It means that everything needed to prepare and serve a recipe—the prepped ingredients, utensils, pots, pans and plates—is gathered and ready to use before the cooking begins.

This allows the cook to work in a state of constant readiness. There’s no need to stop to get tools, to slice and dice, to find the lid to the pot, etc. It makes cooking a very calm experience.

Use mise en place the next time you follow a recipe.

• To get you started, here’s a lovely spring recipe: Lamb Loin with Blood Orange Sauce and White Bean Purée.

Using mise en place makes cooking this (or
any) recipe a snap. Photo courtesy of Meat
and Livestock Australia.