Cut Like a Chef: The 2-Hour, 12-Cut Free Chef Crash Course at La Flamme Bleue Tuguegarao
- LFB Editorial Team
- Feb 11
- 10 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
A lifestyle class in Northern Luzon that prepares you for a culinary career abroad.
Imagine this: You're in a high pressure commercial kitchen in Dubai, London, or New York. Tickets spew from the POS relentlessly, the gas burners are producing a wall of heat, then the head chef barks an order for a perfect Brunoise garnish to replace the depleted prep from the day shift .In that moment, your hands don't shake. Your knife moves with calm precision, meeting the expectation for consistent size and clean edges with no hesitation. For many aspiring chefs in Region II and across Northern Luzon, that scene feels distant. But the journey doesn't start overseas, it starts with one focused hour right here in Tuguegarao learning the art of the perfect cut.
In every professional kitchen worldwide, there's one unspoken rule: If you can't cut it, you won't wont cut it. Knife skills are the global language of the culinary world, the foundation of precision, safety, efficiency, consistency, and professional discipline.
At La Flamme Bleue Center for Culinary Arts Tuguegarao, Northern Luzon's premier culinary school, we are offering a lifestyle class that begins this foundation.
What this class is (and what it’s not)
This is not a long lecture. It’s not a “watch from the back” demo. It is not a hobby class. It is a career milestone designed for beginners, home cooks, career shifters, and anyone dreaming of turning passion into the confidence required to begin the journey towards becoming a confident kitchen professional to help you build:
Correct knife grip and control
Safe hand positioning
Consistency
Professional vocabulary of cuts
Confidence in a kitchen environment
You’ll work with real ingredients and get guided practice on each cut, because knife skills are learned by doing.
Ready to experience it? Seats are strictly limited to 10 per session for hands on coaching. Reserve your free slot at our next session today.
The Unspoken Rule: Why Knife Skills Are the First Language of Professional Chefs and a Non negotiable for a Career locally or abroad
Walk into any professional kitchen anywhere whether in Manila, Singapore, Dubai, Australia, or Europe and you will need to understand that the culinary language is universal. Whether you're in a Michelin-star restaurant, a cruise ship, or a local restaurant the julienne you learned to cut in Tuguegarao will be identical to the julienne cut by a 3 star Chef in Paris. Professional chefs spend years perfecting knife work because consistency is the foundation of professional cooking as it impacts the following critical areas: Uniform Cooking: A perfectly diced mirepoix produces a superior stock because all pieces release their flavors at the same rate.
Aesthetics: Professional plating requires geometric precision. Your cuts reveal your training level at first glance and elevate plating and presentation.
Efficiency: Speed in prep work determines your value in a commercial kitchen. A chef who can produce 200 brunoised carrots in the time it takes another to produce 50 is exponentially more valuable because proper technique saves time, allowing you to survive the "rush" in high volume kitchens. Safety: Learning the "Claw Grip" reduces injuries, learning the right stance and posture helps you to survive long hours on your feet.
Kitchen credibility: solid fundamentals signal real training and the establishments ability to maintain its reputation to deliver quality dishes on time.
Flavour: Different cuts affect how ingredients release flavors and textures. A chiffonade of basil releases its aromatics beautifully without bruising, while roughly chopped basil often turns black and bitter.
If you can cut properly, you’re easier to train, more reliable, and safer to work with, no matter the country. Our knife skill masterclass gives aspiring chefs from Cagayan Valley a head start without leaving Northern Luzon.
Quick safety micro-lesson: the “claw grip” and why it matters
One of the biggest differences between home cooking and professional training is safety technique.
In this masterclass, you’ll learn the foundational habit that protects your fingers:
The Claw Grip (also called “the claw”)
Your non-knife hand tucks fingertips inward, guiding the ingredient with knuckles as a barrier. Your knife moves against the knuckles, not your fingertips.
This single detail improves:
precision (better control of thickness)
speed (less hesitation)
safety (dramatically fewer accidents)
A chef who learns the claw early avoids months (or years) of bad habits.
The Technical Test Reality
Many of our students are Senior High School graduates with no experience and career shifters, individuals who may have worked in office jobs or different industries but feel the call of the kitchen. The global demand for skilled Filipino chefs is at an all-time high. However, the barrier to entry is often the "technical test."
When you audition for a culinary role abroad, the first thing a recruiter does is hand you an onion and a chef's knife. If your technique is flawed, the interview ends.
This 1-hour crash course is your first step in ensuring you pass that test. It's more than just a class, it's a simulation of the discipline required in a professional environment.
What Is the "Cut Like a Chef" 1-Hour Crash Course?
The Cut Like a Chef: 12-Cut Knife Skills Crash Course is a fast-paced, hands-on culinary masterclass focused exclusively on knife skills—the single most important foundational skill in any professional kitchen.
