Mise en place

My husband works like that in the kitchen. He prepares everything first and lays it out in bowls. I think it helps him to feel in control and proactive. The results are pretty good too.

I'm always organised before I start. Everything is out and prepared, even down to the utensils I'll need.

Never
things get decided when I m ready to eat and literally thrown together as I go along, I never really know what I m having until it comes out of the pot
Always enjoy eating it though

I fall between two stools. I plan menus and always know in advance what the meal will be and I usually get all, or most, of the ingredients and tools out and on the worktop before I start cooking, but ingredient preparation - onion chopping, meat trimming gets done in and around the cooking process.

I’m pretty organised, especially if cooking with a lot of ingredients, I clear up as I go along too.

I’m the same as MOnica and I tidy us as I go along, I can’t bear messy and cluttered worktops when I’m cooking.

Yes, I am another, tidier up as go. I cannot stand clutter.

I tidy as I go too but, after today, I'm going to prepare properly too!!

I’m the same as M0nica , I will set out everything I need, sometimes hours before I am intending to cook .
I chop etc as I go but clear away every item I have used as soon as I am finished with it .

I m in the minority if one here ???

If my husband is cooking for guests he is totally organised even to having a check list of tasks to complete. Veg prepped early and refreshed just in time to eat, meat rested, all decorative items in dishes to add at the last minute. Unfortunately he thinks he still has a brigade to assist in the kitchen and I have every pan and utensil to wash up. No complaints really though as I hate cooking.

I just haven’t got time for too much preparation, I get in at about five thirty, and I’m needing to feed a family of six as soon as possible!
I always tidy up/wash up as I go though.

I’m not posh, so I opened the thread out of curiosity kittylester!

Googled it too:

“It means "everything in its place" and a whole lot more. When a professional chef prepares a dish for service, they gather all the tools and ingredients needed to finish it, without moving from the station they are in. ...”

You can take the girl out of Old Trafford but .... ??

Not these days, but I used to do that when we used to entertain a fair bit. These days I just wing it, invariably forget things and often go to the cupboard to get them and then can’t remember what I’m looking for! As for tidying as you go along I remember our domestic science teacher walking round calling out “clean as you go, girls, clean as you go!” So I do! (She was scary!). DH cooks with everything laid out with military precision, as if he’s doing a kit inspection! He has so much stuff on the worktop there’s hardly room to work but it saves him constantly calling out “Where do I find the.........”!

I thought the title was a Misspelling ???

Greyduster your mention of your domestic science teacher brought back memories for me. We did our lessons at big wooden tables which we had to clean at the end. I can’t remember the teacher’s name, but I can clearly remember her voice “ Scrub the way of the grain girls ! Scrub the way of the grain!” ?

I swear we spent more time scrubbing the wretched tables than we did cooking!

I remember those wretched wooden tables, which ever firm made them must have made a fortune. We were supposed to beat eggs with a fork standing in a draught, anyone remember that? They must have had balloon whisks in those days, but I never saw one, a revelation when I got my first one!

I tend to get the ingredients out, but anything from the fridge I leave until I need it, and then the container goes straight back in to keep cold. With the exception of butter for creaming of course. These TV shows with everything measured out into tiny bowls just look like extra washing up to me. I have been known to stick the saucepan on the scales and weigh straight into the pan, setting the display to zero between each one.

Moving on to DS lesson when we were in the older classes every now and then we used to make toffee to sell at break times for school funds of course it was delicious and we all needed to taste ( just a tiny weeny bit !!!) our teacher soon cottoned on that it was one for the pot, one for our mouth and she made us whistle all the time we were packing it into bags

I do when making anything like a stir fry - everything chopped/sliced up all ready. Ditto a Thai-style fried rice recipe - I make the ‘sauce’ that gives the characteristic flavour in advance.

I first came across mise en place when briefly working at a smart hotel where we were expected to cook a few menu items like boeuf stroganoff and crepes Suzette at the table, and flambé them. Everything would be ready prepared for us on a trolley.
As was explained to us, these are very simple to make or we wouldn’t be allowed to do it! - but guests enjoyed the spectacle.

I do have to have everything to hand that I'll be needing, after that it's plain sailing.

I usually prep the stuff for the evening meal in the morning, vegs peeled or chopped/any sauces made/meats ready etc. Much easier to cook a meal if it's all organised and set to go.
I also wash up as I go if I know there are going to be a lot of dishes or pans being used - my school cookery teacher always taught that as did my Nan who was my best teacher.

No you're not alone - we're all just a bit shy. My OH used to say "one of your concoctions again"
I'm just pleased when it works out I've all the ingredients.
Can't wait to eat out again.

I like to prepare ahead and get all the ingredients together. I too put everything in bowls such as chopped onion and garlic, hopefully it means that I wont forget anything. I also like to tidy up as I go along stacking the dishwasher and cleaning down surfaces. That way is does not look like a disaster area later in the evening.