Mise en Place and the Mess That Made Me

When I first started cooking, it was chaos.

A beautiful, clumsy, borderline dangerous kind of chaos.

Pots clanged, drawers opened, and knives were in all the wrong places. Every piece of silverware I owned was used, and every pan was dirty. And the recipe?

I was reading it while I cooked, squinting through steam and panic, trying to figure out the difference between “simmer” and “boil.”

And still, somehow, the food turned out okay.

Not great. Not refined.

But edible.

Which, given the circumstances, felt like a minor miracle.

Back then, cooking was survival mixed with ambition.

A love letter written in all caps with a grease-stained pen.

But then I learned about mise en place.

And everything changed.

Mise en place: “Everything in its place.”

A phrase you hear in culinary schools whispered like gospel across stainless steel kitchens, tattooed into the souls of anyone who’s ever worked a line.

But it’s more than just a cooking philosophy—a way of life.

The Breakdown

Plan: Read the damn recipe. All of it.

This isn’t a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. Know what you’re about to get into.

Get – Gather your ingredients and your gear.

Every spoon, every pan, every awkward little measuring cup you’ll inevitably forget if you don’t do this step.

Prepare – Chop. Measure. Peel.

Treat each ingredient like it matters because it does.

Sort —Use small bowls, containers, or whatever you have. Separate your garlic from your ginger, your wet from your dry.

Place: Lay it all out around your cooking space.

A clean space is a clear mind. Keep a towel on your shoulder—you’ll need it.

I know people get tired of hearing this.

They want the shortcut. The life hack. The TikTok version.

But I’m gonna keep saying it until it sinks in.

Because mise en place isn’t just about food.

It’s about respect—for the process, ingredients, and yourself.

It saves you time.

It saves your sanity.

And yeah, it makes your food better.

As a nurse, I’ve always set up my cart the same way every shift.

Same rhythm. Same layout. Same tools, same order.

It’s not because I’m obsessive—when the heat hits and the pressure’s on, your body remembers what your mind forgets.

It works in the kitchen, too.

When I have a big cooking day, I prep the night before.

I chop. I portion. I lay it all out like I’m about to do surgery.

And when it’s time to cook, it flows.

Not without effort—but without panic.

It becomes a craft, not a scramble.

So yeah, I’ll keep saying it.

Take the time.

Do the work.

Respect the process.

Because food isn’t just about flavor—it’s about intention.

And if you can find clarity in the kitchen, the mess, the heat, and the chaos…

You can find it everywhere else, too.

By Kyle J. Hayes

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