The Pre-Cooking Ritual Anthony Bourdain Always Completed

The late Anthony Bourdain had many golden rules for cooking. Whether it was his ritual of going to local markets to get to know a new food city or his affectionately termed "grandma rule" for dining abroad, Bourdain's immortal wisdom continues to enlighten home cooks and human beings from all walks of life to this day. In his autobiographical book "Kitchen Confidential," Bourdain wrote, "Mise en place is the religion of all good line cooks."

Colloquially known as "the meez," mise en place literally means "put in place" in French. The ritual involves setting up a cook's station with all of the basic, necessary items to prepare the meal ahead. Often composed of common kitchen tools, herbs, and spices, the mise en place keeps everything on hand to regulate your flow in the kitchen.

In "Kitchen Confidential," Anthony Bourdain explains the meez as, "Carefully arranged supplies of sea salt, rough-cracked pepper, softened butter, cooking oil, wine, backups, and so on." While this may vary from one cook to another, its importance is clear. A well-organized kitchen setup is the backbone of productivity and mindfulness. It's one thing to know all of the ingredients that you need, but it's quite another to know where each one is the moment you need it. To save yourself time and avoid the headache of a kitchen mishap, it's ideal to set aside the time for a mise en place ritual prior to getting started.

In "Kitchen Confidential," the mise en place is referred to in the context of preparation for line cooks. But no matter the size of your kitchen, it's simple to translate this pre-cooking ritual for any and all cooks. A good place to start is by considering all of the items needed to make your dish. Taking the time to gather the food items, seasonings, and tools and putting everything within easy reach is the ideal way to organize. There are even several hacks to make the mise en place even more convenient. For example, a muffin tin is an excellent tool to streamline your mise en place. Rather than grab a bunch of separate bowls to house all of your ingredients, keeping everything together in the separate sections of one muffin tin avoids an overwhelming mess to clean up.

Anthony Bourdain's legacy as a boldly opinionated and outspoken gourmand endures in every piece of wisdom he shared with his audience. In "Kitchen Confidential," he shared about his life experiences that informed his love of food and thoughtfulness in its preparation. The mise en place is but one of these pearls of wisdom that Bourdain shared. His words underscored the importance of proper kitchen organization and why those who love to cook must put their hearts and minds thoroughly into the entire process, from pre-cooking rituals to serving and enjoying.