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Mise En Place for Weeknight Cooking

Organization In The Kitchen Means More Time For Creativity

Mise en place for weeknight cooking.

A Successful Line Cook Excels At Execution

Being a successful fine dining restaurant cook is all about execution.

All orders for one table must come off the line at the same time for plating and presentation.  The sheer effort it takes to do this well is compounded by the fact that several cooks are responsible for the food on a single plate, a cook for the steak, and a different cook for the vegetable, etc.

Watch a talented cook and their work will look like magic.  Hands and feet know where to go when.

Anthony Bourdain says, “Line cooking when done well is a beautiful thing to watch.  It’s a high-speed collaboration resembling, at its best, ballet or modern dance.”

The key to this artistry is summed up in a phrase that will make or break the success of any kitchen – mise en place. It’s a French term that translates to “everything in its place”.

A good cook preps all the ingredients prior to cooking and arranges them at his/her cooking station to minimize movement.  Unnecessary motion, reaching, turning, or please, no, forgetting something means wasted time, and potentially unhappy customers.

Home Cooks Can Be Just As Organized and Efficient With Mise En Place for Weeknight Cooking

What does this have to do with home cooking?  Everything.

A good home cook is just as organized and efficient in the kitchen as a professional chef.  Here’s how.

Before you begin to cook, read your recipe.  Or if you’re not working from a recipe, make a list of ingredients.  Gather those ingredients and scale, or measure out, everything you need in the form its needed.

Chop, mince, dice, everything before you begin cooking.  Then arrange it so it’s within reach when needed.

Being organized leaves more room for the joy and creativity of cooking which is the gateway to the endgame – life at the table.

Get started today!  Try the breakfast casserole pictured in this post!