Learned a knife trick from a line cook at a diner in Ohio last week

Guy showed me how he sharpens his chef's knife on the bottom of a ceramic coffee mug in a pinch. Has anyone else used that trick on a busy service when your stone is nowhere to be found?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_viola2mo ago

Doesn't that just wreck the mug and leave ceramic grit in your food?

the_jennifer2mo ago

Actually those mugs develop a smooth seasoned surface over time, not grit, just like a good cast iron pan.

noahmartin2mo ago

24 hours on a busy line is exactly when that ceramic mug trick saved my ass. How do you keep the edge consistent - do you just go for it freehand or angle the knife against something on the mug?