The night I swapped frozen veg for fresh prep and saved my Sunday

I was doing 200 covers every Saturday at this bistro in Portland, and my prep day was taking 12 hours straight. Then I saw a guy from a busier spot demo how he juliennes carrots in 3 minutes with a mandoline and a good grip. I spent $60 on a proper one and a bench scraper, and now my Sunday prep is done by 2 PM instead of 7 PM. Has anyone else had a single tool change their whole workflow that dramatically?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.robin22d ago

The mandoline is honestly the biggest game changer for prep work. I got a decent one from a kitchen supply store a few years back and it cut my veg prep time in half at least. That bench scraper is also a smart move, I use mine way more than I thought I would for scraping counters and transferring chopped stuff. It blew my mind how one tool could make such a huge difference in how smooth my shift went. Now I'm always looking for that one piece of gear that'll save me time instead of buying fancy gadgets.

patriciap5221d ago

Three weeks ago I got cocky with my mandoline and now my left thumb has a permanent reminder that speed matters less than keeping all your fingers. Bench scraper though? That thing is the real MVP, I use mine to scrape dried hummus off the counter more than I use it for actual cooking.