75 Kitchen Hacks from Professional Chefs
Two chefs with 25 years combined experience share 75 practical shortcuts and techniques used in professional kitchens, covering prep work, cooking methods, plating, and problem-solving for both home and professional cooks.
Prep & Ingredient Handling
Stabilize Your Bowl When Making Mayonnaise
Place a damp cloth under your bowl to prevent it from sliding around while whisking, eliminating spills and ensuring consistent texture.
Prevent Mince From Sticking to Your Hands
Dip your hands in water before handling sticky mince, glucose, or dough to prevent sticking and allow easy shaping without mess.
Season Steaks With Fine Salt, Not Flaky
Lay a bed of fine salt on the pan and place your steak directly into it on both sides to create an even, supercharged Maillard crust. Flaky salt limits contact with the pan and inhibits crust formation.
Zest Lemons Top to Bottom to Avoid Bitterness
Zest from top to bottom rather than randomly to ensure even zesting and avoid exposing the bitter pith, resulting in pure lemon flavor.
Peel Garlic Faster With Hot Water Soak
Soak garlic bulbs in hot water for at least 25 minutes to soften the skin, making peeling dramatically easier and faster than traditional methods.
Freeze Ginger Before Grating to Eliminate Fibers
Freezing ginger turns its high water content into ice particles that weaken the fibers, causing them to snap off cleanly instead of tearing and clogging your grater.
Microwave Pickles for Instant Results
Microwave cucumbers with pickling liquor for a couple of minutes on full power to speed up the pickling process; they'll develop full flavor and color within hours in the fridge.
Peel Tomatoes With a Blowtorch Instead of Blanching
Blowtorch the tomato skin to remove it in seconds without cooking the flesh, keeping the tomato cold and intact unlike the traditional blanch-and-ice method.
Clean Tin Foil by Balling and Brushing
Ball up used tin foil and lightly brush it over a new sheet to lift and remove the crinkled layers, leaving one clean, flat sheet ready to use.
Deseed Peppers Cleanly and Quickly
Top and tail the pepper, make one slit, release the first side, then cut just above the membrane to open and remove all seeds without mess.
Peel Carrots on a Raised Surface for Michelin-Quality Results
Elevate your carrot on a container while peeling, overlap each peel on the previous one to avoid harsh lines, then use a clean scar to smooth nooks for a restaurant-quality finish.
Keep Chives Perfectly Uniform by Wrapping in Damp Towel
Wrap chives tightly in a damp kitchen towel to hold them in place while cutting, ensuring perfectly fine, uniform pieces every time.
Keep Herbs Fresh 50% Longer With Wet Towel Wrapping
Wrap fresh herbs in absorbent towel or cloth secured with an elastic band, then lightly dampen the surface and refrigerate to extend freshness significantly.
Crack Eggs on Flat Surface to Avoid Shell Fragments
Crack eggs on a flat surface instead of a bowl edge to prevent shell from entering the egg; you can crack 10 times faster without shell fragments.
Rinse Raw Onions to Remove Harsh Sulfur Compounds
Rinse cut raw onions under cold running water to wash away aggressive sulfur compounds, leaving a clean, beautiful onion flavor.
Preserve Berries With Vinegar-Water Rinse
Rinse berries in a 1:4 vinegar-to-water solution to kill mold spores naturally present on the fruit, extending shelf life by a week without affecting taste.
Remove Lumps From Sugar in the Microwave
Microwave lumpy sugar to remove moisture and restore it to smooth, lump-free texture.
Purge Clams With 3% Saline Solution
Create a 3% salt saline solution to soak clams for 1.5 to 2 hours in the fridge; the salt makes them feel at home and they expel all grit and sand.
Freeze Thyme to Strip Leaves Instantly
Freeze thyme sprigs, then twist them back and forth in your hands to make the leaves brittle and fly off instantly, saving time when processing large quantities.
Fillet Salmon by Creating a Grip Point
Make a small incision down to the skin or punch a small hole to create a holding point, giving you grip and stability to prevent the slippery fish from sliding.
Cooking Techniques & Heat Management
Bake Eggs in Trays for Consistent Fried Eggs
Crack eggs into an oiled tray and bake at 160°C for 2.5 minutes with a small pan of water for humidity to achieve perfectly consistent fried eggs with molten yolks.
