Debate: Is mise en place really necessary for home cooks or just a professional habit?

I've seen two camps on this - one says you need to prep everything before you start cooking, the other says just chop as you go. My neighbor spent 20 minutes dicing onions before making a quick stir fry last week and her food turned out fine. What's your take, do you really need it for weeknight meals or is it overkill?

2 comments

2 Comments

betty_barnes1d agoMost Upvoted

Chop as you go and see how fast that stir fry burns while you're still dicing garlic. Do you really trust your multitasking skills more than a chef's?

kelly.emma1d ago

Betty says "do you really trust your multitasking skills more than a chef's?" but honestly, I think that's kind of missing the point for regular home cooks. Mise en place makes sense if you're working with a bunch of ingredients and a tight timeline, but for a simple dinner at home, I'd rather just chop as I go and keep things relaxed. It's not about trusting my skills over a chef's, it's about not wanting to turn a 20 minute stir fry into a 45 minute prep session after a long day. Most weeknight meals just don't need that level of planning unless you're making something complicated. Don't you find it depends more on the recipe than some rule about how to cook?