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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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