Kitchen Organization
Updated: Aug 30, 2018
One of the MOST valuable lessons that I learned in culinary school was kitchen organization. Nothing is worse than trying to cook on the line in a tight space with other chefs, and your area is dirty. Or working at a station with 3 other people and their shit or my shit is everywhere. Besides who wants to cook in a dirty kitchen anyway right? RIGHT! I had to learn to cook in organized chaos, meaning there may 38474394376 pots, pans, measuring spoons and cups, ramekins full of spices, knives, gloves, towels, my sanity and whatever else is on my station but it was organized and clean. I remember rolling my eyes at this board when I saw this because sometimes I personalize things and make shit about me that really isn't and I felt like the head chef was directly talking to me LMAO!
Here are the rules I developed:
Rule #1: When you're cooking, measure out all your ingredients FIRST or at least have ALL your ingredients neatly arranged in close proximity so you don't burn your food struggling to find the pepper or nutmeg when you need it. This is why prep is so important.
Rule #2: Always have your recipe right next to you so that you can transition smoothly through the steps.
Rule #3: ALWAYS wipe as you go. Nothing is worse than having to cook over spilled ingredients not to mention the clean up job you'll be stuck with after
Rule #4: Constantly repeat rule #3
Thats it! It's simple and I honestly hated for the first few weeks of class because I felt like it was slowing me down. Nowadays, I wont even walk in let alone cook in a dirty kitchen. And i'm constantly cleaning as I go, cutting board and knife included.
With love & food,
-Chef Morghan