Nancy Young wrote:
> Can anyone tell me why chefs tap their knives
> maybe 3 times on the counter before starting to
> chop whatever? Tyler comes to mind, but a lot
> of tv chefs do that.
> [snip]

Interesting observation. I think they are also visualizing what they
are about to do, while preparing the fingers/hand/arm for the 'starting
gun' signal. An amateur with a zucchini on the cutting board is
thinking about one cut at a time. The person with the knife skills is
visualizing the whole zucchini becoming a line of sliced zucchini, if
you see what I mean. Don't know how to explain it more than that.
It's like a person learning how to type. First it's where do I find
that letter; after a while you are thinking in words or phrases, not
letters. -aem