Intro to Culinary Basics

The first class of “In the Kitchen Summer Series with Chef Cory” was recently held at Loma Linda University. The class taught students food safety, product selection, and a bit of knife skills. Chef Cory Gheen started the class with a PowerPoint on do’s and don’ts of storage, temperature, and all around cleanliness in the kitchen. For example, food-borne bacteria grows in temperatures of about 40 to 140°F which is called the danger zone. Chef Cory explained, “Usually we talk about a four hour window if you’re keeping your food in the danger zone. If you put back food in the refrigerator or freeze it in that four hour time limit, you’re fine. If it reaches a six hour mark, in professional kitchens, we usually don’t serve it.” The class then moved on to trying different produce from Chef Cory’s local producer, Washington Produce in Redlands, which also serve the public. During the produce presentation, Chef Cory introduced the class to an assortment of fruits and vegetables, then class went through one of every item in a local produce section of a grocery store. He explained the different types of fruits and vegetables thoroughly, talking about the different textures and tastes within each category. For example, students learned the different textures of potatoes, how they differ from sweet potatoes, and their different flavors. At the end of the lesson, although short on time, Chef Cory started on knife skills with the class, which seemed to be the part of the class all the students were anticipating. Chef Cory taught the class about different knives, how to sharpen knives and different cutting techniques, such as the Julienne and the Oblique cut. One student, Justine Campbell, a local nutritionist and owner of Alo Wellness in Redlands, said, “Learning the knife skills was really interesting because most people don’t know how to use a knife, how to cut different things and when you actually learn how to do it, it’s so valuable.” In conclusion, the two hour class allowed the students to learn about important concepts in food safety, different types of produce, and most importantly, how to properly handle a knife, all the while being in a fun environment with Chef Cory.