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May 5, 2015

Cooking is a lot easier when you know all the tips and tricks to make it so. We asked some of our 5pm chefs for their number one cooking tip. Get ready to take notes….

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John Quigley from Red Onion shares his tip

 

1. Sharp knife

John Quigley, Head Chef and Patron of Red Onion:

“Invest in a good quality sharp knife. It should last you a lifetime.”

2. Perfect poached egg

Andrew Doherty, Head Chef at Hutchesons Bar & Brasserie:

“For the perfect poached egg, the deeper the pan the better. Once water is at a very gentle simmer, add white wine vinegar and salt then crack in the egg from just above the water line.”

3. Perfect steak

John Molloy, Head Chef at The Butchershop Bar & Grill:

“For the perfect steak rest for at least half of the cooking time and always cut against the grain of the meat for the most tender results.”

4, 5 & 6 Perfect chicken supreme, dinner party & frying pan

Stephen Johnson, Head Chef at Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery:

“When roasting chicken supreme in the oven put chicken stock a quarter of the way  up the chicken. This helps keep the chicken moist and stops it from drying out but as the stock is only a quarter of the way up, the top of the chicken is still crispy.”

“If you’re having a dinner party, do as much prep as possible beforehand. Blanche the vegetables and make your sauce beforehand so all you need to do on the day is focus on the main and heat the veg and sauce up. I see so many people running around when they are cooking, trying to boil pans of water and make everything.”

“When you heat up a frying pan, don’t put any oil in it until just right before you cook. This means if you get distracted or need to answer the phone, there’s no chance of the pan catching fire or filling the kitchen with smoke.”

7. Perfect asparagus

Mattia Camorani, Executive Chef at Cucina in the G&V Royal Mile Hotel:

“When cooking asparagus, peel first, season with salt and pepper and olive oil then put in a vacuum packed bag and cook in boiling water. That means all the flavours are inside the asparagus and none in the water which makes it really flavoursome.”

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