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Had a chat with my old line cook yesterday that flipped my view on mise en place
So I was grabbing a beer with Mike, guy I worked the line with back at that Italian spot in Portland about 6 years ago. He runs a food truck now, does killer tacos. We got to talking about prep and he said something like "you know, having everything ready before service is good, but it makes me lazy. I don't think about my moves anymore, I just grab and go." At first I thought he was nuts. Mise en place is sacred, right? But then he explained how prepping on the fly keeps him sharp, forces him to taste every step. And I gotta admit, I've been doing the same station for 3 years now and I catch myself sleepwalking through service. Last week I burned a roux because I was just on autopilot grabbing stuff. Maybe there's something to being a little less organized. Anyone else feel like too much prep kills your instincts?
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wesley18121d ago
There was this old short order cook I read about once, guy named John who worked a diner for 40 years. He said the same thing basically - that if you prepped everything down to the last pinch of salt you'd lose the feel for the food. I get what your friend means about tasting every step. It's like when I'm cleaning houses, if I just grab the same spray and rag without looking I miss spots. But man, a burned roux is rough. Mike might be onto something though.
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miles_young5921d ago
That line about "losing the feel for the food" really sticks with me... because honestly I think half the disasters in my kitchen happen when I get too cocky and try to wing it on autopilot. But yeah, a burned roux isn't like a missed spot on a countertop - you can't just spray some more cleaner on it and pretend it never happened. Good luck explaining to your guests that you channeled Mike's philosophy a little too hard and now the gumbo tastes like a campfire.
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riley4312d ago
My grandma burned roux all the time and nobody died, it's just dinner lol.
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