Led by experienced instructors including Chef Martin Bower (Academic Director and internationally trained chef from the UK with experience in Marriott, Mercure, Swissotel, and other award-winning properties), Chef Dianne Camayang, Chef Phoebie Santero, and Chef Kris Umblas, the session covers 12 essential cuts in one intensive hour.
This Is Hands-On Learning, Not a Demonstration
You won't just watch demonstrations. At La Flamme Bleue, we believe culinary education is experiential. You will:
Step into a professional training kitchen
Wear proper kitchen attire
Handle real knives and ingredients
Practice each cut yourself under expert guidance
Receive direct coaching from trained chefs
Experience the discipline and rhythm of a culinary environment
For many students, this class becomes the moment they realize: "This is the life I want."
Who This Masterclass Is Designed For
The class is ideal for:
Complete beginners who want to start culinary training the right way
Career shifters looking to enter the hospitality industry
Senior high school graduates exploring culinary arts as a career path
Home cooks who want professional-level skills
Aspiring OFWs targeting international culinary positions
The course aligns perfectly with La Flamme Bleue's full 12-month Diploma in Culinary Arts program, where knife skills are taught in depth during the Culinary Foundations module. Many participants later enroll in the full diploma after experiencing the quality of instruction.
The 12 Essential Chef Cuts You Will Learn in One Hour: A Technical Breakdown
During the masterclass, you'll be introduced to 12 classical chef cuts used daily in professional kitchens worldwide. Here's a detailed breakdown of each cut, including standard dimensions, common applications, and why it's essential for professional cooking.
Foundation Cuts
1. Batonette
Dimensions: 1/4" x 1/4" x 2-3" (0.5 cm x 0.5 cm x 5-7.5 cm)
The "little stick" cut serves as the foundation for many other cuts and is commonly used for French fries, vegetable sticks for crudités, or stir-fry preparations. Mastering batonnet teaches control and uniformity—two skills that underpin all advanced knife work.
2. Julienne (Allumette)
Dimensions: ⅛ inch × ⅛ inch × 2 inches (3mm × 3mm × 4-6cm)
The classic matchstick cut is perhaps the most famous chef cut. These long, thin strips are essential for salads, garnishes, stir-fries, and serve as the base for brunoise. Trimming the ends of the vegetable and the edges in advance to make four straight sides makes it easier to produce a uniform cut. Julienne demonstrates precision and patience, skills every professional chef needs. In high end kitchens, the quality of your julienne is often used as a measure of your overall skill level.
3. Brunoise
Dimensions: ⅛ inch cubes (3mm × 3mm × 3mm)
Starting from a julienne, you turn the strips 90 degrees and then dice into, precise cubes. This is the hallmark of a disciplined chef. Brunoise is used for fine garnishes, sauces, soups, and mirepoix refinements. If you can produce a consistent brunoise, you prove you have the patience and motor skills required for fine dining. Brunoise requires excellent knife control and is a direct progression from julienne. Vegetables typically used include carrots, leeks, celery and turnips. Often employed as a garnish it is also used in stocks and soups where texture disappears to speed up the release of flavours and aromas into liquid, this is achieved by the increased surface area of the vegetable in having been cubed.
The Dice Family
4. Small Dice
Dimensions: ¼ inch cubes (6mm x 6mm x 6mm)
Perfect for salsas, salads, soups, and precise vegetable preparations where even cooking is critical. Small dice provides the perfect balance between visual presence and quick, uniform cooking.
5. Medium Dice
Dimensions: ½ inch cubes (12mm x 12mm x 12mm)
A versatile all-purpose cut for stews, roasted vegetables, and side dishes. This is the workhorse cut you'll use daily in professional kitchens.
6. Large Dice
Dimensions: ¾ inch cubes (19mm x 19mm x 19mm)
Ideal for long-cooking dishes like braises, stews, and chunky vegetable preparations where you want distinct pieces that hold their shape during extended cooking times.
The Artistic and Specialized Cuts
7. Chiffonade (little rags in French)
Technique: Roll and slice method
Long thin ribbons created by rolling leafy herbs or greens and slicing perpendicular to the roll. Used for basil in pasta, lettuce in salads, spinach in soups, or mint in desserts. We teach you the proper "roll and slice" method to create delicate ribbons without bruising the herbs. This cut preserves delicate textures and releases aromas beautifully. It can also be used with thin crepes or omelets to produce strips. It is not appropriate for smaller, narrow, or irregularly shaped herb leaves and requires a clean, flat surface to create the ribbons.
8. Rondelle
Shape: Uniform round slices
Simple in theory, difficult in practice. A perfect rondelle requires maintaining a consistent angle and thickness through cylindrical vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, or sausages. The thickness varies by recipe—great for grilling, steaming, or raw preparations. This fundamental technique appears in countless dishes across all cuisines.
9. Bias Cut (Oblique)
Technique: Angled diagonal slices
Angled slices that create elongated oval pieces. This cut increases surface area for faster cooking, helps browning and adds visual interest to stir-fries and sautés. Popular in Asian cuisine and modern plating.
