Andy Hearnden: Chef reveals how to chop tomatoes in seconds

A top chef has delighted fans with an easy hack to slice an entire punnet of tomatoes in less than five seconds.

New Zealand chef Andy Hearnden said you can easily slice tomatoes if you put them between two lids and then drag a sharp knife through.

Andy is an executive chef with Kilcoy Global Foods in Queensland and well known for his cooking tips, which have attracted more than three million TikTok fans.

Alongside the ‘game changing’ tomato hack he shared four other kitchen secrets to make cooking easy and quick.

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Queensland-based chef Andy Hearnden (chef) revealed five cooking secrets, including how to chop an entire punnet of tomatoes in less than 5 seconds

The top chef advised putting the tomatoes between two lids and then dragging a sharp knife through. Andy demonstrated the hack and was left with perfectly halved tomatoes

‘If you need to cut a lot of cherry tomatoes, put them between two lids or two plates, and with a sharp knife cut through,’ he said. 

He advised his followers to put a plate or lid on the table, put all of the tomatoes on it then press another plate or lid on top and slice through the tomatoes whilst holding the plate or lid down. 

His second tip was to ‘always’ use a weighing scales for baking, rather than cups.

‘When measuring, especially for baking, use the scales in grams and kilos. It’s so much more accurate  and you’ll get much better results,’ he said.

He also advised home chefs to always crack eggs on a flat surface, rather than the side of a bowl, to reduce the risk of eggshells going into the egg.

His fourth tip was to use a thermapen when cooking meat, these thermapens are about $100 can be inserted inside food to check the temperature.

Andy (pictured with his girlfriend) is well-known on social media for sharing foodie tips and tricks

‘Take the guesswork out of cooking meat. You use one of these, you know its cooked to the temperature you like or not cooked properly,’ Andy advised. 

His final tip was to always keep your knives as sharp as possible.

‘Its safer, more efficient, and all round makes cooking far easier,’ he said.

The chef suggested using a blade sharpener and whetstone or knife sharpening machine.

His followers appreciated the helpful tips, particularly the cherry tomato hack.

‘That cherry tomato one is brilliant! thanks mate!’ one man said. 

‘The cherry tomato one helps me so much,’ one woman commented.

‘Excellent tips boss,’ another wrote.