Tourne.

 

Tourne (tore-nay): 1. v. French "to turn." 2. n. An oblong-shaped cut for vegetables such as carrots, potatoes or squash that provides a distinctive and consistent appearance to the food item being served. The product is 2 inches long, 3/4 inch in diameter with seven sides and flat ends.

The difference between a cook and a chef is the pursuit of perfection and the ability to attain it.  Before I entered culinary school, never did I once say to myself, "hey self, let's take a potato and cut it into 7 even sides."  That is a chef thought, not a cook thought.  Seeing that I am striving to be a chef, I plan to master the tourne.  (Plus, my grade depends on it.) 

My first attempt was um...not exactly on target.  I ended up with a stubby looking dented rectangle.  Not sexy.  However, as I continue to practice, I am getting a bit better.  I have moved to a football shape (finally) and am slowly working on getting the sides even.  Frankly, the ease at which the chef in the video tournes a potato is slightly sickning.  But, I guess that's what eons of professional cooking will get you.

Not to get all philosophically religious on you, but I feel like I am the potato and God has a REALLY sharp tourne knife.  As I pray for Him to open the doors he wants open and close the doors he wants closed, I also pray for Him to take away all that is unlike Him.  As He turns me around and around, I am in a constant cycle of learning from the past while being shaped for the future.  Since God is definitely a pro, I have no doubt that His perfection will produce a precisely tourned Aleya when all is said and done.  Gosh...don't you love it when food has a higher meaning?

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