There Will Be Blood

And burns, and scrapes, and more near-misses than you can imagine.  But every culinary student eventually cuts themselves.

It was a running joke in Basic Cuisine that I never cut myself.  In fact, one of my fellow students even scrawled “NO CUTS” on the sleeve of one of my jackets (that I’ve kept as a souvenir) while we all commiserated in a bar while waiting for our final exam results.  It took until Practical #6 of this term, but yesterday I drew first blood.

Somehow, I managed to slice the back of my right pinky finger. I didn’t even realize I had a cut right away.  I must have done it while cleaning up because I’m sure I would have noticed it while plating my dish.  It’s a nice match for the burn I still have on the heel of my hand from Practical #2.

A kitchen can be a very dangerous place if you don’t follow the rules.  While some home cooks can blissfully fry bacon while naked, a commercial kitchen is essentially a small and crowded industrial site full of slip-and-fall possibilities, trip hazards, screaming hot surfaces, deep fryers, water, natural gas, electrical equipment, countless sharp objects, and people going in every direction.

Some of the most important rules:

1. Keep your knives sharp.  It’s a myth that sharp knives are more dangerous.  Sharp knives are precise, dull knives catch on things and then slip.  If you don’t believe me, try dicing vegetables with a butter knife.
2. Keep the hot side hot and the cold side cold.  I know that sounds like the jingle from the long-since gone McDonald’s “McDLT” burger, but it’s important.  When you are working at the counter, the stove is behind you.  Keep hot things on the stove and don’t bring them over to the counter.  It’s good food safety practice anyway, and it will help keep you from grabbing a 400F pot handle with your bare hands. 
3. Let other people know where you are and what you are doing.  You always see chefs on TV shouting “BEHIND!” as they walk behind their colleagues.  This is not for TV – this is real.  Kitchens can be crowded and not everyone has a sink, garbage can, etc near their work area, so people have to move around.  Imagine a person whipping around to add some ingredient to a pot on the stove, just as someone walks six inches behind them.  Best case scenario is that it’s raining vegetables, worst case is someone goes face down on a hot flat-top.  Other important phrases?  “HOT POT COMING THROUGH” and “OPEN OVEN”.  And your kindergarten teacher was right – don’t run with scissors, and don’t wander around with a knife.  If you have to take a knife with you, make sure EVERYONE knows that a knife is on the move, and carry it safely, not only for you, but for everyone around you.

As for my wound, it could have been a lot worse.  One of the students in another class yesterday cut her hand very badly and had to go to the hospital to get patched up.  So I’ll wear my new “pinky ring” with a little pride, and as a reminder to keep safe.