Subscribe
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Menu
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events

Mise en place: It’s all in your head

in News
Outlaw Partnersby Outlaw Partners
April 13, 2016

By Scott Mechura EBS Food Columnist

Mise en place is a French term used in kitchens for decades that translates to “put in place.” The phrase refers to having all the food, cooking equipment and tools you will need for service in their proper places for efficient access.

Most every occupation or trade inevitably has its own mise en place: Carpenters, surgeons, artists. But your mise en place should also serve as your mental organization. An organized workspace and an organized mind go hand in hand.

Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad

When I learned the term mise en place as a teen in one of my first jobs, I used to look at other people’s tools and work stations to try and figure out just how organized they were. I once watched my aunt setting up her pencils as she began to draw, and I said, “Oh, your mise en place.”

“My what?” she asked.

“Your tools, the items you need are all lined up ready to grab.”

“Oh right,” she said. “I guess that’s what it is.”

I’d been working under a chef for almost a year, which by old French chef standards is not very long. He was tireless in his lessons of how things should be; the only way things should be. He impressed upon us daily – no, make that hourly – the importance of a properly set workspace and station.

One evening the restaurant was headed into a busy night, and I had crossed my T’s and dotted my I’s. I was prepped. My station was set, and not only did I look organized, but more importantly I felt mentally organized.

I was “arms folded” as we say in the business, meaning I was so ready that I had nothing to do right before service. Chef walked through our stations as he did every day but today I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t intimidated. I was ready. He walked through, perusing my station, and with the tiniest of smirks but no change in his step, he said, “You are not ready.”

“What?” I thought. “You can’t be serious.” I was certain I had everything in order. What did I miss? Chef hadn’t touched anything so it had to be something obvious. I just couldn’t find it.

After watching me search my station for a minute, he walked into my station without looking at me, and picked up my knife. It was lying neatly on my cutting board, blade facing away, and he tucked it, edge first, under the left side of the board knowing I was left handed. As he did this, without a hint of facial expression, he said, “Now you are ready,” and walked away.

On the surface I was happy. Proud really, that my knife being out of position was all he found “out of place.” But it also made me think. It seemed like such an inconsequential triviality. Was he just trying to prove a point? Well, yes, actually. It was a lesson in total organization. I was confident enough that day to challenge the master. The mentor. And he won. Again.

That day, while seemingly unimportant years later, still sticks with me as one of the turning points in my growth as a young cook. “Organized space, organized mind.” I will forever hear chef’s words.

Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is a former certified beer judge and currently the Executive Chef at Buck’s T-4 Lodge in Big Sky.

Outlaw Realty Outlaw Realty
Outlaw Realty
ADVERTISEMENT

Listen

Hoary Marmot Podcast

Joe Borden & Michele Veale Borden

Lastest Episode
See More Episodes

Upcoming Events

Jun 16
9:00 am - 12:00 pm Event Series

Community Hike Big Sky

Jun 16
11:00 am - 5:00 pm Event Series

June Show at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery

Jun 16
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Event Series

Al-Anon Support Group

Jun 16
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Community Creative Writing Group

Jun 17
11:00 am - 5:00 pm Event Series

June Show at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery

View Calendar
Event Calendar

Related Posts

Big Sky seasonal worker welcome party draws a crowd
Local

Big Sky seasonal worker welcome party draws a crowd

June 13, 2025
Discovery Academy launches new Ski Enrichment Program
Featured

Discovery Academy launches new Ski Enrichment Program

June 11, 2025
Bozeman commission considers providing legal help to city’s renters
News

Bozeman commission considers providing legal help to city’s renters

May 23, 2025
Big Sky May 6 election results
Featured

Big Sky May 6 election results

May 6, 2025

An Outlaw Partners Publication

Facebook-f Instagram X-twitter Youtube

Explore Big Sky

  • About/Contact
  • Advertise
  • Publications
  • Subscriptions
  • Podcast
  • Submissions

Outlaw Brands

  • Mountain Outlaw
  • Plan Yellowstone
  • Big Sky PBR
  • Wildlands Music
  • Outlaw Partners
  • Outlaw Realty
  • Hey Bear

Copyright © 2025 Explore Big Sky | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Choices

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Yellowstone
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Real Estate
  • Events

©2024 Outlaw Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Explore Big Sky Logo
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Subscribe
Facebook X-twitter Instagram Youtube