Old sous chef ripped into me about my mise en place last Friday

He watched me grabbing stuff from the walk-in four times during service and just said 'you're costing us 30 seconds every trip, that adds up to 10 minutes a night.' Made me rewrite my entire prep list with ingredient locations noted. Now I stage every station like I'm packing for a camping trip, everything within arm's reach before we open. Has anyone else had a veteran chef call them out on something they thought was fine?

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the_drew3mo ago

His point about efficiency is valid on paper but completely ignores the reality of a busy service where you need to be able to adapt on the fly. Having everything locked in place might save you ten seconds but it kills your ability to handle a surprise party of twelve or a sudden run on a certain dish. A good chef adapts to the chaos, not tries to eliminate it.

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claire_butler13mo ago

Adapting to the chaos" sounds good but honestly that 30 seconds adds up when you're in the weeds.

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