Despite mise en place might be one of the most widely translated French phrases in the culinary dictionary, it remains one of the least understood.
While it may sound simple, it is a vital part of all successful kitchens and a required skill of talented chefs.
What is mise en place?
Mise en place is a French kitchen phrase that means “putting in place” or “gathering”. It refers to the discipline and organisation a good chef exhibits in the kitchen.
To practise mise en place, a chef should have all of their ingredients and supplies prepared and organised before they begin cooking. The phrase became prominent in the late 19th century and is used in professional kitchens, cooking classes and a variety of other settings to this day.
By following mise en place, a cook can ensure they have everything they need at their workstation. This eliminates the need for extra movement throughout the kitchen and positions them for success in a fast-paced environment.
Mise en place helps professional chefs remain prepared and organised during the middle of the dinner rush. It can also be helpful even if you are cooking at home for a smaller crowd.
Before starting, the chef (or the assistant) gathers and prepares all the necessary ingredients – the vegetables should be washed and chopped beforehand and the meat cuts taken out to thaw much earlier, trimmed and marinated.
The seasoning and sauces needed must be close at hand, and the necessary utensils, such as pots, pans, ladles and knives, must all be within easy reach at the workstation.
A good illustration of this can be seen on cooking shows where all the ingredients and tools that the chef needs are well-prepared beforehand and you never see them searching for a knife or for garlic in front of the camera.
That is because before filming began, the chef and his crew would have conducted their mise en place.
In a professional kitchen, chefs have to produce a whole lot of dishes, ranging from appetisers, to entrées, and desserts. And, in a popular restaurant, they probably have to cook more than a hundred dishes in one night.
Amazingly, everything runs smoothly and that is because every station in the kitchen would have spent hours doing their mise en place earlier in the day.
Why is mise en place important?
As mentioned above, mise en place is a key to keeping any kitchen – home or professional – running smoothly. That holds true whether you are making fresh pasta, baking a wedding cake,or firing dishes during dinner service.
By making sure ingredients are prepped and workstations are organised before you begin assembling a dish, you will save time.
And not only will you waste fewer precious minutes completing prep work but you will also eliminate unnecessary steps or duplicate work in the kitchen.
This is a relatively easy concept to practise. To properly use mise en place in your kitchen you can follow these simple guidelines:
- Read through your recipe and develop a strategy before you begin cooking.
- Once you have read the recipe, go through the kitchen and acquire all the necessary ingredients and supplies.
- One by one, take the time to wash, cut, dice, chop or measure your ingredients as directed.
- Place each ingredient into an appropriately sized dish, bowl, or container. Doing so ensures that every ingredient is easy to identify.
- Set your ingredients around your cooking station and align them for easy access.