mise

TikTok serves up step-by-step mise en place with soft jazz and fingernail clacks; mukbang creators rake in millions by eating crab legs in front of a ring light.

Without proper mise en place — ingredients prepped, broth warmed, tools within reach — you risk a gummy, stodgy disappointment.

In place of complicated recipes requiring a full afternoon of mise en place, she offers shortcuts designed to reduce anxiety and, crucially, the risk of giving up altogether.

The myth that all of the ingredients need to be prepared before any cooking starts comes to us from restaurant kitchens, where the concept of “mise en place,” French for put in place, is fundamental.

It's one of the reasons I so love "mise en place."