Students of the culinary arts know that Escoffier reorganized the kitchen by instituting a system known as the “classical brigade.” One of the advancements of the modern kitchen is the ability to tell what kind of chef we have based on the area of the kitchen in which they are working; this is of particular interest to home cooks and enthusiastic cooks who may be reading this right now.
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| Photo by cottonbro |
For the purposes of this discussion, let’s agree that a “chef” is the person in control of the kitchen. But the kitchen is a hierarchical workplace with a variety of jobs, each of which is controlled according to the size of the organization and the kitchen. So, without further ado, let’s analyze each position.
1. Executive Chef
The executive chef is the manager in charge of all areas of food production. This includes but is not limited to creating menus, shopping for ingredients, determining prices, organizing staff schedules, and training new hires.
2. Chef de Cuisine
In major hotels and restaurants, the chef de cuisine oversees all of the kitchen’s various departments, but he still answers to the executive and takes orders from him.
3. Sous Chef
The sous chef is the second in command in the kitchen, after the executive chef or chef de cuisine, and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of food preparation. The executive is responsible for overseeing the entire kitchen and so needs resources that will enable him better to manage its many sections.
4. Chef de Partie
Chef de partie is a station chef they are in charge of particular areas of production. and each chef de partie has a role. And here are the following roles that they do:
- Saucier or Sauce Chef- Sautés, stews, and other hot appetizers and main dishes are prepared per customer requests. Positions like this are typically the highest on the chain.
- Poissonier or Fish Cook- Works with fish, and as such, has extensive knowledge of how to prepare various fish meals.
- Entremetier or Vegetable Cook- Cooks eggs, soups, potatoes, and veggies. Depending on the size of the kitchen, these tasks may be split up among the vegetable cooks, fry cooks, and soup cooks.
- Rotisseur or Roast Cook- Responsibilities include cooking and preparing meats for roasting, broiling, braising, and another item on the order, as well as making gravies for the operation.
- Grillardin or Broiler cook- In situations where a sizable amount of food must be prepared the rotisseur is assisted by the grillardin or Broiler cook. Work involves deep-frying meats and seafood, as well as handling broiled foods.
- Garde Manger or Pantry Chef- The salads, dressings, pates, cold hors d’oeuvres, and cold buffet items are the responsibility of the garde manger.
- Patissier or Pastry Chef- Have extensive culinary training and are experts in the art of pastry baking; in restaurants and buffets, they are responsible for desserts.
- Tournant or Relief Cook- Are prepared to take responsibility for each station head in the situation that there is no available chef or cook.
- Aboyeur or Expediter- Takes food orders from waiters and relays them to the kitchen staff. They keep tabs on when orders should be plated and personally check each one before delivering them to the dining room.