Make Béchamel Smooth by Heating Milk First
Heat milk to roughly the same temperature as your roux before whisking together to prevent lumps; this cuts cooking time in half and produces a completely smooth sauce.
Remove Prawn Poop Shoot With a Toothpick
Use a toothpick inserted into the prawn to gently pull out the digestive tract, keeping the prawn whole and undamaged in its shell.
Slice Tarts With a Hot Knife for Clean Edges
Warm your knife in hot water or with a blowtorch before each slice; the heat prevents the knife from sticking and produces clean, neat slices.
Poach Eggs Perfectly by Sieving Egg Whites First
Sieve raw eggs to remove the thin, feathery albumen before poaching in barely simmering water; this eliminates feathery bits and produces a perfect poached egg without vinegar.
Make Mayo in Record Time With Stick Blender
Crack egg and mustard into a bowl, add salt, then pour in all the oil at once and use a stick blender on the base, raising it slowly as emulsification happens for super-fast, silky mayo.
Prevent Fish Skin From Sticking With Mayonnaise
Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the fish skin or flesh to create an egg-and-oil barrier between the fish and cooking surface, improving browning and preventing sticking.
Skim Stock With Ice-Filled Ladle
Fill a ladle with ice and lower it into stock, moving it in circles just above the surface; fat cools and solidifies on the ladle, allowing you to remove fat without losing stock.
Caramelize Onions Faster by Adding Water
Add a small amount of water to onions while cooking to create steam and speed breakdown; add salt to draw out moisture. Reduces cooking time from 40 minutes to about 20 minutes.
Rest Meat in Butter Paper, Not Foil
Use butter paper or baking parchment to rest meat instead of foil; the matte finish doesn't reflect heat, preventing carryover cooking and gray interiors.
Finish Sauces With Acid, Not During Cooking
Add acidic ingredients like vinegar at the very end of sauce preparation rather than early; this preserves brightness and freshness instead of cooking off the acidity.
Reduce Oil Temperature by Adding Room-Temperature Oil
When oil is too hot, carefully add neutral oil at room temperature and wait a minute or two to bring the temperature down to desired level.
Microwave Onions for Even Cooking
Place onion cut-side down on a plate and microwave until soft to the touch; this cooks from the inside out, preventing the outside from becoming mushy before the inside cooks.
Score Pork Belly and Duck Skin With Stanley Knife
Use a Stanley knife to score skin instead of a regular knife; you can control depth precisely to cut only the skin without piercing the meat, ensuring juices stay in.
Dry Fish Skin in Fridge for Extra Crispiness
Leave fish uncovered in the fridge for 6 hours before cooking to dry the skin; this produces noticeably crispier, more beautiful results than fresh fish.
Temper Steaks Before Cooking for Better Results
Leave steaks at room temperature for 35-45 minutes before cooking; the fat softens, rendering faster for better crust, and the meat cooks more evenly and quickly.
Bake Bread With Ice for Steam and Crust
Place ice on a tray at the bottom of the oven instead of water; ice creates slower, more controlled steam that improves oven spring, coloring, and crust development.
Add Bicarb to Chicken Brine for Deeper Browning
Add 6g of bicarb per 450g of meat to a wet brine; bicarb raises pH on the chicken skin surface, enabling a much quicker and deeper Maillard reaction.
Use Sparkling Water When Monting Butter Into Sauce
When a sauce is close to splitting, add sparkling water instead of plain water; the bubbles help disperse fat droplets and create a lighter, more stable sauce.
Blanch and Chill Vegetables on Steamer Tray Over Ice
Place a steamer tray over ice in a crate of water; blanch vegetables directly in the tray and they cool instantly, keeping color locked in and allowing easy drainage.
Use Timers to Track Multiple Proteins During Service
Label timers with different proteins to track cooking and resting times; this system prevents mistakes and ensures consistent doneness across all dishes.
Carving & Plating
Carve Meat Against the Grain for Tenderness
Identify the direction of muscle fibers and slice perpendicular to them; this breaks up the fibers and produces noticeably more tender meat than slicing with the grain.
Clean Lamb Racks With String for Perfect Bones
Cut down each side of the bone, wrap string around the base, place lamb on board edge, and pull; this removes meat and fat in half the time compared to scraping.
