Mise-en-place, pronounced as "MEEZ ahn plahs" is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place" or "everything in its place". It is a term used for having all your ingredients measured, cut, peeled,sliced,grated etc. Pans, mixing bowls, tools and equipment are set out. It is a technique used by chefs to assemble meals quickly and effortlessly.
It is safe to say that many of us are under-planners. Especially in the kitchen. By doing simple things such as mise-en-place, we can make it easier.At it's core, mise-en-place revolves around three values: preparation, process and presence. Mise-en-place is a system which can be used to create order and balance in one's life.
Missing ingredients can be spotted before you've started cooking when it's too late for a quick trip to the store or your next door neighbour.
It makes even complicated recipes fun to make as you'll be no longer juggling and trying to complete many tasks at once.
You can group your ingredients in the order to be used to make sure all your recipe steps are included.
Special preparation of some ingredients such as toasting nuts or letting certain things such as butter, milk to come to room temperature etc., can be done in advance so there won't be any delay in your cooking time.
Planning should be the first thought. Schedule your tasks,respecting both abilities and limitations. By planning, one can know where to start and can save time later.
This means more than making things look pretty or aesthetic. Optimize your space in terms of organization and mobility. An organized space can help organize one's mind.
Any system is useless unless it is maintained. Plan for regular resets to return your space to its optimal conditions. Working clean helps you get things done faster and better.
Set your priorities and don’t put off or postpone what can be done now. Commit to using time to your benefit.
Orphaned tasks create more work. So don't leave any task unfinished and commit to delivering.
Also known as haste makes waste. Commit to doing a task smoothly and steadily istead of juggling multiple tasks at once.
Commit to valuing space, time, energy, resources and people. Be mindful.
According to the principles of mise-en-place, mastery is never achieved; it is a constant state of evaluation and refinement.
Distilled to it's most basic form, mise-en-place means that resources, space and most importantly, time are precious. By using them with mindfulness and wisely, we're better set to deal with whatever comes our way.