Thursday, September 05, 2013

Titles in the kitchen

I was watching a documentary not long ago and intrigued by the different ranking of chefs in a kitchen of bigger restaurant And so I turn to Mr Google to learn more about them.

Master Executive Chef - This person is in charge of all things related to the kitchen, which usually includes menu creation, management of kitchen staff, ordering and purchasing of inventory, and plating design.

Chef de cuisine - is the traditional French term from which the English word chef is derived.
Head chef - is often used to designate someone with the same duties as an executive chef, but there is usually someone in charge of them, possibly making the larger executive decisions such as direction of menu, final authority in staff management decisions, etc. This is often the case for chefs with multiple restaurants.

The Sous-Chef de Cuisine (under-chef of the kitchen) - is the second-in-command and direct assistant of the Chef de Cuisine. This person may be responsible for scheduling the kitchen staff, and substituting when the head chef is off-duty; he/she will also fill-in for or assist the Chef de Partie (line cook) when needed. This person is accountable for the kitchen's inventory, cleanliness, organization, and the ongoing training of its entire staff. A sous-chef's duties can also include carrying out the head chef's directives, conducting line checks, and overseeing the timely rotation of all food product. Smaller operations may not have a sous-chef, while larger operations may have more than one.

A chef de partie - also known as a "station chef" or "line cook" is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each station chef might have several cooks and/or assistants. In most kitchens, however, the station chef is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with "first cook", then "second cook", and so on as needed.

A commis - is a basic chef in larger kitchens who works under a chef de partie to learn the station's responsibilities and operation. This may be a chef who has recently completed formal culinary training or is still undergoing training.

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