The fry cook at a diner in Tulsa who taught me more about mise en place than any chef I've worked for

Shane Shah · 2026-10-25T11:25:03.995084+00:00

I was working a busy Saturday at a spot off Route 66 in Tulsa and this older fry cook named Mel just quietly ran his station better than anyone in the kitchen. He kept his flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs lined up left to right and wiped his board between every single order, and when I asked why he bothered he said the board tells you what's next before your head does. I started setting up my station his way the next shift and my tickets got faster almost overnight. Curious if anyone else learned a core habit from a line cook instead of a head chef, and what it was.

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The fry cook at a diner in Tulsa who taught me more about mise en place than any chef I've worked for | Chefs - Librear