Top 5 Important Kitchen Skills

Nobuo Fukuda

• Knife skills-including knife sharpening.

• Sous vide technique.

• Keeping kitchen equipment, tools, and practices sanitary.

• Proper temperature control when handling all meat, fish, and vegetables.

• How to select and procure quality ingredients.

Christopher Gross

• It's imperative for a chef to develop an extremely well-tuned palette.

• Get in the habit of tasting at every stage of the cooking process.

• A chef also has to be an expert with kitchen tools, knowledgeable about products and absolutely strict about maintaining the highest level of hygiene.

• In addition, a chef is something of a role model in the kitchen and must keep the atmosphere professional.

• And last, a successful chef will have the imagination and courage to explore, experiment and introduce new culinary feats to the world with complete confidence.

Kevin Binkley

• Working clean. You have to be impeccably clean all the time.

• Seasoning. How to use salt and acid (lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) to balance your food.

• Mis en place. How to be organized and have everything in its place.

• Emulsification. How to make unlike products (for example oil and water) become one.

• Precision. You must be precise and not compromise.

Chris Curtiss

• How to work clean in the kitchen. Cleaning as you go, learning proper food safety and sanitation.

• Good knife skills (You don't want to cut yourself every time you are in the kitchen).

• How to follow a recipe. (This will lead to confidence working with different ingredients and being able to improvise).

• Sense of urgency. (Set time guidelines for yourself to improve your speed).

• Most importantly, have fun and love what you are doing while in the kitchen!

Eddie Matney

The techniques I recommend are these:

• Become a great businessman. I know that this is not a kitchen technique, but you need to be a businessman first.

• Knife skills. You need to be able to break down proteins.

• Cleanliness.

• How to season your proteins well without over-salting.

• Finally, a great chef needs to have a "sixth sense" in his kitchen. You need to know what's happening without seeing it. Eyes in the back of your head.

Wade Moises

This is a tough one and I've changed my answer a number of times but:

• Tasting, seasoning, balance.

• Hand and knife skills.

• Cleaning and sanitation.

• Focus and attention to detail.

• Heat control.

Vincent Guerithault

• Baking.

• Knowing how to bone and trim meat.

• The proper way to cook fish.

• Knowing how to make vinaigrette.

• Knowing mise en place and being clean.

• Being able to work under a lot of pressure.

Michael O'Dowd

• Speed and organization.

• Ability to make the right decisions.

• 24-hour coaching on the tiles and off.

• Being a great motivator while being a creative trendsetter.

• Acute culinary business savvy.

By The Arizona Republic