Cutlery Safety: How to Keep Your Kitchen Pros From Becoming a Bunch of Cutups

Seasoned chefs and cooks are typically experts on cutlery, and could teach you a thing or two on how to handle a knife and use it as an effective kitchen prep tool. Still, as a startup restaurateur, it pays to understand all the gear and techniques employed by your kitchen staff, particularly since the buck stops with you when it comes to their health and safety.

Cuts and lacerations are common kitchen injuries, perhaps only secondary to slips and falls and burns, in prevalence. The good news is that most of these slice 'n' dice injuries tend to be minor; however, in some cases, they can be serious, particularly if a tendon is cut, the injury site becomes infected, or the injury is caused by mechanical cutting equipment. Even a minor injury interrupts the workflow of a busy kitchen, and can divert other workers' attention from their tasks. Fortunately, a little bit of workplace safety training and education goes a long way toward preventing these often minor but annoying cutlery injuries.

It Always Seems to Get Back to Proper Training, Doesn't It?

Naturally, proper cutting technique is important. Every scout knows you never cut toward your body, toward another person, or toward any object that could be by the knife. You hope that your kitchen staff has at least the common sense and experience of an average 10-year-old, including being aware that all body parts, especially digits, need to be kept out of the cutting line.

The real hazard for novice (and some experienced) cooks is not using the right tool for the job, particularly when you consider the various food products you encounter in the kitchen and the time pressure to prepare them. Sometimes the "right" tool takes a back seat to the "handiest" tool. (See "The Right Knife for the Job" below.) If you've never worked on the front line of a busy kitchen you might not appreciate the speed with which you often must work. "Different types of product require different types of pressure," says veteran chef Michael Tsonton. "You will need more force to butcher a veal breast into stew meat than slicing chives. They should get a better knife, a sharper one, the right one, or more instruction before continuing."