Chapter 3
Workstations in
the Professional
Kitchen
Objective
• Recall the names and roles of
workstations in the traditional brigade
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The Brigade
• Fine cuisine requires many cooks to
perform a wide variety of tasks
• Chefs modeled kitchen structure after the
military’s brigade system
• The brigade is organized by workstations
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The Brigade
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The Brigade
• Each workstation in the brigade has a name and
assigned duties
• Chef de cuisine (shef deh kwih-ZEEN)
– “Chief of the kitchen” who supervises all kitchen positions
– Responsible for quality of food and safety of guests and staff
• Sous chef (SOO shef)
– Second in command
– Assumes authority and responsibility in chef’s absence
• Chef de garde (shef deh GAHRD)
– Night chef in 24-hour kitchen
– In charge after the chef leaves for the evening
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The Brigade
• Chef de partie (shef deh pahr-TEE)
– Also called a station chef
– May be responsible for any kitchen workstation
• Saucier (saw-see YAY)
– Responsible for making sauces
– Prepares sautéed and panfried items
• Poissonier (pwah-sawn-YAY
– Prepares all fish and shellfish items
– May head the workstation
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The Brigade
• Garde manger (gahrd mohn-ZHAY)
– In charge of cold food station
– Makes salads, dressing, fruit plates, cold appetizers,
and buffet platters
• Butcher
– Cuts and trims meat and poultry for other kitchen
stations
• Rotisseur (roh-teess-UHR)
– Roasts meats and poultry and prepares
accompanying pan sauces and gravy
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The Brigade
• Grill cook
– Prepares all grilled and broiled meats, poultry, and
fish
• Fry cook
– Cooks deep-fried items
• Entremetier (ehn-treh-meh-tee YAY)
– Oversees preparation of vegetables, starches, egg
dishes, and hot appetizers
• Potager (poh-tahj-AY)
– Makes all stocks, soups, and mother sauces
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The Brigade
• Legumier (lay-goo-mee-YAY)
– Prepares and cooks vegetables
– When tasks are combined with those of the potager,
called preparation station
• Pastry Chef
– Head of the baking and pastry department
• Pastry cook
– Prepares sweets and pastries
– Works in the bakeshop during the daytime
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The Brigade
• Baker
– Makes breads and may also make breakfast pastries
– Typically works during the night and early morning
hours
• Decorator
– Specialist who decorates cakes and pastries
– Also makes chocolate carvings or sugar sculptures
• Tournant (toor-NAHN)
– Fills in for other staff members on their days off
– Also called the swing chef or roundsman
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The Brigade
• Commis (koh MEE)
– An assistant
• Communard (com-muh-NAHR)
– Prepares staff’s meals at large operations
• Expeditor
– Reads the servers’ food orders to the cooks
– Organizes finished dishes for prompt delivery
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Objective
• Recognize modern variations on the
classical brigade
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Organization of Modern Kitchens
• Fewer cooks are needed in today’s
kitchens for a variety of reasons
– Smaller operations
– Modern equipment
– More limited menus
• Chain of command and organization of
tasks by stations still exist
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Organization of Modern Kitchens
• Many large hotels
and resorts operate
numerous restaurants
• Hotels/resorts employ
an executive chef and
if needed, a banquet
chef
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Organization of Modern Kitchens
• Cross training is popular in the modern
kitchen for the following reasons:
– Easier staff scheduling
– More flexibility in assigning jobs
– Easier to replace staff who are sick or quit
– Eases staff boredom with job
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Objective
• Explain how the kitchen interacts with
other departments to satisfy guests
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Working with Departments Beyond
the Kitchen
• Large restaurants, hotels, clubs, and resorts
have complex foodservice operations
• The kitchen must coordinate efforts with other
departments:
–
–
–
–
–
Stewarding
Dining room
Catering
Room service
Purchasing
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Stewarding
• The department’s primary task
is sanitation including
– warewashing (cleaning of dishes,
glasses, and serviceware)
– washing pots and pans
– cleaning the kitchen
– storing, inventorying, and
transporting serviceware
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Dining Room
• Kitchen and dining
room work together
to time the cooking
and serving of food
• Food must be
served correctly
and with a friendly
attitude
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Catering
• Sales staff and
chefs work closely to
plan events
• During an event,
banquet chefs
communicate with
the sales staff and
servers about timing
of service and
special requests
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Room Service
• In-room dining is
often an option at
larger hotels
• Kitchen and roomservice staffs must
work together to
please roomservice diners
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Purchasing
• Many large operations have staff who
purchase, receive, store, and issue food
and supplies
• Chef and purchasing staff work closely to
ensure the correct products and quantities
are purchased
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Objective
• Summarize recent trends in foodservice to
reduce labor
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Labor Saving Trends
• Labor is one of the largest costs in the
foodservice industry
• Technology and prepared foods are two
ways to control labor costs
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Technology
• Technological advances
in foodservice equipment
reduce labor costs
– Food processors and
grinders
– Vegetable cutting
machines
– Roll-in rack ovens
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Prepared Foods
• Labor savings using
prepared foods is
often greater than the
increased product
cost
• Common prepared
foods include
– portion-controlled
meats and fish
– precut vegetables
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More Prepared Foods
– Prepared sauces and
soups
– Powdered soup base
and sauce mixes
– Frozen precooked
meats and vegetables
– Ready-made breads
and pastries
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Review
• Describe the role of the following brigade
position:
– Chef de cuisine
• Supervises kitchen; responsible for food quality
and safety of guests and cooks
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Review
• Describe the role of the following brigade
position:
– Sous chef
• Second in command, assumes authority and
responsibility in the absence of the chef
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Review
• Describe the role of the following brigade
position:
– Chef de garde
• Night chef
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Review
• Describe the role of the following brigade
position:
– Chef de partie
• In charge of any of the particular workstations in
the kitchen
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Review
• Match the position to
the duty
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Poissonier
C
Garde manger
E
Entremetier
A
Potager
D
Légumier
B
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A. Vegetables, starches,
egg dishes, hot
appetizers
B. Vegetables
C. Fish cook
D. Stocks, soups, mother
sauces
E. Cold food
Review
• Why do today’s kitchens need fewer
cooks?
– Smaller operations, modern equipment, more
limited menus
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Review
• What does an executive chef do?
– Coordinates the operation of the restaurants
and departments of a hotel or resort
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Review
• List some advantages of cross training
– Easier scheduling, flexibility in assigning jobs,
back-up if someone is sick or quits, eases
boredom of performing the same task daily
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Review
• Name the departments the kitchen works
closely with
– Stewarding, Dining Room, Catering, Room
Service, Purchasing
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Review
• Name and describe two methods of
reducing labor costs
– Technology: better equipment that does the
work of many people
– Prepared foods: food that doesn’t require
labor to prep
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