The old chef I worked under said my knife grip was garbage

I spent 8 years holding my chef's knife with my index finger on the spine. Figured it gave me more control. Then this 62 year old line cook at a diner in Cleveland pulled me aside and said I was losing leverage and speed. Had me switch to a full pinch grip on the blade right there over the cutting board. Took me about 2 weeks of focused practice to retrain my hand but now my dicing is way faster and my knuckles don't ache after a 12 hour shift. Any other cooks out there holding their knife wrong for years before someone called them out?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker54322d agoMost Upvoted

Pinch grip changed everything for me too. Thought I had it figured out for years until someone showed me the light. Old habits die hard but the speed gain is real.

parker_patel8422d ago

Used to swear by putting my finger on the spine too, figured it was just a comfort thing. Then a buddy showed me the pinch grip and after a week of feeling clumsy I realized I was just making things harder for myself the whole time.