Re:Modeling chopping onions: The importance of mise en place
by thehappypm on Monday February 28, 2022 @04:10PM
(#30505174)
This is a terrific metaphor.
Mis-en-place at home cooking only works if you have a very, very detailed recipe. Just like waterfall — if you’re gonna just full steam ahead on a project you gotta know what you’re working towards. Any missing detail (forgot the garlic! Forgot to think about an edge case!) can derail the recipe/project.
Agile is more like a stir fry, you chop up some onions and throw them in, then see what else you got, all one step a time, and evolve and taste as you go.
Re:Modeling chopping onions: The importance of mise en place
by jwithington on Monday February 28, 2022 @01:47PM
(#30503429)
Yes!! Exactly.
In terms of project planning, a single cook using strict mise en place is Waterfall. When I cook, I aim for a more agile approach. Always cut onions into their own bowl first (for pretty much everything I cook). If the prep-time for the next ingredient(s) is long enough that I'd burn the onions, they go into a second bowl. But when I'm part-way through getting that second bowl prepped, I'll get the onions going. If I'm working on a new recipe, I'm more inclined to prepare further ahead, or I'll have a failed dish... but next time I make it, I'll have more confidence to multiplex cooking and prepping.