Mise en place is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place" or "gather". It refers to the setup required before cooking, and is often used in professional kitchens to refer to organising and arranging the ingredients and tools needed for a recipe before starting to cook.
This might include washing, chopping, measuring, and arranging ingredients in small containers or bowls (just like you see on the cooking shows), as well as having all necessary equipment readily accessible and always sitting in the same place, ensuring that everything is ready when needed during the cooking process, minimising stress and potential mistakes.
Professional cooks can easily do six hours of prep for a three hour dinner shift.
It is believed that the concept stems from the kitchen brigade system created by Georges-Auguste Escoffier, a French chef who rose to prominence in the late 19th century as an advocate of French fine dining. In the brigade system, each member of the kitchen staff is assigned a specific role and responsibility, creating a clear chain of command and division of labor.
The central tenets of mise en place might best be summarised by this list:
- Start with a list. Become one with your list.
- Adopt the preparation mindset … everything ready and at hand.
- Account for every minute and every movement
- Work clean … clear your workspace, clear your mind
- Clean as you go
- Slow down to speed up
Time is precious. Resources are precious. Space is precious. Your self-respect and the respect of others are precious. Use them wisely.
Mise en place as a practice can also be applied in home kitchens … and indeed, as it happens, to your whole life and state of mind.
Melissa Gray, a senior instructor at he Culinary Institute of America (CIA) speaking with reporter Dan Charnas during the Morning Edition of National Public Radio in August 2014 says:
“Mise en place is really is a way of life. I know people that have it tattooed on them. It's a way of concentrating your mind to only focus on the aspects that you need to be working on at that moment, to kind of rid yourself of distractions.”
And this from Chef Dwayne LiPuma, another instructor at the CIA:
“The world is a giant gerbil wheel right now. I think if we just became a little bit more organised - a little bit more mise-en-place - understood what we really need and only do what we really need, I think we'll have more time.”
Interested to know more? Check out Dan Charnas’s book “Work Clean: The Life-changing Power of Mise-en-Place to Organize Your Life, Work and Mind.”
Story Idea: Remo Giuffré
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References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place
wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Escoffier
guide.michelin.com/sg/en/article/dining-in/mise-en-place-cooking-sg
npr.org/2015/01/02/374511095/how-organizing-like-a-chef-can-help-you
thedailycure.com/2015/01/19/mise-en-place-a-way-of-life/
Images
1. Mise en place. Credit: The Culinary Pro.
2. Busy kitchen. Credit: Credit: Getty Images / iStockphoto
3. Auguste Escoffier from The gourmet's guide to London (1914) by Nathaniel Newnham-Davis
4. Kitchen Brigade System. Credit; High Speed Training.
5. Book: "Work Clean: The Life-Changing Power of Mise-En-Place to Organize Your Life, Work, and Mind" by Dan Charnas, May 2016
6. YES CHEF design at REMO. Merchandise selection HERE.
