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Why Mise en Place Will Overhaul Your Slow Kitchen Life
Peeling carrots and slicing potatoes is just the beginning. You need to do more if you want to be effective.
Even as a Brit, I have a deep sense of responsibility when it comes to Mise en Place — it’s one of the best french exports, right behind wine and croissants. Without it, I feel lost in my own kitchen and what is usually a simple meal, quickly gets out of hand and becomes a nightmare.
My spouse and I even have a rule that if dinner gets out of hand (or ruined) then we will order take-out.
But it goes further than just making sure you prepare your vegetables and weigh your butter — it’s a chef’s way of life. From the moment they walk into their kitchen, to the moment they leave it, they abide by their laws of Mise en Place, and it shows in their cooking, their presentation and their enjoyment.
A Quick Refresher on Mise en Place
Translated as “everything in its place”, it describes the preparation and setup you do before cooking; this can be before baking a cake, or at Thanksgiving dinner when you’re peeling the endless potatoes for the day to come. There is really no limit to what Mise en Place…
