Brigade de cuisine

Brigade de cuisine (French: [bʁiɡad də kɥizin], "kitchen brigade") is a system of hierarchy found in restaurants and hotels employing extensive staff, commonly referred to as "kitchen staff" in English-speaking countries.

The concept was developed by Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935).[1][2] This structured team system delegates responsibilities to different individuals who specialize in certain tasks in the kitchen or in the dining room.

List of positions

This is a comprehensive list of the members of a full kitchen brigade. Only the largest of establishments would have a staff of this size. As noted under some titles, certain positions are combined into other positions when such a large staff is unnecessary. Note: Despite the use of chef in English as the title for a cook, the word actually means "chief" or "head" in French. Similarly, cuisine means "kitchen", but also refers to food or cooking generally, or a type of food or cooking.

Chef de cuisine (kitchen chef; "chief of the kitchen")
is responsible for overall management of kitchen; supervises staff, creates menus and new recipes with the assistance of the restaurant manager, makes purchases of raw food items, trains apprentices, and maintains a sanitary and hygienic environment for the preparation of food.[3]
Sous-chef de cuisine (deputy or second kitchen chef; "under-chief")
receives orders directly from the chef de cuisine for the management of the kitchen, and often serves as the representative when the chef de cuisine is not present.[3]
Saucier (sauce maker or sauté cook)
prepares sauces and warm hors d'oeuvres, completes meat dishes, and in smaller restaurants, may work on fish dishes and prepare sautéed items. This is one of the most respected positions in the kitchen brigade.[3]
Chef de partie (senior chef; "chief of the group")
is responsible for managing a given station in the kitchen, specializing in preparing particular dishes there. Those who work in a lesser station are commonly referred to as a demi-chef.[3]
Cuisinier (cook)
is an independent position, usually preparing specific dishes in a station; may also be referred to as a cuisinier de partie.[3]
Commis (junior cook / assistant cook)
also works in a specific station, but reports directly to the chef de partie and takes care of the tools for the station.[3] A woman is a commise.
Apprenti(e) (apprentice)
are often students gaining theoretical and practical training in school and work experience in the kitchen. They perform preparatory work and/or cleaning work.[3] An apprenti is a male, and apprentie female.
Plongeur (dishwasher or kitchen porter)
cleans dishes and utensils, and may be entrusted with basic preparatory jobs.[3]
Marmiton (pot and pan washer; kitchen porter)
in larger restaurants, takes care of all the pots and pans instead of the plongeur.[4]
Rôtisseur (roast cook)
manages a team of cooks that roasts, broils, and deep fries dishes.[3]
Grillardin (grill cook)
in larger kitchens, prepares grilled foods instead of the rôtisseur.[5]
Friturier (fry cook)
in larger kitchens, prepares fried foods instead of the rôtisseur.[5]
Poissonnier (fish cook)
prepares fish and seafood dishes.[4]
Entremétier or entremettier (entrée preparer)
prepares soups and other dishes not involving meat or fish, including vegetable dishes and egg dishes.[3] Originally the entremets preparer.[6][7]
Potager (soup cook)
in larger kitchens, reports to the entremétier and prepares the soups.[5] (Cf. jardin potager)
Legumier (vegetable cook)
in larger kitchens, also reports to the entremétier and prepares the vegetable dishes.[5]
Garde manger (pantry supervisor; "food keeper")
is responsible for preparation of cold hors d'oeuvres, pâtés, terrines and aspics; prepares salads; organizes large buffet displays; and prepares charcuterie items.[3]
Tournant (spare hand/roundsman)
moves throughout the kitchen, assisting other positions in kitchen.
Pâtissier (pastry cook)
prepares desserts and other meal-end sweets, and for locations without a boulanger, also prepares breads and other baked items; may also prepare pasta.[4]
Confiseur
in larger restaurants, prepares candies and petit fours instead of the pâtissier.[5]
Glacier
in larger restaurants, prepares frozen and cold desserts instead of the pâtissier.[5]
Décorateur
in larger restaurants, prepares show pieces and specialty cakes instead of the pâtissier.[5]
Boulanger (baker)
in larger restaurants, prepares bread, cakes, and breakfast pastries instead of the pâtissier.[4]
Boucher (butcher)
butchers meats, poultry, and sometimes fish; may also be in charge of breading meat and fish items.[5]
Aboyeur ("barker", announcer/expediter)
takes orders from the dining room and distributes them to the various stations; may also be performed by the sous-chef de partie.[5]
Communard (staff cook)
prepares the meal for the restaurant staff.[5]
Garçon de cuisine ("kitchen boy")
in larger restaurants, performs preparatory and auxiliary work for support.[4]
commis de débarrasseur (busser)
clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling

