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The first thing you need to understand is that your kitchen is a workshop, and all good workshops have a standard operating procedure. In fact, more than one chef I know describes mise en place — “everything in its place” in French, what else? — as his religion.
Before you start any meal, you need to gather all the ingredients the dish requires: herbs and spices, vegetables, liquids and stocks, even partially cooked ingredients. Protein should be on the counter, well on its way to room temperature. All ingredients must be cut, premeasured, and lined up like soldiers — in the order in which they are called for once cooking begins. Ideally, your kitchen has two surfaces: one for work and one for use as a staging area.
However, the reason so many describe mise as a religion is the leap of faith. If all this preparation, never mind the hocus-pocus, strikes you as a tad overwrought, consider the organized chaos of most working kitchens. Cooking in a restaurant is like working in a submarine that is on fire. When you cook, you’ll be all alone (if you have any sense). Just you, your ingredients, and a whole lot of flame.
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October 20th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I would argue that the “everything in it’s place” mantra doesn’t mean that you have to have it all out in front of you, rather that you know where it is when you need it. With practice and some discipline you should always have certain ingredients in the same place everytime, the salt, wine, herbs, oil, water etc.
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Damon Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:06 am
Eugenio,
And it is your kitchen, and rightly your call.
Once I started practicing Mise En Place (learned from a friend to whom I osw much gratitude), I became so much less frustrated/stressed, and it was so much more fun (and I loved cooking already).
Trading in “Oh sh*t, half the f*cking eggs are cracked in the carton!”, or whatever other surprises lurk in the caverns of misfortune, to “Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance”, cost nothing, and gained everything.
And yes, I check the eggs when I buy them, but I can’t always stop my dumb little buddies from cramming a 12 pack in front of a carton of eggs. Things go wrong; having the stuff ready to go when the fire is lit is priceless. You don’t guess, you know. You remove unpredictable variables.
Cooking can be intense. And damn well it should be, at times, when you’re trying to time everything correctly. That’s part of the fun. Mise En Place helps.
But that’s me. Your kitchen, bro.
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