Kitchen Fundamentals

Gr 6 Up—Professional chef Dave Christopherson explains and demonstrates a variety of cooking techniques. He is never condescending to his audience, and even jokes while imparting a great deal of information. The program is divided into two parts: "Common Tools & Terms" and "Cooking Basics." The first segment covers proper hand-washing techniques, knives, and basic knife usage while slicing and dicing vegetables and melons. Part two focuses on grating, measuring, sifting, whipping, sautéing, pan searing, and more, and several recipes are prepared. The chef makes meatloaf, pizza crust, braised beef, and mashed potatoes using all the techniques, tools, and chopped vegetables he previously demonstrated. Each new cooking term or technique is flashed at the bottom of the screen with a definition. Outlines of terms and/or techniques are shown at the side after several have been identified, making it a handy time to stop and review with students before they are overwhelmed by all the information. There are many good safety measures mentioned and used throughout. Even if students know the basics of cooking, they will learn a lot from this program, especially if it is used in two separate lessons.—Anita Lawson, Otsego High School, Otsego, MI