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<\/a><\/p>\nChef Amanda Pyle chops her onions and peppers preparing for her next class. She gets all of the ingredients together; vegetables, fruits and seasonings. She is getting ready to cook meals such as egg rolls, fruit salad, corn salsa and homemade chips. Pyle and her assistant take out all the knives they have in order to host the popular class, Knife Skills 101. \u00a0Chef Pyle has hosted over twenty classes about learning how to properly use a knife in the kitchen, in her storefront and culinary school, The Cookery.<\/span><\/p>\n Chef Pyle shows the Knife Skills 101 students all of the knives she has in her kitchen. She teaches them what each one is supposed to be used for as well as which ones are her personal favorites \u00a0to use when she is in the kitchen.<\/p><\/div>\n Located in Morton, Illinois, Chef Pyle is the executive chef and owner of The Cookery. Chef Pyle has over 20 years of food industry experience including managing, running and cooking in multiple restaurants around the Peoria area. Chef Pyle now uses her cooking expertise to run her business which focuses on fundamental kitchen skills and full service catering. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Former student and teacher in the ICC Culinary Arts Program, she wants to share her passion for all things food. In April 2016, her passion for food and education culminated into buying the cooking school. \u201cI love cooking but I wanted to do something a little unique and different,\u201d says Pyle. \u201cI happened to stumble into the opportunity to purchase the business from a fellow ICC classmate last year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Cookery offers a large range of classes for all ages and a large selection of ethnic\/international cuisine. \u00a0With the holidays fast approaching classes and cooking techniques encompass everything pumpkin to Christmas cookies.<\/span><\/p>\n Chef Pyle brings the students into the kitchen and teaches them the proper way to hold a knife, and the correct motion to use when cutting your ingredients.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cMy favorite class to teach is Knife Skills 101,\u201d Pyle said. \u201cI love working with the young and the old, and teaching them an important base for learning even more about cooking,\u201d If you know knife skills, it can aid in the time it ta<\/span>kes to prepare a dish. Knife skills shows you how to do differ<\/span>ent cuts that most beginner cooks aren\u2019t aware of. \u00a0Also, it can teach you how to preserve your costly knives and how to make sure you are staying safe in the kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n The class got a chance to see demonstrations of how to cut the more difficult ingredients that they had to work with. Assistant Chef Christina Pearce demonstrates how to cut the ginger for the class.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cPush the knife through and then bring the knife back,\u201d Christina Pearce, fellow cooking instructor, explains to a\u00a0<\/span>student. \u00a0\u201cWhen you pull the tip of the knife back, you\u2019re getting ready for your next cut.\u201d \u00a0Pearce demonstrates in slow motion and gra<\/span>dually speeds up the process with laser precision. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>