Had a line cook change my mind about mise en place today

I used to think mise en place was overrated, just a way to look busy. Then this new kid, Marcus, showed up at our kitchen in Portland. He spent 15 minutes every morning organizing his station, labeling small containers with squeeze bottles. One Saturday we got slammed, 180 covers in 2 hours, and he kept up without breaking a sweat while the rest of us were drowning. I asked him about it after service and he said 'prep is the real cook, not the heat.' Now I spend an extra 20 minutes setting up before dinner rush. Has anyone else had a junior cook teach them something that stuck?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_daniel2d ago

That "prep is the real cook" quote really hit me hard, man.

the_faith1d ago

My cutting board has a permanent onion smell from three years ago.

thomas.river1d ago

Gotta call out that "prep is the real cook" line though. Marcus sounds like a solid dude but he definitely stole that from somewhere. I think it's from a YouTube chef or maybe an old Bourdain book. Not a big deal really, lots of cooks borrow quotes like that. But yeah your point totally stands, the kid was right even if he didn't come up with it himself. Mise en place changes everything once you actually stick with it for a week.