Working as a chef in a busy kitchen can be a demanding and stressful role, a role in which can become even more stressful if you haven’t the foggiest what someone is talking about! Yes, sometimes it might seem that chefs have their own language, especially if they have been in the game for a while! So if you are just starting out or still haven’t quite got to grips with the culinary language, in this blog entry we list JUST SOME of the common cooking instructions that you might come across working in the catering industry.
Antipasti – Starters
Au Jus – commonly meat dishes with juice
Au Sec – reduce a liquid until almost dry
Baste – pour fat or juices over during cooking
Blanch – to cook food briefly in boiling water
Charcuterie – cooked and cured pork products
Concassse – to roughly chop
Dum – Indian steaming method
Entrée – the main course of a meal
Flambe – foods cooked with poured alcohol and ignition
Glace – iced or glazed
HACCP – Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
Infuse – to soak ingredients
Macerate – soften fruit by soaking in liquid
Marinate – putting meat or fish in a marinade
Napper – a light coating of sauce
Paner – to coat with breadcrumbs and egg
Reduce – to simmer something to concentrate its flavours and decrease the quantity
Saute- to cook in hot fat or oil quickly