Summary table
English French IPA Responsibilities
Sauté chef saucier [sosje] Sautéed items and their sauce. (The highest position of the stations.)
Fish chef poissonnier [pwasɔnje] Fish dishes, and often fish butchering, and their sauces. (May be combined with the saucier position.)
Roast chef rôtisseur [ʁotisœʁ] Roasted and braised meats, and their sauces.
Grill chef grillardin [ɡʁijaʁdɛ̃] Grilled foods. (May be combined with the rotisseur.)
Fry chef friturier [fʁityʁje] Fried items. (May be combined with the rotisseur.)
Entrée preparer entremétier [ɑ̃tʁəmetje] Hot appetizers and often the soups, vegetables, pastas and starches.
Soup chef potager [pɔtaʒe] Soups. (May be handled by the entremétier.)
Vegetable chef légumier [legymje] Vegetables. (May be handled by the entremétier.)
Roundsman tournant [tuʁnɑ̃] Fills in as needed on stations in the kitchen, a.k.a. the swing cook.
Pantry chef garde manger [ɡaʁd mɑ̃ʒe] Cold foods: salads, cold appetizers, pâtés and other charcuterie items.
Butcher boucher [buʃe] Butchers meats, poultry, and sometimes fish and breading.
Pastry chef pâtissier [patisje] Baked goods and plated desserts, including pastries, cakes, and breads. May manage a separate team and department.
  • Kitchen Brigade, or La Brigade, a 2022 film directed by Louis-Julien Petit.[8]
  • The Bear, a comedy-drama television series with 18 episodes in 2022-2023 seasons, presents difficulties of a trained chef introducing the kitchen brigade system in a family-owned Chicago sandwich shop.

See also

Notes
  1. "Escoffier Kitchen Brigade System Then and Now". 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  2. "The Kitchen Brigade - Lucky Peach". 28 October 2015. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  3. Dominé, 32.
  4. Dominé, 33.
  5. The Culinary Institute of America, 8.
  6. Larousse, Pierre (1870). Grand dictionnaire universel (in French). Larousse et Boyer. p. 655. ENTREMÉTIER […] Cuisinier chargé de la préparation des entremets, dans une grande cuisine.
  7. Pichette, Henri (1988). Odes à chacun (in French). Gallimard. p. 120. ISBN 978-2-07-071224-3. ENTREMETTIER ou ENTREMÉTIER n. m. (ENTREMÉTIER 1870 GDu, ENTREMETTIER 1892 Ddd; de entremets). […] Dans une brigade de cuisine, jeune chef de partie qui a la charge de préparer les potages, les œufs, ainsi que les légumes devant servir de garniture (aux viandes, aux poissons).
  8. "Kitchen Brigade (2022)". IMDb.

References
  • Dominé, André (ed.). Culinaria France. Cologne: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbh, 1998. ISBN 978-3-8331-1129-7
  • The Culinary Institute of America (2006). The Professional Chef (8th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-7645-5734-7.
  • Patrick Rambourg, Histoire de la cuisine et de la gastronomie françaises, Paris, Ed. Perrin (coll. tempus n° 359), 2010, 381 pages. ISBN 978-2-262-03318-7
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