Codes of Conduct for the Kitchen

There are four ‘codes’ of conduct for our kitchen. When practiced by all or some of the bakers, we are as astonished as anyone else. J

1. Mise en place. French term that describes the way a chef pulls up and measures out all of his ingredients before he starts to prepare the recipe. Think….cooking shows and the pre-measured bowls of ingredients.

2. Clean up as you go. Messy kitchens are my mom’s pet peeve and she would harp on our doing the dishes as we went along. She is right and to this day I find I can not cook in a messy kitchen. Good practice.

3. Good cooks never eat in their own kitchen. What? This is an old saying that reminds the chefs not to nibble away a million calories while cooking. The sense of it is borne in good practice, as you are not licking your fingers or spoons being used while touching food.

4.Wash your hands before a new task and groom for the kitchen. Well this one is obvious isn’t it? Clean hands, an apron and your hair tied back are just plain common sense.

So, cook like you are Julia Child in a televised, professional, iron chef throw-down with Bobby Flay. You never know.