Think Inside the Box
The best way to cook perfect pasta? Follow the instructions on the box. The pasta companies spend millions on R&D so that when you cook their product at home, it will be perfect every time.-Vincent Leung,
Habitat, Canmore

The Inside Scoop
Peel your avocados instead of scooping them out with a spoon. I split the avocado in half first to remove the pit-then as long as the avocado is ripe the peel will easily slip off. -Alana Peckham, Cru, Vancouver

TOOLS A large wooden cutting board. The large size allows you to keep small groupings of prepped ingredients at your disposal before you are ready to get them in the pan.-Kunal Ghose, Red Fish Blue Fish, Victoria

Get Handy
Making mayonnaise on your own is tricky, unless you were born with three hands: one hand to whisk, one hand to pour oil and one to hold the bowl steady. Instead, use a rolled-up kitchen towel, set in a nest-like circle that allows your bowl to stay stable. Whip away.
-Jean-Christophe Poirier, Pourhouse, Vancouver

TOOLS From citrus zest to cheese, fresh horseradish to wasabi, the microplane marvels with its versatility-Dino Renaerts, Fraîche

The Tao of (Quang) Dang
Chef, Diva at the Met
• Never peel carrots. Not only are most of the nutrients there, a lot of the flavour is as well. Just give them a good wash.

• Don’t soak your cut vegetables in water-they lose their flavour. If you’re worried about them drying out, just cover them with a damp towel.

• To pluck out fish bones, I use a pair of needle-nose pliers from Canadian Tire instead of special fish tweezers. I also have a pair of really big tweezers that I use for plating-they’re a lot more delicate than tongs.

• The best way to cook squash is to roast it cut side down on a baking tray, and then just scoop out the flesh. I really try to avoid peeling squash anytime I can, and this is the easiest way to avoid it.

• Ceramic knives aren’t worth the money. They don’t hold an edge well, and you have to get them professionally sharpened.

Off With Their Heads!
Remove the heads from fresh shrimp or prawns if they’re not going to be consumed the same day they’re purchased-this prevents the meat from going mushy.-Alana Peckham, Cru, Vancouver

"When selecting a good olive oil, find one with a harvest date on it. If there is no date, it can be years old."-Robert Belcham, Refuel & Campagnolo, Vancouver

Stock Tip
When I make chicken or veal stock, I freeze some of it in an ice cube tray. When I need it, I just pop out a cube and put it into whatever dish I’m making.-Kyle Groves, Catch Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar, Calgary

Steel Yourself
The easiest way to get rid of the garlic smell from your hands is wipe it on any stainless steel surface. I laugh when I see how many gadgets there are for this exact purpose.-Vincent Leung, Habitat, Canmore

"Before mashing, cook potatoes with their skins on. This leads to a drier potato, which means you can add more cream and butter-where all the flavour comes from."-Matthew Batey, Mission Hill Winery, Kelowna

How to Cook a Perfect Egg: a Play in Two Acts.
By Pino Posteraro, Cioppino’s, Vancouver

Act 1 The Poached Egg
Heat a pot of water to exactly 63°C. Carefully drop in an entire egg (shell and all) and cook for one hour. You’ll have the best-ever poached egg.

Act 2 The Scrambled Egg.
Place an entire egg in boiling water for three minutes. Remove and crack it over a mixing bowl to collect the albumen (egg white) and the yolk, including the whites that are lightly cooked. Whisk it together and pour into a hot pan with a little butter, and scramble. It will be incredibly creamy.

Encore
A little truffle on top.

--->COUNTERPOINT
Bring a saucepot with 6 inches of water to a simmer and add 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar. Stir the water in a circle to form a vortex in the middle. Crack the egg into a small ramekin and then drop it into the centre of the vortex. The current will keep the egg white in the centre of the pan so that you’ll have an attractive finished egg. (You can cook about 4 eggs at a time with this method.) Once the eggs are soft in the middle, but completely set on the outside, remove with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When you’re ready to serve them (the next morning, or a few hours later), simply place them back into a pot of simmering water to warm them up.-Kyle Groves, Catch, Calgary

TOOLS I use liquid nitrogen to turn normal purées into frozen garnishes. And to make ice cream, of course.-Melissa Craig, Bearfoot Bistro, Whistler