Talked to a line cook about mise en place and it flipped my whole approach

Had a convo with a young line cook at a spot in Austin last week. He told me he spends 90 minutes every morning just pulling and organizing his station even if the lunch rush isn't for hours. I always just grabbed stuff as I went and figured I was saving time. He showed me his setup with all the herbs chopped and oils portioned out and damn did it click. Now I'm doing the same before my crew shows up for dinner service. Anyone else had a kitchen habit that took way too long to unlearn?

2 comments

2 Comments

keith2645d ago

Had you ever watched him work a rush before you helped him out, or did it take loading those bags yourself to see what you were missing?

oliver7195d ago

Did you ever watch somebody work and realize you been doing it backwards for years? My buddy ran a food truck and he'd spend two hours every morning dicing onions and bell peppers and bagging them up in order. One day I helped him out for a favor and he showed me his little system of labeled half pans and squeeze bottles. I always thought mise en place was just fancy chef talk but watching him grab a bag of prepped veggies and throw a dish together in 60 seconds made me feel pretty dumb. He could bang out 50 plates during a rush without breaking a sweat while I was still fumbling with a cutting board.