5 Tips from a Professional Chef

Mise en Place!

This is a French term meaning “everything in its place”. 

Hauste’s mission for mise en place is my number one tip as a professional chef. Being prepared and organized before cooking a meal will make your experience that much better and probably inspire you to do it more. Mise en place also comes in handy when hosting a dinner party because when your guests arrive, most of the work is already done! So all you have to do is put the finishing touches on all your dishes and boom you’re the Hauste with the most! 

Here are my steps for mise en place:

1. Read the entire recipe
   So you know what you’re getting into
   

2. Prepare your work space
   Clear off your counter or island to get ready for the cooking process. Nobody likes feeling like your kitchen is caving in on you when you’re trying to cook a delicious meal.
   

3. Prepare the equipment
   After reading through the recipe, grab all the tools you’ll need throughout the cooking process. (that's why Hauste Its have a “tools you’ll need” page)
   

4. Gather ingredients
   Similar to preparing your equipment, after reading through the recipe, gather all the ingredients you’ll need and either organize them together in the refrigerator or store dry ingredients together so when it's time to use them you aren't searching through your kitchen 
   

5. Prepare ingredients
   Wash, chop, slice, marinate, assemble… the list goes on for things you can do in the kitchen to prepare yourself for your dinner party or even a regular meal. Mise en place is the way to go. Trust me, it’s a kitchen game changer.

Clean as you go

Arguably one of my favorite cooking tips. The idea seems like a no-brainer, but how many times have you cooked a meal and then turned around to see a massive pile of dishes to do? This sometimes turns people off from cooking (which makes sense) The clean as you go method will save you from facing the post-meal pile, and will keep your work space neat and tidy while you're cooking.

Put a trash can or bowl directly next to you while you prep 

This will save you from running round the kitchen going back and forth from the trash.

Always opt for fresh herbs and citrus when cooking

You won’t believe the pop of flavor and color that explodes out fresh herbs, rather than dried or bottled ingredients. In the Hauste kitchen you’ll always find an array of fresh herbs, but some of our favs are lemons, limes, parsley, cilantro, and dill. You'd be surprised what a squeeze of lemon and fresh parsley will do to lighten up a heavy pasta dish!

Keep your fresh herbs, fresh

Most people just keep their herbs in the refrigerator, but my favorite hack to keep them fresher for longer is to store them in water. First, trim off the stems and then place them in a glass of water like flowers. Pop them in the fridge and they will last for weeks! No more wilted herbs being forgotten about in the fridge!