I've been cooking in this business for nearly 28 years now having learned a thing or two along the way. During my time working at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls Canada, the most pressing question asked of me by patrons, "Is there any way to save some time planning and preparing meals?" Well yes...and ...no. I think that the real question is "when would you prefer to do what must be done?"

Our work weeks have been pushed into the 50 hour range for most salaried individuals, excluding, going to or coming from work! Not to mention as well the getting ready for or the winding down from! On top of it all the kids need to be driven here and there. All this makes the minutes we have through the week, few and precious. It is no wonder given all this that we have been sacrificing what we cook and eat during the week, due to the time remaining if any at all.

So how do you save time during the work week? You run your home kitchen just like restaurants do! It would be impossible for a restaurant to do a couple hundred meals per hour with out having done the prep work first. Everything is done. Vegetables are cut up and portioned out into bags. Rice cooked off ahead of time. Most things are precooked to a certain point and held till service on a daily basis.

Here we are going to cover some basic restaurant concepts and practices. I believe that this will be most interesting to some, especially students who just seem to have no clue and leave things up in the air as to their diet and health.

Most importantly, you busy moms, dads and busy professionals who are looking to reclaim some of your time through the week days. One thing I want you to remember is that hours are made up of minutes and minutes are comprised of seconds. One of the most important skills a chef needs to have, is to be so organized and thoughtful to every physical action that could potentially save a second or two here and there.

Every thought, step, movement and physical action is purposeful to be able to cook several hundred meals in an evening. They really do add up. So what is the point?

What we are embarking upon here is to show you that for every minute you put in prepping on a week end, you will gain 2 or more during your workweek! My endeavor here is to give you back an hour or so a day of your time through your busy workweek when you have no time for anything.

So where to start? First and foremost is shopping for your stocking items. To save time here, it is to be done with and based on a weekly MENU ONLY! This is to save time on your weekends, as so many waste good time looking and thinking about what they need or want to buy. I go in with an inventory order list and I'm back out in no time and this is the way it should be done.

Once you get home get help putting things away and leave what is to be prepped out. Now once again this is going to be gauged by your menu and time frames. From here on out will be nothing more then suggestions...

The principles I am going to discuss here are to help you save time during your busiest period of the week for most individuals. These are tried and true principles of the restaurant industry. This principle of prep time directly effects service time, allowing for greater numbers to be served. So how does this effectively help you? The bottom line is the time saver portion of the principle.

Assuming your work week is a Monday to Friday thing we shall start with Sunday prep day. Refrigerator containers are required to separate veg, starches, & proteins. You can also purchase if you do not have a scale for portion control (for budgetary needs)

but is not absolutely needed. Yet its importance will add in stretching your budget as well as normalizing your daily food intake to proper levels.

You can use a spreadsheet or just a piece of paper to write up a menu / meals for each day of the week.

** Note that all meats not being used during the first few days of the week will be frozen. If sealed properly, 3 day max refrigerated time for unfrozen meats. So for prep: rice can be cooked off if on your menu. A container of pre cut mixed veg can be done up or even portioned down to a 4 to 5oz baggy with a pinch of salt and pepper put in, then rolled and stored in a container. The same can and should be done with the rice. Potatoes can be peeled, cut and quartered if that is part of your menu. You can pre-cook them to a point of near doneness yet this process must be done slowly and not on a high rapid boil. Chill in cold water and portion. Pasta is no different and should be initially as well to near done to allow for some further cooking during the reheating process.

To add flavor to many things you can cut and cook off some mixed onion, and peppers. To lightly sweeten you should caramelize the onions during sautéing prior to adding in your peppers. Cook only to a point where the fibers have started to break down. Cool and portion into roughly 2 to 3oz baggies. You can add these to rice, pan fried potatoes, sautéed tomatoes, meats for hot sandwiches...the list goes on and on....

Wastage is always a problem here so keep amounts and portions tight at first so as not to lose any valuable foods.

The importance of eating right has never been more important during a time where disease and obesity is common place. Through the research of my other life, I discovered that food is our true medicine, BUT it is also the cause of our current condition. In time to come you will learn that it is about balance and not about sacrifice as it is excess that kills... I'd love to see your questions so I can help further...