Reduce Stock Fat Overnight in Fridge
Refrigerate stock overnight to solidify fat on top, then remove it easily; reserve the fat for future stock and use a skimmer to remove remaining bits before reheating.
Scoop Ice Cream With Warm Spoon and Confident Motion
Warm your spoon and use one confident, carving motion to scoop ice cream cleanly without it sticking to the spoon.
Even Out Chicken Breast Shape by Repositioning Fillet
Remove the fillet from the chicken breast, trim sinewy bits, reposition it at the tail end, then wrap tightly in cling film and roll to create an even, balanced shape.
Cut Cherry Tomatoes Perfectly Between Two Lids
Place tomatoes on one lid in a single layer, place another lid upside down on top, and use a serrated knife to cut all tomatoes in half at once.
Reshape Warm Cookies With Ring Cutter
Place a ring cutter around warm cookies right out of the oven and swivel to reset the shape before they set, creating perfectly round, uniform cookies.
Cut Lime Widthwise to Maximize Juice
Hold the lime from top to bottom and cut widthwise instead of in half; this opens the structure and segments, releasing significantly more juice.
Dice Beef Fillet Perfectly by Semi-Freezing
Semi-freeze beef fillet (not fully frozen) to give it just enough firmness for precise, uniform dicing without stretching or wastage.
Blanch Beans and Reheat Gently for Service
Blanch beans ahead to lock in color and cook them completely, then gently reheat with salt, pepper, and butter emulsion for quick service without overcooking.
Sauces & Emulsions
Save Split Mayonnaise With Fresh Egg Yolk
When mayo splits, crack a fresh egg into a clean bowl, add salt, then gradually add the split mixture while whisking to re-emulsify into thick, glossy mayo.
Monter Butter Into Sauce With Ice-Cold Butter
Keep cubed butter in ice water at perfect temperature; slowly dissolve it into warm sauce using circular motion; the cold butter's layers disperse gradually for glossy, emulsified results.
Clarify Butter in the Microwave in Under 3 Minutes
Microwave butter for 20 seconds per block; milk solids collect at the bottom and butter rises to the top, ready to pour off cleanly.
Reduce Stock Fat by Removing Peeled Potato
Drop a peeled potato into over-salted stock or sauce; the potato absorbs salt as it cooks, reducing saltiness without affecting quality. Remove before it disintegrates.
Make Garlic Oil for Quick Service
Blend peeled garlic with oil, add lemon juice to prevent browning, top with oil, and store in fridge; spoon out tablespoons of ready-to-use garlic oil whenever needed.
Make Green Herb Oil From Old Herbs
Blend old herbs with double the amount of oil at 70-80°C until dark green, then pour through absorbent paper to separate oil from pulp, creating a vibrant herb oil for dressing.
Baking & Pastry
Shape Cookie Dough in Parchment for Uniform Cookies
Use parchment to shape cookie dough into a perfect log, freeze it, then cut into even pieces; bake and reshape warm cookies with a ring cutter for perfectly uniform results.
Make Shortcrust With Frozen Butter and Flour
Freeze both flour and butter for an hour before starting; grate frozen butter directly into cold flour to create flaky pastry without melting butter or overworking dough.
Cut Multiple Parchment Sheets the Same Size
Fold one sheet to the desired size, then fold and copy that exact length repeatedly; cut all sides at once to produce multiple sheets of uniform size.
Make Piping Bag From Parchment Paper
Fold a triangle of parchment with a straight edge, fold it on itself while shaping with your fingers, then lock by folding in the end; add a small opening to pipe.
Fill Piping Bags Cleanly Using Your Hand
Open the piping bag all the way down and use your hand to hold it in place while filling; use your hand as a scraper to keep the outside clean.
Secure Piping Bag With Scissors and Tie
Make a small cut on the top of a filled piping bag to create two sides, then tie them together for a secure, safe piping bag during service.
Use Pastry Chef's Scraper to Push Cream Up Piping Bag
Keep a small scraper in your back pocket to push cream up the piping bag during service, keeping the process cleaner and more efficient.
Make Perfect Cartouche From Parchment
Fold parchment in half repeatedly until it becomes a triangle, place over pan with tip at center, cut a small air hole, then unfold to create a perfect-fitting lid for any pan.
