Overheard a line cook say mise en place is overrated, got me thinking

I was grabbing a coffee last week and heard two cooks arguing. One said mise en place is a waste of time and just makes you clean more dishes. The other said without it your ticket times double and you burn stuff. I've seen both sides work in different kitchens. Some guys prep everything down to the pinch of salt and crush service. Others just grab as they go and somehow keep up. What's your take on this do you stick to strict prep or roll with the flow?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor.brooke1d ago

Remember eating at a small Italian place where the owner was also the chef. He had this system where he would lay out all his ingredients on the counter in little piles before service started. Onions here, garlic there, basil leaves stacked neat as playing cards. But he never used bowls or containers. Just piles on the cutting board. By the end of the night everything was mixed together and he was scooping garlic off the same board where he'd just chopped mushrooms. It drove his sous chef crazy but the food was always fantastic and he never missed a ticket. Made me wonder if half the battle is just knowing where things are, not how they're stored.

the_rowan1d ago

Totally, @taylor.brooke, sounds like an organized disaster but I'd still eat there.

rosepark1d ago

Oh man, that's such a relatable story. I totally get what you mean about knowing where things is mattering more than how they're stored. @the_rowan, you described that perfectly, it sounds chaotic but the results speak for themselves.