great observation bouland....
i too had basic knife skills as my first class in culinary school. besides learning the uses for various knives, we also were taught how to use a whetstone and a steel, and what they did to the knife. my experience was almost the same as yours capechef, only my knife roll was F. Dick brand and cost $75.
i would think most culinary school grads had similar experiences.
the problem with many of these T.V. chefs, though, is not that they don't know how to use a knife...but that they're out of practice. by the time you get to t.v., you've been schmoozing people, writing and costing recipes and cookbooks, doing appearances, and expediting (when you're actually at your restaurant) for so long that doing a brunoise is pretty far from your daily routine.
so when they actually have a knife in their hands on t.v., these guys are like "what's this?" like a new dad holding his infant. put a cell phone or a palm pilot in their hands and they'll probably seem more in their element.
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eddie |