Eric Ripert: Knife Tips on Twitter

Food culture would not have exploded the way it has without the advent of social media. For those of us who crave foodie information as much as we crave Thomas Keller's famed oysters and pearls (they really are freaking fantastic), you really can't beat services like Twitter and Instagram. 

Be that as it may, Twitter's utility is often relegated to one-off interactions or publicly available "instant messages" between a tweeter and their follower(s). Given that reality, it was super cool when Eric Ripert (@ericripert), the Michelin-starred chef of NYC's Le Bernadin, took to Twitter to educate his followers on the proper way to sharpen the most important tool any food wrangler owns. What made his use of Twitter compelling was that he tweeted a series of photos in succession. Ripert is a titan of the food industry and he is perhaps the foremost fish filleter in the world; so when he talks (or in this case tweets) about food, it's probably not a bad idea to take note.

In a mere nine steps, Ripert literally showed people how to take a kitchen knife and sharpen it using steel and a wet stone, something chefs have been doing for centuries. Not only was the series informative, but the tweets invited people to read through Ripert's feed and interact with his account in a way they may not otherwise think to try.

We've taken it upon ourselves to round up the series in one place. If you don't own a knife-sharpening stone, you can pick one up pretty inexpensively (here's a popular one from Amazon for the couch shopper).

Step 1: It begins simply enough

Time to sharpen our knives here @LeBernardinNY ... Here's how we do it daily w steel and weekly w stone in a few tweets.... — Eric Ripert (@ericripert) September 17, 2012

Step 2: Start with steel

With steel: hold sharpening steel in one hand & knife in the other. Start at base of knife & stroke blade down on steel — Eric Ripert (@ericripert) September 17, 2012

Step 3: Watch your piggies

Then, bring other side of blade down on steel. Repeat until sharp! (and ALWAYS be careful!!!!!! ) — Eric Ripert (@ericripert) September 17, 2012

Step 4: Break out the stone

When sharpening weekly with stone, @lebernardinny we use a 2 sided stone with medium grit — Eric Ripert (@ericripert) September 17, 2012

Step 5: Bath time

Soak the stone in water for 5 minutes - (wetting the stone reduces friction when sharpening the knife) — Eric Ripert (@ericripert) September 17, 2012

Step 6: Towel off

Place wet stone on towel to avoid it slipping — Eric Ripert (@ericripert) September 17, 2012

Step 7: Gently grind

Angle knife at 20° on stone, Apply pressure as you move forward, release pressure when bringing knife back towards you September 17, 2012

Step 8: Almost done

Once side of knife is even, flip blade & apply pressure while bringing knife towards you. Repeat until side is even! September 17, 2012

Step 9: FIN!

Flip stone 2 finishing side (side w less grit) & repeat above steps til blade is smooth. Knives are sharp again (:  — Eric Ripert (@ericripert) September 17, 2012

Pretty nifty 'eh? We really like Ripert's slightly left-of-center use of Twitter, replete with pictures… because everything is better with pictures. If you know of another food-related Twitter series, be sure to send it our way!

[Speaking of Twitter, you do follow us via @urbanspoon … right?]

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Written for Urbanspoon by Foodie Buddha, the restaurant- and food-obsessed author behind FoodieBuddha.com. 

Source: http://www.urbanspoon.com/blog/108/Eric-Ripert-Knife-Tips-on-Twitter.html

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