The way that I devolped the skill that you are talking about was working 50 hours a week inside a pizza oven, but I don't think you have do anything so extreme to accomplish your task. All the other answers here are correct but i think the biggest hurdle to any cook when it comes to this is knowing exactly how long any given procedure is going to take you. When I read a recipe, I rarely even glance at the ingredient list the first time I read it. Instead, I jump straight to the text to see what techniques and cooking methods it wants me to employ. This tells me how long it's going to take me, and my second read through will tell me what I need to have on hand (I do that one looking at my pantry normally) and if I am going to be making any subsitions this evening.

The most important component to this process it that I know how long it takes me to do anything I need to in the kitchen. Without this knowledge, you can't successfully time manage, and even with it you might drop the ball a few times and overcook or undercook something. I used to teach the guys who cooked in my kitchen a set time limit to wait before firing each dish based on what else was on the ticket, and most professional line cooks use a shouted time countdown to the pass to keep the kitchen coordinated. In a home cook situation, all of that is going to be in your head or your kichen timer.

Basically, the best way that I know how to build this up is cook on a clock. Time yourself and get some good refrence points on how long it is going to take you to do the basics and build from there. When learning a new technique, I find I need to use it about twenty times before I am using it at the speed that I am going to be from then on. I also try to never do something new when I'm cooking for an audience. If I haven't made it or something similar to it before, it ain't hitting a guest's mouth at my table.

Another thing that I notice that a lot of homecooks do that the pros don't is hover over the food. They have a hard time putting the food in the pan and walking away until it's time to do something to it. That can be a major time sink right there.

But I would say the most important thing you can do to get better at your work flow is just preparation. Food hitting the table at the same time and at the correct tempature happens in your head long before you ever turn on the stove. It means having a game plan and being able to adjust it for unforseen circumstances but doing everything in your power to prevent such circumstances from happening to you. If you are cooking a recipe, it means knowing it well enough that you aren't having to read it while using it.

Anyway, I was trying to hit the general, and hobodave's anwswer is a great example of exactly what I am talking about. You are going to have to find the best way to do it for yourself. Hope this helped.

The way that I devolped the skill that you are talking about was working 50 hours a week inside a pizza kitchen, but I don't think you have do anything so extreme to accomplish your task. All the other answers here are correct but i think the biggest hurdle to any cook when it comes to this is knowing exactly how long any given procedure is going to take you. When I read a recipe, I rarely even glance at the ingredient list the first time I read it. Instead, I jump straight to the text to see what techniques and cooking methods it wants me to employ. This tells me how long it's going to take me, and my second read through will tell me what I need to have on hand (I do that one looking at my pantry normally) and if I am going to be making any subsitions this evening.

The most important component to this process it that I know how long it takes me to do anything I need to in the kitchen. Without this knowledge, you can't successfully time manage, and even with it you might drop the ball a few times and overcook or undercook something. I used to teach the guys who cooked in my kitchen a set time limit to wait before firing each dish based on what else was on the ticket, and most professional line cooks use a shouted time countdown to the pass to keep the kitchen coordinated. In a home cook situation, all of that is going to be in your head or your kichen timer.

Basically, the best way that I know how to build this up is cook on a clock. Time yourself and get some good refrence points on how long it is going to take you to do the basics and build from there. When learning a new technique, I find I need to use it about twenty times before I am using it at the speed that I am going to be from then on. I also try to never do something new when I'm cooking for an audience. If I haven't made it or something similar to it before, it ain't hitting a guest's mouth at my table.

Another thing that I notice that a lot of homecooks do that the pros don't is hover over the food. They have a hard time putting the food in the pan and walking away until it's time to do something to it. That can be a major time sink right there.

But I would say the most important thing you can do to get better at your work flow is just preparation. Food hitting the table at the same time and at the correct tempature happens in your head long before you ever turn on the stove. It means having a game plan and being able to adjust it for unforseen circumstances but doing everything in your power to prevent such circumstances from happening to you. If you are cooking a recipe, it means knowing it well enough that you aren't having to read it while using it.

Anyway, I was trying to hit the general, and hobodave's anwswer is a great example of exactly what I am talking about. You are going to have to find the best way to do it for yourself. Hope this helped.