Walked into a walk-in cooler at a diner in Pittsburgh and came out with a new approach to mise en place

3 comments

3 Comments

Wait, you walked into a walk-in cooler and came out with a NEW approach to mise en place? That sounds like something straight out of a weird dream.

tessap9713d ago

Start by saying @black.oliver is probably your worst enemy in a kitchen, not your muse. Fifteen minutes in a freezer sounds like a ticket to frostbite, not a breakthrough. You come out shivering and your brain is foggy, not clear. Real ideas come from the chaos of a busy service where you can test things in real time, not from hiding behind boxes of produce. If your system only works when you stand in a meat locker for a quarter of an hour, that's not a system, that's a gimmick. Most of us have to solve problems while the grill's on fire and three tickets are waiting, not in a silent icebox.

black.oliver13d ago

Straight out of a weird dream" - funny but I gotta disagree. That cooler was the most clearheaded I've been all week. Fifteen minutes in the cold, no noise, no tickets printing. Just me and the boxes. You'd be surprised what pops into your head when your teeth are chattering. It's not magic or a dream. It's just being forced to stop and think for a minute. That's where real ideas come from, not from some weird fantasy. The new system works because I had to simplify everything. No distractions. Just cold air and a problem to solve. Not a dream at all.