Heard a sous chef say 'mise en place is for rookies' and it got me thinking

I was staging at this place downtown last week and this sous chef was flying through prep without any mise en place. Just grabbing stuff as he went. Said it saves him time cause he doesn't have to wash extra prep bowls. I tried it for a shift and ended up burning shallots twice and dropping a ladle of stock on the floor. Maybe it works for him after 15 years but I don't think I'm there yet. Anyone else ever try going without mise?

2 comments

2 Comments

derekjenkins15d ago

Doesn't have to wash extra prep bowls" - yeah, cause he's got that 15 years of muscle memory to make up for it. Pretty sure my station would look like a war crime without mise en place.

rileyp4915d ago

Yeah I actually used to be on the other side of this. I always thought mise was just extra work for no reason. But after watching a chef friend of mine work without it a few times, it clicked for me. Seeing @derekjenkins break it down like that really made me rethink it. The prep bowls basically force you to think ahead and stay organized. Without that structure, you're just reacting to everything all shift. Anybody else find themselves changing their mind on stuff like this after seeing it in action?