Our friend, the Master Chef
With only a few hundred Certified Master Chefs (CMC) in the world, it’s not too often non-culinary types like me have the chance to chat with one of these rare gems let alone be so fortunate as to work with one on a regular basis.
Call me a lucky girl.
Among the folks on CUTCO’s Culinary Advisory Board is Fritz Sonnenschmidt CMC, former dean of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. And, after years of trying to make it happen, Chef Fritz and his wife, Debbie, made the trip out here to Olean, NY, to visit CUTCO’s corporate headquarters and factory.
We’ve been working with Chef Fritz for years – decades, even. For years he’s been helping us with our sponsorship of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival and, most recently, he accompanied us to the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference in New York.
We love Chef Fritz and he’s one of our biggest fans! Welcome to our mutual-admiration society.
Each time I spend time with him or watch one of his demos, I pick up something new. How can I not?
Did you know you can sharpen a straight-edge knife on the rough bottom of a porcelain dish? Neither did I. Or, that for more flavorful shrimp, store it in the refrigerator in the water you poached it in before preparing it.
But this one’s my favorite: Can’t find your measuring spoons? No problem. You were born with all the measuring tools you need – your hands. A pinch with two fingers and your thumb is simply a pinch but with three fingers and your thumb, it's a third of a teaspoon. Cup your hand and fill the small recess of your hand evenly with salt and you've got yourself a teaspoon. Overfill that little recess and now it's a tablespoon. Neat!
Certainly these aren’t the only tips I managed to pick up in our years together, they’re just the ones that really made an impact on me. I haven’t tried them yet. If you do, be sure to let me know how it worked out for you.