Gordon Ramsay's Unconventional Tip For Cutting Bell Peppers

Gordon Ramsay has been dishing out extraordinary cooking tips in his signature fiery form for decades. His techniques for cutting fruit and veggies have been especially useful if not unique. One need look no further than the restaurateur's weirdly sensual hack for prepping avocados, which involves giving the avocados a quick lime juice rub down before tackling them with a knife. Although his trick for slicing bell peppers, which involves cutting the fruit upside down, isn't quite as uncanny — it's pretty groundbreaking nonetheless. 

However, before you try your hand at making julienned peppers Ramsay style, the "Hell's Kitchen" and "Kitchen Nightmares" star says you first have to identify the "perfect" specimen. In a 2014 YouTube video, Ramsay notes the ideal pepper should be "smooth and firm and not a wrinkle in sight." Of course, eating wrinkled bell peppers is perfectly safe as long as they don't show any signs of spoilage, such as mold or brown, soft spots. Just keep in mind they won't be as fresh or visually appealing.

Once you've selected your perfect peppers, it's time to get cutting.

For julienned peppers, which Ramsay explained in a 2017 YouTube video is "a chef's word for strips," he cuts the stalk off and places the pepper upside down on the cutting board. While cutting strips off the fruit, he's careful to slice around the seeds. He explains that avoiding the white pith — located in the center of the fruit — is important because it's quite bitter. This way, you'll be left with a "perfect Christmas tree of seeds," which you can easily discard — making this cutting trick far less messy, and "twice as quick," he says (via YouTube).

The next step involves cutting each piece of bell pepper into matchstick thin strips. Flattening out the pepper, he places it skin-side down, which helps to make it easier to cut. The renowned chef then applies the three-finger rule — placing his middle finger in front with the index and ring fingers behind. The middle finger's knuckle acts as a guide against the knife to better protect your nails, allowing you to let the knife (not your hands) handle the work as you cut the pepper into thin slices.

Julienned peppers are the perfect accompaniment to fajitas, salads, wraps, and the like. But for those looking desiring more finely diced peppers, Ramsay has some equally savvy slicing advice. According to the master chef, all you have to do is julienne your peppers, line them up uniformly, and then slice them — making it a point to go "nice and steady on the handle."

Similarly, you can achieve a thicker baton cut in much the same way you would cutting julienned peppers. Instead of slicing them into matchstick thin pieces, simply cut them into thicker slices. 

Of course, Ramsay — a professional knife wielder indeed — expertly chops through the rows of sliced peppers, achieving cookbook cover-worthy julienne, dice, and baton cuts at breakneck speed. However, he's careful to note that the speed at which you work isn't what's important. "Forget the rush, the speed, [it's] all about precision," he says (per YouTube). Needless to say, Ramsay's cooking tips are always a cut above the rest.