the.com/mise en place
everything in its place before the fire starts, literally and metaphorically.
means the practice of prepping and organizing all ingredients and tools before you start cooking.
from french for putting in place, born in escoffier's brigade-system kitchens where chaos was the enemy and stations had to be ready before service.
origin eraformalized in 19th-century french haute cuisine
beyond cookingnow used in offices, surgery, coding
chef testline cooks judged by prep discipline alone