Montmartre by John Althouse Cohen of Flickr
The acronym is nothing new, it has been around in the military for years. What it represents is the freedom from the chaos that can occur when you cook. Whether you are a professional, or a housewife, you will benefit from following:
Prior: The first part of the acronym is probably the no-brainer part. Why is it then that no one does the planning before something goes wrong? They are not following the 7 P’s, that’s why. This acronym will mean nothing if you do not do it prior.
Proper: It goes without saying that planning properly is key. Why plan for something that you do not need, when you can be expending energy on something that you do? An example is having your recipes ready before you start prepping your event. Without those, you will not know what you are needing, and you may buy something you do not.
Planning: That is what this is all about, right? Planning for contingencies, plan the event, your menu, the steps you are going to take.
Prevents: You do not want choas, right? You need prevention.
Piss: Crude, but it fits with the P’s. Basically, crap.
Poor: A modifier of the above term, nothing to strive for, ever.
Performance: Here is the crux. In the end, how you perform in the kitchen makes you the cook that you are. Remember, you are only as good as your last shift, (or meal.)
I cannot tell you how many times I have suffered because of the lack of one of the above P’s. Whether an item is missed, functions go awry, clients are upset, it can usually be traced back to a lack of one or more of the above parts of the acronym. Remember this saying, and you will always be a great cook.
Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
