Santosh International Hotelier and Trainer. View all articles | Contact author

Cooking Basics

·        All containers cleaned daily

·        All food items kept iced down and/or refrigerated and properly covered

·        All fried items done so at 375 degrees and drained of excess grease

·        Station set up with proper utensils, i.e. spoons, ladles whips, tongs, etc.

·        Station set up with proper dishes for service, i.e., goosenecks, side dishes, plates, bowls, ramekins, etc.

·        Cook has proper knives for job required, i.e., paring knife, French knife, serrated knife, slicer, peeler. (Kept sharp and in good condition)

·        Roasted meats kept under heat lamp.

·        All vegetables finished ala minute.

·        All fish/meat/chicken cooked according to specifications.

·        All hot items handled carefully and with clean, dry rag.

·        Clean cutting board on station, change frequently.

·        Cook observes proper sanitation procedures.

·        All food properly seasoned.

·        All food tasted before serving.

·        All sauces, soups, relishes, purees, stirred before serving.

·        All plates wiped before serving.

·        Sauté items to be done in hot pan with little oil.

·        All garnishes, i.e., parsley, and watercress, to be kept in water.

·        Cook to carry all hotel recipes at his disposal.

·        Pizza dough fresh every shift.

·        Coolers should be cleaned and wiped out daily.

·        Whipped cream should be fresh and of good quality before serving.

·        Fresh mixed greens, romaine and iceberg lettuce prepared daily.

·        All lettuce must be washed, stored in correctly drained equipment and covered with wet towels to maintain freshness.

·        All mise en place must be stored and rotated.

·        Tuna for tuna salad must be washed and thoroughly drained before crumbling and preparing the final salad. Must be creamy and well seasoned.

·        Fresh croutons must be made daily for Caesar salad. 

·        All dressing must be stirred with ladles before adding to salad.

·        All lettuces must be crispy, chilled and dry before making a salad.

·        All salads must be in correct proportions and of sufficient height for eye appeal.

·        At end of service, remaining mise en place must be store bin a correctly sized, stainless steel or plastic container covered and stored neatly on the preparation cart.

·        Before leaving, the line must be wiped down.

·        Collect equipment.  Evaluate mice en place to ensure adequate supply and of high standard of freshness.

·        Pre-heat grill.

·        Ensure oil is change in deep dryer every alternate day.

·        Fries are blanched at 325 degrees where they then are placed in a container with wine rack so oil may drain.

·        Fries are blanched at 325 degrees during service.

·        Frier foods need to be placed on kitchen cloths lined with absorbent paper to absorb oil.

·        Grilled meats/fish need to be turned over after making once and then turned appropriately to ensure even cooking and eye appealing grill marks.

·        Au jus, demi and other sauces need to be passed through chinois properly seasoned and kept warm in bain marie.

·        Hot food served on hot plates.

·        Sufficient dressing mixed thoroughly in salads. Must have height and eye appeal.

·        Mise en place should be fresh correctly rotated and stored.

·        Brichermuesli is creamy and light when served, not runny and dry.

·        Strawberries freshly cut each morning.

·        Berry portions are of correct proportions.  Sufficient moist brown sugar to accompany if requested.

·        Dressings, when taken from main cooler, should be stirred before placed in bottle.  Likewise, dressing bottles should be shaken before placing in a salad.

·        Deep fried onion rings should be crispy, even golden color and cooked to order. They should be well drained on a kitchen cloth covered with absorbent.

·        Chilled salads should be served in cold bowls and should be of correct proportions and adequate height.

·        Desserts and accompanying garnishes/sauces/coulis should be fresh daily.

·        Whipped cream in pastry bag needs to be stiff.

·        Mint leaves for garnish should be fresh and kept in ice water to maintain freshness.

·        Grilled chicken should not be dry.

·        Dough should not be over handled and should be stretched by hand slightly.  Use flour and cornmeal along with parchment paper to stack rolled dough.

·        Pizza sauce well drained.

·        All pizzas should be brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with chives.

·        All pizzas cut into 4 pieces unless otherwise ordered.

·        When grilling items, herb butter is used for basting and salt & pepper must be used for seasoning.

·        Tuna should be cooked medium rare.

·        Chips for sandwiches and burgers must be well seasoned and crisp and without blemishes,

·        Peeled avocados should be stored in lemon water to prevent discoloration.

·        Re-grilled items should be laid out single layer and not stacked on top of one another to prevent steaming.

·        Vegetables should be blanched in briskly boiling; salted water and "shocked" in ice cold water.

·        Recipes must be followed explicitly when making dressings.

·        Fried foods should not be covered to prevent steaming or coating.

·        Pre-heat grill, have one side hotter for hash browns that the other for pancakes.

·        Always pre-heat pans before placing eggs or garnish in them.

·        Use minimal amount of butter / oil.

·        Hollandaise is rich with butter, well seasoned and kept warm.

·        Hash browns evenly browned, crispy well seasoned and garnished with chopped parsley, not too course.

·        Scrambled eggs are served moist and fluffy not dry and over cooked.

·        Omelets should be rolled and moist.  Not folded or cracked.  Color should be blonde.

·        Mint parsley fresh, green and stored in ice water.

·        Oatmeal cooked and not too thick.  Also at correct serving temperature.

·        Sausages and bacon should not be over pre-cooked.

·        Duck confit hash should be evenly browned, seasoned with salt and pepper and finished with chopped parsley.

·        Poach eggs should not b hard unless specifically requested.

·        Pre-poached eggs should be re-heated in just water.

·        French toast should be cooked and not soggy.

·        Pancakes should rise & cook correctly due to fresh mixture and correctly maintained grill temperature.

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