Getting Started

So, to get started in the cooking world is called Mis en Place.  This means "everything in it's place" and is possibly the most important thing to do.  So, what does this mean for you? It means having all the ingredients ready to be cooked (gathered, peeled, cut, etc.) and having all the equipment ready that you'll need to cook your dish.

Here we have an example of mis en place for an omlette.  Notice that the ingredients have been cut and portioned out and that a small non-stick saute pan is sitting to the side.  Aside from the eggs being out and cracked into a bowl, you're ready to cook!

Mis en place helps to make sure that you have everything you need so that you're not half way through a recipe and realize that you don't have some critical ingredient.  So before you start anything, ask yourself "is my mis en place done?"