Clean up Duties
Clean up Duties
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Lesson 3: Cutting Edge Age of learners: 12-14 years Time allotted: 2 hours
General Goal(s):
- This lesson teaches students the rules regarding knife responsibility, how to properly use a knife, and how to store the knife when not in use.
Specific Objectives:
- The students will demonstrate proper knife handling procedures through modeling the skill to other students.
- The students will demonstrate and practice knife safety skills (including chopping, dicing, and slicing) through modeling the skills to other students.
- The students will describe the importance of washing produce and demonstrate through washing fruits and vegetables.
Required Materials:
Instructor needs: Students need: groups of 3 Volunteers need:
First-aid kit Apron, hair net (1 per
student)
Prepare the couscous w/ vegetable stock according to package
Camera Cutting board (1 per group) 1 Large pot with lid
Classroom rules No skid shelf liner (1 per group)
Pot holders
Poster board Knife (1 per group) 1 Spatula
Markers Towel (1 per group) *Have the volunteers set up a
separate work station for
ingredients, the instructor and each group. Place a cutting board with a non-slip liner underneath. Place a recipe and rotate the clean up responsibility at each station. Also, have the volunteers place the student's materials needed for the lesson at each station. This exercise will be repeated for the entire program.
Recipe (1 per group) Colander (1 per group) Clean Up Responsibility (1 per
group)
Large bowl (1 per group)
Projector Spoon (1 per student)
Laptop computer Plastic spoons for tasting Kitchen Knives handout (1 per
student)
Tupperware (1 per student) Classroom snack (seasonal fruit or
vegetable) & drink
Teacher Preparation:
- Read about the different knives for discussion during the “Kitchen Knife” handout. Bring in examples of the knives for show and tell. If available, bring in a sharpening stone to demonstrate how to sharpen a knife as well as a steel (honing tool).
- Read about the nutritional qualities of the daily seasonal snack for discussion. For example, if you introduce pumpkin seeds, talk about how it boosts your immunity.
5 min. Anticipatory Set:
Show a short clip of proper knife handling: “Alton teaches the basics of safe knife use.”1
5 min. Step-By-Step Procedures:
1) Make sure the students take a bathroom break before the lesson begins.
2) SNACK: Bring seasonal fruit and water or juice. Briefly discuss the nutritional qualities of the snack.
3) Have a short discussion about the last lesson.
a) Fire extinguishing procedures: Did you tell your families about the Fire Department? Did you tell them how to properly extinguish a fire?
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b) Muffins: What did their families think? Did they like it? Did you try toasting the muffing and putting jelly on it?
c) Recipes: Did you try following a recipe at home? If so, what?
5 min. 4) Create classroom rules for knife use. For example, no swinging the knife around. If the knife is not in use, it is placed on the cutting board.
a) ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: split the students into groups. Have them develop rules and write the rules down on a piece of paper. Then share with the entire group. b) Create poster board with agreed upon rules. Post for each class.
5 min. 5) Show a short clip of proper knife storage: “Alton instructs on proper knife handling and care.”2
30 min. 6) HANDOUT: Kitchen Knives3
a) Tyler Florence describes what to look for in a good knife (short clip).4 b) Explain the importance of a sharp knife.
i) Demonstrate using a steel to align the steel fibers of the knife during cooking sessions.
c) ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: Bring all the knives listed on the handout. While discussing each of the knives functions, pass around an example of the knife being discussed. Don't forget to discuss knife passing etiquette (just like scissors). If able to, demonstrate how to sharpen a knife using a stone and how to hone a knife using a honing steel.
d) ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: Bring descriptions and pictures of the knives
discussed in class. Tape the description up on a board in the front of the classroom and have each student place the picture with the correct description.
10 min. 7) Kitchen demonstration: knife skills
a) Before demonstrating the knife skills, go over the importance of washing produce; food safety procedures.
b) Knife Skills: first general knife skills and then do the three methods: chop, dice, slice i) To hold your chef’s knife properly, grasp the handle with three fingers and put
your forefinger and thumb on opposite sides of the blade.
ii) With a rocking motion, keeping the tip of the knife on the chopping board, slice down through the vegetables at regular intervals, using the full length of the knife. iii) Use your other hand to feed the vegetables toward the knife. To do this safely,
curl your fingers in and use your fingertips to grasp and move the food.
iv) Optional: have the students demonstrate this technique with “air” knives, similar to “air” guitar.
v) Skills: model cutting all the vegetables used in the CousCous Salad recipe. (1) Chop parsley: To chop means to cut foods into pieces.
(a) This is a larger cut than dice or mince and generally does not need to be uniform. To chop vegetables, first trim the stem and peel if necessary. (2) Dice tomato: To dice means to cut into small cubes.
(3) Slice cucmber: To slice means to cut into thin flat pieces. Demonstrate how to seed the cucumber.
40 min. 8) Split the students into groups based on the number of knives and cutting boards (2-3 students per cutting board).
a) Have each group wash their fruits and vegetables for the recipe and bring back to their stations.
9) Have one student from each group model the techniques to the other group members. a) Repeat step 11 for chop, dice, and slice until each student has modeled all the skills. 10) Have each group make the recipe.
a) Taste food – mmmmm!
b) Split up to bring home and put in Tupperware. Remind students to bring back the Tupperware for the next class.
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Closure:
- What did you learn?
Chef Challenge:
- Go home and teach someone in your family how to properly use and store a knife, with parental supervision or permission.
Did you follow the session plan with discussion points? YES / NO Did you make any alterations to the session plan? YES / NO If yes, what were these?
Did each student model the skills to the other students using the proper knife technique?
Were there any problems with the session?
Do you have any further comments about the session?
1Good Eats (Food Network). (21 September, 2008). Alton teaches the basics of safe knife use. Podcast
retrieved from the Food Network:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_cg_knives/text/0,3100,FOOD_27636_53050,00.html
2Good Eats (Food Network). (21 September, 2008). Alton instructs on proper knife handling and care.
Podcast retrieved from the Food Network:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_cg_knives/text/0,3100,FOOD_27636_53050,00.html
3Wikipedia, the free encylopedia. (2008) Kitchen knife. Accessed: May 8, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_knife
4
Food 911 (Food Network). (21 September, 2008). Tyler describes what to look for in a good knife. Podcast retrieved from the Food Network: