What 56 Years As A Professional Chef Has Taught Me

A Simple System To Raise Your Cooking Skills To New Heights!

It Includes a Secret All Professional Chefs Use, Mise en Place

Hello friends, today I want to share with you a simple system that can and will change your life forever! A system that is used by professional chefs all over the world.

I have been using this system for my entire cooking career and it has only brought me success in the kitchen. Cooks who do not use a system like this are always all over the place and never sure of what they are going to cook. Eliminate this problem by incorporating this system into your life today!

Mise en Place: The Secret to Cooking Like a Professional Chef

Today, I’m going to outline something every professional chef swears by – mise en place! It is one of the many important secrets behind some of the world’s most successful restaurants.

So, What is Mise en place?

Mise en place is a French term that means “everything in its place,” it’s a crucial technique used by professional chefs, and serious home cooks, around the globe to create seamless, efficient, and consistent dishes every single time.

It’s all about preparing and organizing your ingredients and equipment before you start cooking, so you can focus on the joy of creating amazing meals, effortlessly and stress-free. You chop your vegetables, dice your onions, and arrange your spices laying out all your ingredients and equipment before you start cooking a single thing.

Now, you might be wondering why mise en place is such a big deal. Well, simply put – it’s a game-changer! As a professional chef, mise en place is the key to ensuring every dish I create is consistently delicious, no matter how many times I make it. By having all my ingredients prepped, measured, and within arm’s reach, I can cook with lightning speed and precision.

Let me share with you how this essential technique played a critical role in making my restaurant one of the best restaurants in the country. You see, running a successful restaurant is all about delivering outstanding food and an unforgettable dining experience to every single guest that walked through our doors. And to ensure that when they returned for their favorite dish, it was exactly the way they remembered it. Mise en place is the secret that made that happen.

The Many Benefits of Mise en Place

Mise en place helped elevate my restaurant to the top, and it can do the same for you whether you have your own restaurant, are at home cooking a weeknight meal for your family, a holiday dinner, or creating an unforgettable dinner party for friends and loved ones.

Here is what mise en place can do for you:

Consistency: With mise en place, you ensure that every dish coming out of your kitchen is consistent in taste, texture, and presentation. Your family or guests will be treated with the exact same exceptional quality every time.

Efficiency: Mise en place allows your kitchen to work like a well-oiled machine. By having all ingredients prepped and organized, you can focus on the actual cooking process, creating dishes at a faster pace without sacrificing quality. This means shorter wait times for hungry diners and a smoother overall dining experience.

Creativity:  Mise en place not only streamlines your kitchen but also frees you up to be more creative. With everything in its place, you can experiment with new flavors and techniques, ultimately crafting innovative dishes that keep your family coming back for more.

Stress reduction: Let’s face it, a professional kitchen can be a high-pressure environment. Just like a home kitchen when you seem to have everything cooking at once, with a house full of hungry family members. But by embracing mise en place, you can significantly reduce stress. With a calm, organized workspace, you can focus on what you do best – creating incredible culinary masterpieces.

So as you can see mise en place isn’t just for the professional chef – oh no! It truly is an incredible tool for home cooks, too. By embracing mise en place, you’ll find your time in the kitchen to be more enjoyable, stress-free, and productive. It’s all about setting yourself up for success, and who doesn’t want that?

Here’s how you can master mise en place in your own kitchen:

Read your recipe thoroughly: Before you start prepping, take the time to read your recipe from start to finish. Make sure you understand each step and have all the necessary ingredients and equipment on hand.

Gather your tools and equipment: From knives and cutting boards to pots and pans, collect all the tools you’ll need for your recipe, so they’re ready to go when you need them.

Prep your ingredients: Measure, chop, dice, mince, and grate your ingredients, placing them in individual containers or on a tray. This way, you’ll have everything ready to go when it’s time to cook.

Organize your workspace: Keep your ingredients and tools within arm’s reach, so you can easily grab them while you cook. A well-organized workspace makes for a more efficient and enjoyable cooking experience.

So, there you have it, my friends – mise en place, the secret sauce to cooking like a pro! By implementing this essential technique, you’ll find that your time in the kitchen is not only more efficient but also a whole lot more fun.

If you enjoyed this article, please don’t forget to share your thoughts and maybe share your mise en place adventures in the comments below.

And remember, if you want to bring some of that restaurant magic into your own kitchen, mise en place is the way to go. Give it a try, and watch as your home cooking reaches new heights!

Thank you and I hope you enjoy the video, happy cooking, folks!

Video – What I Have Learned In My 56 Years As A Professional Chef

Video Transcript

Well, hello dear friends! How many times have you found yourself at the grocery store looking around or standing in front of your fridge with the door open wondering what you were going to prepare for dinner? Well, in the next few minutes, my friends, I will teach you a system where you will never again wonder what to cook. The simple technique is used by professional chefs all over the world. They all know, they all use it, and you should too.

