"Mise en Place"

"Mise en Place"

So what does, "mise en place" mean?  Which is pronounced, "MEEZ ahn plahs", it means to have all your ingredients on hand, prepared, such as chopped, or prepared a certain way for the recipe, and ready to go before you start cooking.  This includes having all the equipment you may need to prepare the recipe, translated it means, “to put in place.”

You may have noticed that in almost all my recipes, if I did not forget, I note on the top, "Tip:  Read all directions completely before preparing."  What I did not know until recently was that what I was doing already was basically "Mise en Place". 

My first job I ever had was working at a Chinese restaurant named, "Chung Mei Kitchen", in Pharr, Texas, back in 1974.  This is where I fell in love with cooking.  I remember all the ingredients that were needed were all ready chopped up and placed in containers, so that the chef just reached over and grabbed what she needed.  She had orders for Chop Suey, constantly coming in to the kitchen, which she could literally prepare in seconds.  She was a large wonderful Hispanic woman that could cook up the most wonderful dishes!  I thought she was amazing! 

Another job I had a as teenager was working at Mexican restaurant called, "Round Up", located in Pharr, Texas.  I worked as a prep cook.  I can remember making bucketful's of guacamole.  I'd have to pill and mash, literally hundreds of avocadoes, chop tons of tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, Serrano peppers and other ingredients that were needed for the chefs to prepare the items on the menu.  One of the items was their, "Botana Platter", which was piled high with fajitas, panchos.  It was also served with pico de gallo, shredded cheese, guacamole and other dishes.  These fajitas were served on a sizzling platter with warm flour tortillas.  Botanas were listed as an appetizer, but it was a meal in itself!  So, "mise en place" was important because they needed everything ready to go, so that they could prepare the dishes in minutes!

Bottom line is that, when cooking try to make sure you have all your ingredients, prepared and ready to go.  It's made my life easier and more enjoyable in the kitchen, and it will makes your too.  Enjoy!