Onion-Dicing Showdown: A Young Chef's 'Perfect' Method Divides the Internet
Onions are a pantry staple worldwide, adding bold flavor to soups, curries, stews, and more. They’re also packed with vitamins and minerals, and cutting them famously triggers tears. A young chef has sparked a heated online debate with a video that claims to dice onions faster and more evenly than traditional methods. Sophia Lampros, an Instagram creator known as 'the sibling chef you didn't know you needed,' posted a clip that quickly went viral. In the video, she lops off one end of the onion, halves it, peels away the skin, and places the flat side down on the board. She makes a series of horizontal slices, stopping short of slicing all the way through, fans out the onion to show the cuts, and then dices it vertically. The result is tiny, uniformly chopped pieces. Her caption reads: "Do you know how to cut an onion — I like to think so." The clip has divided viewers, with some praising the efficiency and tear-free result, while others call the technique dangerous or unnecessary.
In This Article:
The Technique, Step by Step
Step 1: She cuts off one end, halves the onion, and removes the skin. Step 2: She places the onion on its flat side and carves a series of horizontal slices, stopping before slicing all the way through. Step 3: She fans the onion to reveal the cuts, then dices it vertically. Step 4: The result is tiny, uniform pieces that should fall easily into the pan. Throughout, she signs off with the line from the clip: "Do you know how to cut an onion — I like to think so."
The Online Chorus: Praise, Wonder, and Doubt
Comments under the clip reveal a split audience. - "And no tears. A true professional." - "Guess I'm unofficially your other sister because I needed this." - "I am so mesmerised right now." - "Why does your onion not misbehave?" Many responses also question the horizontal cuts themselves: - "The onion comes with God given horizontal slices." - "Aren't the horizontal slices pretty pointless though?" - "A cooking school myth." - "Been a chef for 13 years, went through culinary school; NO CHEF I have worked for does horizontal cuts on an onion. If you make properly angled vertical cuts (follow the rainbow) there is zero need. It wastes time and is more dangerous." - "Depends on the culinary school then I guess... I ended up doing vertical then horizontal but would love to learn how to get the right angles instead!" The thread shows how training, tradition, and personal style collide in the kitchen.
Tradition vs Innovation: Why the Debate Persists
The clash isn’t about taste; it’s about technique, safety, and what is taught in culinary training. Some argue that horizontal cuts help produce uniform pieces more quickly and may reduce tears, while others dismiss the method as unnecessary or even dangerous. What’s clear is that personal experience and schooling shape what cooks accept as standard. One person’s result may be perfectly adequate, while another’s may require different angles or a different workflow entirely. The debate mirrors a wider tension in kitchens everywhere: tradition versus experimentation. A phrase that keeps surfacing is ‘follow the rainbow’—a call to vertical cuts that many chefs advocate for, arguing it’s simpler and safer, while others defend alternate approaches learned in rival training backgrounds.
The Kitchen as a Laboratory: Takeaways
The onion-cutting discussion shows how a simple technique can become a case study in how knowledge spreads online. There isn’t a single right way; there are many ways that work for different dishes, hands, and kitchens. What matters is safety, efficiency, and results. If horizontal cuts help you achieve uniform dice quickly and safely, they may have a place in your practice. If you prefer vertical cuts and traditional methods, that’s valid too. In the end, the kitchen is a place for experimentation, and onions—humble though mighty—remain a canvas for technique, personal style, and ongoing learning.
