Building confidence in the kitchen begins with an eagerness to learn and the right equipment.

That's why "Good Morning America" Food is helping you get back to basics with culinary advice to help simplify success in your kitchen.

Back to Basics: Mise En Place
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Back to Basics: Mise En Place

You don't need a culinary degree to understand a guiding principle that chefs live by -- mise en place. But mastering this idea and knowing how to implement it at home will have you prepping ingredients like a pro.

What is mise en place?

The French term that means "putting in place" or "everything in its place" is the first step cooks practice in preparing their ingredients and tools needed to execute a dish or recipe.

PHOTO: A man wearing a face mask cooks at a restaurant in an undated stock photo.
STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
A man wearing a face mask cooks at a restaurant in an undated stock photo.

While a professional restaurant kitchen may have prep cooks dedicated to peeling and dicing dozens of pounds of onions hours ahead of a dinner service, home cooks can appreciate a smaller-scale approach for the same concept.

While slightly less regimented, the concept in a home kitchen can make the cooking experience less chaotic and save time.

Why Does it Matter?

Before you even step foot in front of the stove, sink or oven, taking the time to prepare the foods and tools you need to cook through a recipe start to finish will help keep things on the right track.

First, it will ensure that you have everything you need. If you start cooking and realize halfway through that you're out of basil while trying to make Thai basil eggplant, you're going to end up with a different dish entirely.

PHOTO: Ingredients laid out ready to be prepped for cooking.
Kelly McCarthy
Ingredients laid out ready to be prepped for cooking.

Second, you can do all of your washing, peeling, chopping and other prep, then set aside those ingredients in the exact quantities you need to make the next steps fly by with ease and ultimately save on your active cooking time.

Third, you can contain the individually prepped and measured materials in a place according to when you'll need them and in what order. The sense of placement will help keep things organized as you cook, especially if there are more than a few ingredients and components, where counter space and kitchen size might be limited.

PHOTO: A chef cooks with prepared ingredients in an undated stock photo.
STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
A chef cooks with prepared ingredients in an undated stock photo.

Fourth, it keeps your space clean as you cook. Not only will this help you mentally, but physically you'll feel in control within the kitchen and can focus your attention on the ingredients at hand.

What Does it Look Like?

PHOTO: Ingredients that have been prepped and portioned to cook a dish.
Kelly McCarthy
Ingredients that have been prepped and portioned to cook a dish.

Have more questions? Tweet @GMA with the hashtag #GMAfoodforthought or tag @GMA on Instagram to share your pan success stories or ask the reporter for more advice.