Romance in the kitchen doesn't always have to happen on the dining room table... Becoming intimate with the way you prepare and display your meals can have the same element of lust and excitement as romance once you have "crafted your trade." And much like that secret book many of us have shyly viewed (or have hidden in that special place), there are many "positions" to experience when performing the "Intimate Art of Food"...

TO CUBE: This is the "quicky" within the food preparation arena. Involving cutting a solid food into little cubes about 1/2 inch to an inch thick, these chunks - whether they are from meat or vegetables - easily burst with the original flavour Mother Nature intended them to have.

TO CHOP: This most basic performance involves simply cutting food into smaller pieces. Size depends on the dishes requirements and of course, display if you are embellishing on the decorative qualities fruits and vegetables have to offer for say a fresh salad.

TO DICE: Refining the basic "cube" and "chop", dicing requires just a touch more "foreplay" resulting in pieces being less than 1/2 inch. Ideal for foods with a solid consistency such as celery, chives and onions.

TO FLAKE: A technique used for foods that divide naturally such as fish, squash or goat cheese. Using one or two forks or your fingers, you gentle pull the food apart.

TO GRATE: Kitchen "toys" required here! Grating results in a very fine texture and is ideal for medium to hard cheeses and vegetables.

TO GRIND: Another form of grating but only the consistency is more coarse. Perfect for the more "meaty" food varieties. Kitchen "toy" required here too.

TO JULIENNE: One of the more intimate techniques, to julienne means to chop into "match-like sticks". Excellent for creating an interesting flow to raw dishes such as salads and a deliciously aesthetic for your stir-fry.

TO MINCE: The most detailed interaction in culinary preparations, to mince requires a sharp knife, precision fingers and a desire for
perfection. The "art" of mincing involves rotating the

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 knife around the cutting board while you rock the blade back and forth across the ingredient. The knife should never leave the cutting surface.

TO SLICE: Precision required again as slicing comes in many sizes, from fine to course. The art of a good slice is from forward to back with a slight angle...to the knife, of course ;)

TO SLIVER: This skill involves cutting or splintering into long, thin strips, or into very thin slices. The texture of the food you are working with sets the precedence of how "sheer" you can go.

Now with a quality, sharp knife as your mate and a sturdy chopping board as your platform, get ready to enjoy the next best thing to sex: food!