5 Pieces of Advice from a Hell's Kitchen Chef
By: Elyse Prince
Published: March 15, 2011

For all you culinary students thinking about working in a restaurant kitchen, Season 8 Hell's Kitchen contestant Boris Poleschuk is here to help you succeed with just a few simple tips.  He believes that even the most seasoned chefs need a bit of humility in the kitchen, among other things. His advice the first week on the job: "Just shut up and listen. Every kitchen does things differently, and you'll have to learn 20 ways to do one thing." Classically trained at The French Culinary Institute, Poleschuk has worked in some of the best hotels and restaurants, including The Four Seasons and 11 years at the St. Regis. For the past 10 years, he's been working as a private chef and Kosher caterer in Manalapan, New Jersey. He says that even though the life of a chef can be brutal at times, with high-pressure 70-hour work weeks, no holidays, and no days off, he also says that it can be extremely rewarding. "I love food, cooking, and seeing people eat...Cooking is truly the only thing that unites people. People that love to cook are a special breed." 5 Things to Bring Your First Day in a Restaurant Kitchen: Boris Poleschuk 1. Go Forth With Sharp Knives: Make sure your knives are clean and sharp. A dull knife is as useless as an unloaded gun. All you need are three knives: A Chef’s knife, a seraded knife and a paring knife— Most chefs would agree that's it! 2. Understand the Kitchen Brigade: Every restaurant kitchen has a hierarchy.  Think of the executive chef as being the general and the cook as being the private, and every one else somewhere in between. You want to make sure you know your restaurant's chain of command and who you take orders from. There's an unspoken understanding that you execute your job to the best of your ability. 3. Know How to Prepare a Piece of Fish: You have to know how to sauté a piece of fish, how to sear scallops, what kind of fish is best seared on a non-stick pan versus on a regular pan versus on a grill. It will make your life easier. 4. Become an Omelet Expert: The ability to make a perfect omelet is a sign of a well-trained chef. TV cooking shows make it look so easy, but the truth is that if you don't get the pan just the right temperature or if you don't put the eggs in the pan at just the right time, you could end up with the eggs stuck to the bottom of the pan.  The perfect omelet should be pale in color, loose on the inside (what the French call baveuse), and rolled or folded - this is the classical French way. Another pointer: It’s always best to make an omelet or crepe in a non-stick pan or a well-seasoned cast iron pan. It works wonders. 5. Practice Humility: No matter how much you think you know, you don't know anything. When you step into a Michelin-star restaurant, like Gramercy Tavern or Le Bernadin, all you need to take with you is your uniform and your knives. Check your ego at the door. All you have to say is “Yes, chef. Show me how you want it done.”  No matter how many covers they are doing a night, each and every dish is done like it’s the only one. For more of Boris Poleschuk's cooking tips, check out the Hell's Kitchen contestant page here. Foodista Fives is a weekly, fun food-related list shared by someone in the culinary world that relates to their line of work…Is there a chef, cookbook author, restauranteur, food blogger that you would like to see featured on Foodista Fives?  Let us know in the comment section below!