I really enjoyed our first day of lecture in Fish ID. Chef Viverito has a completely split personality. As soon as he moves from the kitchen to the classroom he becomes more friendly, relaxed and funny. Within minutes of beginning lecture he discussed the importance of critical thinking. After hearing the words critical thinking three times, once in each of my kitchen classes, I have begun to realize its importance.
We first touched on critical thinking in Culinary Fundamentals. We really discussed the difference between common sense and critical thinking. Chef DiPerri talked about they were exactly the same thing. I think the discussion originally came up when someone in class used a 1 gallon pot to make 1 quart of soup. He talked about how we had to think for ourselves and the importance of critical thinking or common sense in the industry.
When we entered meat class, it wasn't until the very end of the class that we began to talk about common sense. Chef Elia was talking about how it was crucial that when we make purchases for meat that we think about what we are doing. Why would it make sense to pay more for portion cut steaks? He said we could just spend the time to learn how to do it and then save a lot of money.
And now fish class. There really wasn't a reason why we started talking about it. Chef just decided to include it in his lectures. I thought that this was fascinating because each chef had managed to touch on this topic at least once in the course.
I feel like critical thinking is something that people can't learn. You can teach someone why it doesn't make sense to peel the carrots before you cut them. Critical thinking says, because I have to peel the carrots before I cut them, I should also peel the potatoes before I cut them. No amount of schooling or money can make someone develop critical thinking. Each person takes their own route when learning things. Some learn quicker than others and more often than not, people that can use common sense learn quicker.
I am certain that when we I begin working in production kitchens in the next two weeks that I will be hearing a lot about making smart choices. Using common sense or critical thinking in the kitchen drastically separates the skilled chefs from the amateurs. Now, I am by no means a professional but I feel that my ability to think quickly and critically places me in the top portion of our class.
We first touched on critical thinking in Culinary Fundamentals. We really discussed the difference between common sense and critical thinking. Chef DiPerri talked about they were exactly the same thing. I think the discussion originally came up when someone in class used a 1 gallon pot to make 1 quart of soup. He talked about how we had to think for ourselves and the importance of critical thinking or common sense in the industry.
When we entered meat class, it wasn't until the very end of the class that we began to talk about common sense. Chef Elia was talking about how it was crucial that when we make purchases for meat that we think about what we are doing. Why would it make sense to pay more for portion cut steaks? He said we could just spend the time to learn how to do it and then save a lot of money.
And now fish class. There really wasn't a reason why we started talking about it. Chef just decided to include it in his lectures. I thought that this was fascinating because each chef had managed to touch on this topic at least once in the course.
I feel like critical thinking is something that people can't learn. You can teach someone why it doesn't make sense to peel the carrots before you cut them. Critical thinking says, because I have to peel the carrots before I cut them, I should also peel the potatoes before I cut them. No amount of schooling or money can make someone develop critical thinking. Each person takes their own route when learning things. Some learn quicker than others and more often than not, people that can use common sense learn quicker.
I am certain that when we I begin working in production kitchens in the next two weeks that I will be hearing a lot about making smart choices. Using common sense or critical thinking in the kitchen drastically separates the skilled chefs from the amateurs. Now, I am by no means a professional but I feel that my ability to think quickly and critically places me in the top portion of our class.