The Importance of Planning

A professional chef cannot be wondering what to cook on a Monday morning for the entire week. Here’s the plan: he has to order, he has to shop accordingly, and get organized. Doesn’t matter if you’re cooking for 500 people a day or a family of four, you still can apply the same technique with great success.

First thing first, you have to pick a day where you spend a few minutes planning the menu for the week. Sunday works for me. Pick whatever day works for you. Get the family involved. Everybody should choose the menu, and especially the day they’re going to become your sous chef.

Preparing Recipes and Shopping Lists

You’ll need to print every recipe you’ll need to prepare for the week. If you do not have a printed recipe, make a list of all the ingredients you’ll need for that dish. Do not forget to plan on using leftovers when planning the menu. For example, if one day you’re having roasted chicken, you may want to plan the next day to do a nice chicken salad. Have some extra chicken then you want to save.

As you read each recipe from top to bottom, prepare at least two shopping lists: one for dry goods like rice and flour and pantry items, and the other one for fresh ingredients like produce, meat, fish, and perishables. Make the list based on the store you will be shopping. For instance, if you do not buy your fish or your meat at the supermarket, like some people don’t, make sure you make a note: fishmonger on Tuesday, meat store on Wednesday. Also, do not forget to defrost in advance.

Organizing Your Shopping and Cooking Days

Have your shopping days on your schedule. Early morning usually works the best, especially for grocery stores. I find if you have it on the schedule, you know every Monday morning or every Sunday night or whatever it is, you want to try to avoid the grocery store at night because there are nothing left.

The day you’re cooking, get your sanitized water ready as the first thing you should do. Friends, I have it in my kitchen every day. As a matter of fact, I never cook without it. It’s the first thing I do when I get into the kitchen. I get my sanitized water, especially if I’m going to do a lot of protein. I’m just doing vegetables and all, maybe just a little soapy water, but I’m going to do some protein. I put a little bit of white vinegar like one gallon of water for three tablespoons of vinegar or a little bit of bleach. No, not both of them, not bleach and vinegar, just all vinegar or bleach. And the bleach, I just put one tablespoon of bleach. It hardly smells more than my pool water.

Reading Recipes and Preparing Mise en Place

Read the recipe from top to bottom. It’s very important, friends. Everybody tells you that, but read the recipe from top to bottom. I receive comments all the time saying, “You didn’t tell us to cook the broccoli on the stir fry.” It says pre-cooked broccoli, so it’s important you pay attention, reread, and also you may want to prepare the rice, then go with that dish, the potatoes, the vegetables, whatever it is. So it’s important you read everything in that before you start.

Mise en Place and Cooking Tips

Now, the most important: mise en place. Friends, mise en place is the secret. Very important, mise en place means “put in place.” It really means chopping and dicing everything into little bowls, ready to go. So when you start cooking, you can have fun with your glass of wine because everything is prepped and the kitchen is clean, and you’re starting to cook. I promise you, friends, if you’re disciplined about your mise en place, you’ll never start cooking without making it.

Also, when ready to start chopping and dicing, check the recipe for the next day and the next day because if you are dicing onion, celery, or carrots, those could be chopped the same day, put them in a little glass bowl, and they stay in the fridge perfectly comfortably for two days.

Cleaning and Involving Others

Most important, friends: clean as you go. After you finish with one ingredient, clean up the board, clean up the table. Don’t start with a new ingredient with a mess already on your board. I can tell if a professional cook is good or not, organized or not, or clean or not by the way I look at their cutting board. You can see cooks with a cutting board full of the stuff they’ve been cooking for the last two or three hours, or you can see the organized chef who cleans up and starts with the next ingredient. It’s so much nicer to start with a clean cutting board without leftover rosemary that’s going to fall into your roasted beets, for instance. It’s very important, little details, but they are so important.

Involve others in your cooking, family, and friends. Everybody should have fun. Cooking is fun! Turn on some music, have some wine. This system is very simple; it just requires discipline. You must follow it in order to be successful. You might have to be disciplined. You’ve got to plan the recipe, you’ve got to shop with that list. You should only go to the grocery store for dry goods only one time a week. If not, you may be able to skip because you have enough in the pantry.

Success and Enjoying the Process

Success means never again will you wonder what to cook for dinner. Very simple. Remember, you can never find yourself at the grocery store wondering, “Oh mama mia, what am I gonna cook?” Alright, now another thing also, friends, do not forget that cooking can be fun and rewarding, a key activity for everyone, regardless of their skill level or experience. Anyone can cook. I’ve said it a million times, and I’m saying it again. All you have to do is be organized, get a little knife skill, and it’s not that complicated, friends.

I hope you enjoyed this quick video. Remember, be disciplined, and you’ll be such a better cook. I promise you. Remember, thumbs up if you like the video, subscribe to the channel, and don’t forget to ring that bell. Thanks for watching!