‘Mise en place’ – Simple Meal Plans

Ever eaten at a restaurant with an exposed kitchen so you could watch the chefs at work? And ever noticed all the little containers and bottles of sauces they have at their work stations?

What is Mise en place?

Mise en place is a French term that I roughly translate as ‘put in place’. In cooking it’s used to describe the practice of chefs preparing food up to a point where it is ready to be used in a dish during food service.

It may be as simple as washing and picking herbs into individual leaves or chopping vegetables. Or more complicated like caramelising onions or slow cooking meats.

The main benefit in a restaurant is that it makes it much quicker and easier to get food on the table after the customer has ordered.

The secondary benefit is that the preparation can help to extend the shelf life of fresh produce.

How can we home cooks use this chef secret to our advantage?

1. Prep when we have time to save time later
By taking the time on weekends to do a little ‘mise en place’ preparation, we can make it much quicker and easier to get dinner on the table when we come home from work late and everyone is hungry.

2. Prolong the shelf life of our produce
A slow cooked meat dish will last for a few weeks in the fridge, where as fresh meat can only be a few days. Same goes for wilted spinach vs a bunch of spinach.