Meaning & use
mise en place
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
The practice of preparing and arranging all ingredients and tools before cooking begins, so the work goes smoothly.
Grammar: Used without a: good mise en place saves time.
Patterns
- do your mise en place
- have everything in mise en place
The chef checked that every cook had finished mise en place before dinner service.
With your mise en place ready, the stir-fry takes only five minutes.
I always do my mise en place first, chopping the onions and measuring the spices.
noununcountablefigurative
Careful advance preparation for any task, so everything needed is in place before you start.
Grammar: Used figuratively outside the kitchen, usually without a.
Patterns
- mise en place for something
Her mise en place for the presentation included printed notes and a charged laptop.
Good mise en place before a long drive means a full tank and a planned route.
Common combinations
- do your mise en place
- Do your mise en place before you turn on the stove.
- set up mise en place
- The students set up mise en place on trays.
- good mise en place
- Good mise en place keeps a busy kitchen calm.
- mise en place for service
- The cooks finished mise en place for service by four.
- mise en place bowls
- Small mise en place bowls hold the measured spices.
Synonyms and how they differ
- prep work
- Prep work is a plain English term for any advance preparation, while mise en place names the kitchen discipline of arranging it.
- preparation
- Preparation is the general word and need not involve arranging ingredients.
- setup
- Setup covers arranging any equipment, whereas mise en place is tied to cooking.
Word family
Commonly confused: mise en place or mis en scene?
mise en place vs mis en scene
Mise en scène is a film and theater term for how a scene is arranged, not a cooking term.
Practice
Before the dinner rush, the cook spent an hour on her ____, chopping vegetables and laying out tools.
Choose one answer.
Mise en place means preparing ingredients and tools before cooking. The other French phrases mean a great achievement, a takeover and a social mistake.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mise en place”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.