Preparing and arranging ingredients, tools and service items before cooking or service begins.
Mise en place is the advance preparation that makes cooking and service manageable when orders arrive. Ingredients are gathered and prepared, while the utensils needed for the task are placed within reach. Le Cordon Bleu describes this preparation through the example of a cooking demonstration whose ingredients and equipment are ready before filming starts. In a working kitchen, the same principle applies to setting a section before service. The term covers the state of readiness as well as the preparation work. Its hospitality sense is more specific than the everyday French use for setting something up.
In job listings
Belmond’s Station Chef posting in London required preparing the mise en place for a smooth kitchen operation and ensuring the section was set before service. The wording ties the term to a practical deadline: the section’s preparation needs to be ready before service begins. Search local jobs for “mise en place”.
