What you need to know about mise en place

One of the most important lessons that a chef or cook can master is mise en place. You may be thinking: what on earth is mise en place, and why are we speaking in French?

Don’t worry, we’ll explain everything and give you all the hospitality tips you need for service to run smoothly. 

You can also watch this online course on mise en place anytime.

What is mise en place?

Mise en place translates to ‘everything in its place.’ It’s a French phrase that refers to having all your ingredients and equipment set out and ready to go before you begin cooking and service. 

It’s prep, but on a larger scale to maximize efficiency and ensure that everything in your kitchen is under control before customers arrive.

How does it work in a professional kitchen? 

Each professional kitchen is different, and every head chef will have a different mise en place plan. Some will instruct their staff to conduct mise en place in a certain way, while others prefer to let each person on the line prep in the way that they wish. But, the process looks similar across the board.

Mise en place begins with the recipes being prepared that day, week, or month. If a venue has a fixed menu, chefs will be able to get their mise en place ready quickly. For venues that have seasonal menus or regularly changing specials, mise en place must be flexible too.

The recipes will inform the way you carry out mise en place; starting by ensuring all the ingredients are available in their required quantities and relocating them to your particular station. From there, you may separate them into bowls, containers, or squeeze bottles depending on the measurements you will require throughout the day. Then, it’s all about prepping the food itself.

Mise en place checklist

• Ingredients:
  Gather the ingredients you will need for your shift, in the measurements that you will require. Make sure your food stock is up-to-date ahead of the following shift or week to ensure that ingredients will be available from the person that takes over from you next. 
  
• Containers: 
  You’ve got your ingredients, recipes, utensils ready, and your workstation is clean. Now, separate your ingredients into bowls, containers, or bottles with the correct measurements according to your recipes. Place them around your station depending on how you will need to use and access them.
  
  
• Tools: 
  Your station should already be ready with all the right equipment, but give it a look over before you begin to ensure that you have everything you will need for your shift. There is nothing worse than being smack-bang in the middle of service and realizing you don’t have the right knife or kitchen utensil.
• Ingredients prep:
  You have everything you need for your shift, and now it’s time to make things as easy as possible for both yourself and your team. Get chopping, grating, mashing, and start cooking up sauces or relishes that can easily be precooked before service begins.

• Keep it clean:
  You may think keeping your station clean is a given, but it can be easy to get caught up in prep, and the next thing you know - your station is a complete mess. Clean as you go, and keep rags and cleaning products handy so that you don’t add more time to your schedule.
  
  

Mise en place tips and tricks

• Make a list, check it twice:
  Working as a chef or cook isn’t all about hands-on tasks. Top chefs know that it’s crucial to take time out at the start of a shift or week to make a few lists. Figure out what dishes or sides you’ll be covering, and make lists of ingredients, equipment, and tools that you will need. Write a list of prep tasks, and divide them up: are there particular ingredients that can be prepped once a week, rather than every day? What needs to be done during service, and what can you do beforehand? What will need to be restocked soon?

• Find your rhythm: 
  Your mise en place is likely to be unstable when you first start in a new kitchen, so don’t be disheartened - keep chopping and changing the way you do things until you find the right rhythm for you. Everyone works differently.

• Don’t leave it to the next person:
  It can be easy to forget that someone will be taking over your station or area at the end of your shift or the following day. But it’s vital for team harmony and positive working relationships - not to mention, a smoothly run kitchen - that each person chips in to make things as easy as possible for fellow team members. Make sure your station is cleaned up and organized, and if you have the time, start on prep for the next person on shift.

Learn more about managing your kitchen with our lesson from Glenn Flood. Start now! 

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