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BEEP BEEP – Breakfast – Gym – Work – Home – Gym – Cook – Dinner – E-Time – Sleep BEEP BEEP – Breakfast – Gym – Work – Home – Gym – Cook – Dinner – E-Time – Sleep BEEP BEEP – Breakfast – Gym – Work – Home – Gym – Cook – Dinner – E-Time – Sleep BEEP BEEP – Breakfast – Gym – Work – Home – Gym – Cook – Dinner – E-Time – Sleep Stop. How often do you breathe? I mean more than just turning air-oxygen into lung-oxygen. How often do you let yourself feel your heartbeat? When, if ever, do you take off your blinders and open yourself to what lives in your periphery? There’s an undeniable comfort in routine—operating on autopilot alleviates the anxiety of making decisions—but it’s also a ball-and-chain. Efficiency ends up trumping experimentation, and therefore preventing advancement.
“Slow down to speed up” is key to mise-en-place (the culinary devotion to preparation). Take it from Bill Telepan, a pioneer of farm-to-table dining: “I always say, ‘Look, I'd rather you take an extra minute or two and slow up service to get it right.' Because the one minute behind you are now is going to become six minutes behind because we're going to have to redo the plate." So, as I mise-en-place my life, I consider: What changes have I made to slow down?
In addition to benefitting my mental health, intentionally taking my time has opened me to engagement with the world. Slowing down changes my focus from completion of a task to doing it well, which includes awareness of what and who is around me. I consciously look beyond the check-box on my to-do list. It takes practice and presence of mind, certainly, and it’s not automatic for me yet, but I'm already happier, more confident, and more effective. I remember what Mom drilled into us: “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” Stands to reason that should apply to your life as well.
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The art of cooking offers a buffet of life lessons. Meals are meant to be shared, right? The fruits of hours at the stove are best enjoyed with friends and family. So it seems somewhat ironic—nay, downright hypocritical—that meal-making should hoard such a large portion of morals and maxims. Care for your tools; Trust your gut and follow your nose; Stay flexible. All these nuggets of kitchen wisdom have their time and place, but I find one chunk of culinary custom universally applicable—the principle of mise en place. This is the first in a series of self-reflection posts where I look at my life through this concept. But I’m getting ahead of myself—I should start at the beginning (a very good place to start, so I’m told) and explain what exactly it is.
I know, it’s French. It’s italicized. It sounds fancy and foreign and hopelessly inaccessible, but trust me, it’s easy to grasp. Mise en place is just the devotion to preparation. Before firing up the range or preheating the oven, gather all your ingredients. Measure your flour. Dice your onions. Put everything in its place. Actually read the recipe. It forces you to familiarize with the task ahead, itemize what you must do and when you have to do it. It coordinates labor and materials, maximizing efficiency and keeping the whole process smooth and on track. Priorities become clear, separating and stratifying like a vinaigrette. Goals are explicitly established, illuminating the way forward when crisis inevitably strikes. So how does mise en place manifest beyond the domain of the delicious? For me, it’s an emphasis on living a present and conscious life. I don’t always succeed, but the effort is important. It’s the principle of the thing, you know. So stay tuned! Stay hungry! Over the next few months I’ll break down the pieces of mise en place and see what lessons it can teach us. |
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May 2020
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