In many parts of life, mise en place is a helpful concept that allows you to properly structure your own foundations, and ensure that you are prepared for a wide variety of situations. This specifically comes down to mental resilience, and building good habits instead of bad ones.
“But Simon! That’s a really fancy French word. Could you break it down a little bit?”
Sure can! I’ll give you a practical example of how I taught myself cooking. To the professional cooks out there, I’m sorry in advance, you’re probably going to strongly dislike my technique. This being said, please do share any tips if something I’m writing here is obviously wrong.
On Saturday, I cooked a meal. I first started by laying the foundations, and setting the expectations for what I wanted the meal to look like. In fact, I used all five senses. I put intense focus into dialing in the recipe.
I would give you the recipe, but it’s muscle memory now; it’s not written down. That being said, I at least know how to structure it.
I wanted thick cut fries with a medium spice (Cayenne pepper-based) cheese dip. And, scrambled eggs that tasted like an omelette. I wanted comfort food, in the style of brunch, made entirely at home.
The taste profile was perfect. I was so proud of what I’d created. When tasting the cheese, it had this amazing flavor that lasted 5–10 seconds.
But, well, I was the only one that ate it.
Why?
I was making it for me. It essentially came down to, the others didn’t ask, and I didn’t tell them. There wasn’t communication. Only silence. Nobody walked up to me and really took the time to understand the story I was going for, and therefore, I didn’t get the chance to respond.
All they saw is that I was having fun. And yeah, I did have lot of fun; to me, it was a great meal. But if I’m missing something, and the taste profile isn’t for everyone, I want to know about it. I genuinely want to know, so I can cook a better meal.
I was given that feedback in real life once I asked, or at the very least, made it known that I’m open to constructive criticism. It can be difficult and emotionally draining, but it’s just part of life, in my experience.
If you have that solid foundation, if you have that mise en place, that means you’re checking these things before you even start.
Before I even start, do I have the spices ready for the food? Do I know what kind of flavor profile I’m going for, and the kind of flavor profile others would enjoy too? Have I watched a few videos, or read a few blog posts, about formally-trained professionals doing what I’m attempting to do?
That’s really the foundation. I’m a huge fan of the Socratic Method, and that’s really how I learn best. I enjoy prompting myself with a question (or letting a question reveal itself) and allowing it to guide my research, being the point at which I’m grounded on.
Okay, so we went over the cooking example. What’s up with the lawnmowers?
Well, I showed you my lawnmower once, I’ll do it again! :)
I’m going to spend some time this week re-reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. I’ve read it before, I’m just a bit rusty on the techniques. Expect a book review.
I’m also going to spend some time this week going over some product stories, and how the average person can decipher some of the latest trends.
Well, thanks for letting me mow my lawn!
I’ve also started going for walks again, and it’s really helped. I took this photo over the weekend, and I think it’s a great caption photo to start the week off. Do what you’d like with the photo, just credit me, please:
Be well. I’m going for another walk. I’ll look at the view count and comments at the end of the week. For now, I’m just going to keep writing.
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