10. Tournée (Turned Vegetables)
Shape: Seven-sided football, approximately 2 inches long
Often considered the most challenging classical cut, the tournée involves carving a vegetable (typically potatoes, carrots, or turnips) into a seven-sided football shape. It's a "prestige" cut that showcases a chef's mastery over their paring knife. This elegant French technique is used in fine dining for uniform cooking and sophisticated presentation.
11. Parisienne
Shape: Perfect spheres
Using a melon baller or Parisienne scoop to create perfect spheres from vegetables and fruits. This technique is essential for high-end fruit displays, vegetable garnishes, elegant potato preparations, and sophisticated vegetable sides. Popular in European fine dining.
12. Paysanne
Dimensions: Thin, flat shapes (approximately ½ inch wide, very thin)
Thin, flat square, rectangular, or triangular cuts. Used for soups, braises, and rustic presentations where visual texture matters. This peasant-style cut (paysanne means "country-style") adds character to traditional dishes.
By the end of the hour, you'll have practiced all 12 cuts and gained the muscle memory and confidence to continue refining them at home or in the full diploma program. Full disclosure: In one hour, you won’t “perfect” each cut forever (that comes with repetition), but you will understand:
the professional standard
the correct method
how to practice without building bad habits
What Makes This Class Unique to La Flamme Bleue Tuguegarao
Expert, international standard instruction demonstration and guidance — Delivered by chefs with global credentials and experience. Receive feedback in real time.
Focused learning — Max 12 students per session, means personalized feedback and no watching from afar.
Professional environment — Step into our state-of-the-art kitchen, wear proper attire and have your own station.
All tools and ingredients provided – just bring your enthusiasm
Proven success — Trusted by 600+ graduates now working locally and abroad.
Local accessibility — World-class training in Cagayan Valley, no need to travel to Manila.
This class mirrors our knife training from the full Diploma in Culinary Arts
Who Should Attend? Perfect for Aspiring Chefs from Region II
Recent graduates exploring culinary arts vs. traditional paths
Career shifters seeking hands-on, fulfilling work
Home cooks ready to level up to pro techniques
Future entrepreneurs planning restaurants or catering
Anyone asking — "Can I really become a chef?" or "Is culinary school for me?"
No experience needed—just enthusiasm.
What to Expect During Your 60-Minute Session
This is not a demonstration where you sit and watch. It is a lifestyle culinary class, experiential and high energy that moves logically from fundamental concepts to more complex techniques
Introduction: Meet your instructors, understand the day's objectives, and learn about the importance of knife skills in professional kitchens.
Knife Safety and Handling: Proper grip, hand positioning (the famous "claw grip"), cutting motion fundamentals, and safety protocols.
The 12 Cuts Practice: Hands-on practice of each cut with instructor guidance, corrections, and demonstrations. You'll work through a tray of fresh Cagayan Valley produce, receiving real-time feedback, developing muscle memory for each technique.
What You Take Home
Practical knowledge and the correct form and technique
Understanding of professional kitchen standards and a clear understanding of each cut
Confidence in basic knife techniques
Certificate of Completion
Refreshments and networking with fellow aspiring chefs
A clear picture of whether culinary arts is your calling
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 12-Cut Knife Skills Class really free?
Yes. This is a free introductory masterclass. Seats are limited, so reservation is required.
Do I need prior cooking experience?
No. The class is designed for complete beginners and aspiring chefs.
How many students per session?
Only 10 seats per class to allow hands-on coaching and safe practice.
When is the next session?
Check out our events page for the next schedule.
Do I need to bring my own knife?
No. You may bring your own knife if you prefer, but it’s optional.
Do i need to bring vegetables?
No we will provide everything.
What should I wear?
Wear comfortable clothing a white top and closed-toe shoes suitable for a kitchen environment.
What happens after the class?
You can simply take the skills and practice. If you want to explore further training, you can ask about programs and next sessions, no obligation.
Can I bring a friend or family member?
Yes, each attendee just needs to provide their contact number, email and age and their preferred day of training.
Is there age restrictions?
We accept participant from the ages of 16 and up.
Will I really learn 12 different cuts in just one hour?
Yes. The intensive, hands-on approach with small class sizes enables comprehensive coverage in one hour. You'll practice each technique under expert guidance, developing genuine competency and muscle memory in all 12 essential cuts.
Your Culinary Journey Starts Here in Tuguegarao
One hour can spark a lifetime career. Whether aiming abroad or building locally, this free crash course is your bridge.
Reserve your free slot at our next session — spots fill fast!
Online: www.laflammebleuetuguegarao.com/apply Email: info@laflammebleuetuguegarao.com Social: https://www.facebook.com/LFBCulinaryPH/
Check out the knife skills of Batch 20 Students Vince and Lead Culinary Instructor Chef Dianne (the video is real time not sped up)
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