I've literally had to stand there and physically move people's hands to the right spot.

noahjenkins1mo ago

Did you ever read that piece from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt about this? He broke it down pretty good, talked about how the fibers run and why the equator cut just keeps everything stable. I tried it his way after reading that article and it changed how I prep for chili night at home, no joke. Your new cooks are probably just doing what they saw on some YouTube video or what their grandma did, takes a minute to unlearn bad habits. Stick with it though, once they get the hang of it they'll wonder why they ever did it the hard way.

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