Tom Popatis: Hi! My name is Tom Popatis. Ive been a firehouse chef for a lot of years. I was actually a finalist in 2004 Tabasco Cook & Ladder Competition in New York City, which is a national competition for fire fighters. Today, were going to do some basic potato things. When I say things I mean were going to roast some potatoes. Were going to show you how to do microwave potatoes and were also going to do a twice bake left over, bake potato kind of an interesting spin, a quick way of doing something, taking something plain and dressing it up a little bit. Were going to get start it in a few minutes, but first lets talk about safety in the kitchen. In the kitchen we have a lot of hot surfaces. We have sharp knives, please, please, please remember, when you are cutting, pay attention to what youre doing, keep your fingers back, dont let your fingers get in the way of your knife and also watch your hot surfaces. Dont pick up something without using a hot pad or a towel per se, but number one is, think safety in the kitchen.

So, lets get started and make some basic potato dishes.