Make Croutons From Semi-Frozen Bread
Semi-freeze old bread and slice thinly; bake between two trays for 15 minutes to create perfect croutons without the tearing and stickiness of fresh bread.
Wet Your Hands and Use Flour When Folding Bread Dough
Keep a bowl of water and a bowl of flour nearby while folding dough; wet hands prevent sticking and flour rubs off big dough pieces, making cleanup easier.
Frying & Crispy Finishes
Add Oil to Batter for Crispier, Puffier Wings
Adding a touch of oil to batter disrupts its structure, causing it to puff more during frying and creating a much lighter, crispier coating with intricate bubble patterns.
Make Crispy Sweet Potato Fries With Flour Mix and Vinegar
Use a 1:1 ratio of corn flour, rice flour, and plain flour; add vinegar and water in 1:1 ratio to prevent the high sugar content from burning, creating crispy outside and tender inside.
Open Tin Foil Cleanly by Balling and Brushing
Ball up used tin foil and lightly brush it over a new sheet to lift crinkled layers, leaving one clean, flat sheet ready to use.
Kitchen Setup & Organization
Stabilize Cutting Board With Rubber Seal or Slip Mat
Use a slip mat under your cutting board to prevent sliding; at home, remove the rubber seal from a Kilner jar and place it under the board for the same effect.
Open Multiple Cans Quickly With Spoon Loop
Loop the spoon handle through the can opener and pull back to open cans rapidly with minimal stress on your hands.
Fill Small Bottles Efficiently Without Funnel or Piping Bag
Suck air out of a small bottle, place just the top inside the liquid, tap to the bottom, repeat once, then cap; this avoids wastage and mess.
Keep Salad Leaves Cold on Steamer Tray Over Ice
Place a steamer tray over ice in a crate of water; salad leaves stay cold and fresh for service, and you can easily drain by lifting the tray.
Garnish & Finishing Touches
Bottle Sauce Using Vortex Hack
Hold a bottle by the bottom and twirl it around to create a vortex, allowing sauce to flow in smoothly without air bubbles.
Use Julienne Peeler Instead of Mandoline for Safety
Use a julienne peeler instead of a mandoline on fine setting; it's safer, easier, and produces perfect thin slices that can be finely chopped for petty brunoise.
Pickle Microwave-Cooked Onions for Garnish
Microwave onion cut-side down until soft, peel off layers, place in jar, submerge in pickling liquid, and refrigerate for a perfect garnish.
Notable quotes
We use a system of timers. These timers, which are labeled with all my different proteins, tell me how long things have to rest. — Chef
Tempering is the secret weapon of the grill chef. — Chef
The potato trick always works. — Chef
Action items
- Try stabilizing your mixing bowl with a damp cloth when making mayonnaise or whipping ingredients
- Dip your hands in water before handling mince, dough, or glucose to prevent sticking
- Use fine salt instead of flaky salt when seasoning steaks for a superior crust
- Soak garlic in hot water for 25 minutes before peeling to save time
- Freeze ginger before grating to eliminate fibrous strands
- Blanch and blowtorch tomatoes instead of traditional blanching for better results
- Temper steaks at room temperature for 35-45 minutes before cooking for better crust and even cooking
- Use a stick blender to make mayonnaise in record time by adding all oil at once
- Dry fish skin in the fridge for 6 hours before cooking for extra crispiness
- Add water to onions while caramelizing to cut cooking time in half
- Use ice instead of water in the oven when baking bread for better steam and crust
- Wrap fresh herbs in damp cloth and refrigerate to extend shelf life by 50%
- Freeze thyme sprigs and twist to instantly strip leaves
- Use a warm knife to slice tarts and cakes cleanly without sticking
- Preserve berries by rinsing in 1:4 vinegar-to-water solution for one week extra shelf life
- Shape cookie dough in parchment, freeze, cut, and reshape warm cookies with a ring cutter for uniformity
- Make shortcrust pastry with frozen butter and flour to prevent melting and overworking
- Use a mandoline peeler or julienne peeler instead of a mandoline for safer, easier slicing
- Crack eggs on a flat surface instead of a bowl edge to avoid shell fragments
- Temper meat at room temperature before cooking for better results