Chapter 1
The Food Service Industry
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Chapter Objectives
1. Name and describe four major developments that
have significantly changed the modern food
service industry in the twentieth century.
2. Identify seven major stations in a classical
kitchen.
3. Explain how the size and type of an operation
influence the organization of the modern kitchen.
4. Identify and describe three skill levels of food
production personnel.
5. Identify eight behavioral characteristics that food
service workers should develop and maintain to
achieve the highest standards of professionalism.
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It is an exciting time to be starting
a career in food service. Interest in
food and cuisine is soaring.
The industry has many openings for
talented creative people.
New restaurants opening, new
interest in dining, and a vast
availability of foods are making for
a challenging and rewarding future.
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The chef of today is respected as an artist and
craftsperson.
Thousands of skilled food service people are
needed every year.
The truth behind all the celebrity chefs and the
glamorous side of the industry is that it takes
many years of hard work and being able to
handle pressure to be successful.
High levels of job satisfaction, financial gain,
and immediate feedback on your work are part
of the fascination with the industry. Long work
hours are also.
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The 18th Century - Boulanger’s
Restaurant
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The first known modern restaurant was opened
in 1765 by a Parisian tavern keeper, Monsieur
Boulanger.
Boulanger sold soups, which he called
restaurants, derived from the French word
restaurer (to restore or fortify).
Since the 16th century, restorative described
rich and highly flavored soups or stews capable
of restoring lost strength.
Boulanger served a variety of foods prepared
on premises to customers whose primary
interest was dining.
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The French Revolution
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Before the French Revolution (1873),
great chefs worked for nobility, and food
service was controlled by guilds.
The revolutionary government abolished
the guilds, which left many chef without
work.
Many of these chefs opened restaurants,
which allowed the public access to skills
and creativity of sophisticated chefs.
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Chef Marie-Antoine Carême
(1784-1833)
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A great chef of the time whose career spanned
30 years and was the chefs to kings, heads of
state and wealthy persons
He developed Grand Cuisine, characterized by
meals with dozens of courses of elaborately and
intricately prepared, presented, garnished, and
sauced foods.
His books contain the first real systematic
account of cooking principles, recipes, and
menu making.
He was one of the primary reasons cooking of
the Middle Ages was brought into the modern
era.
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Chef Georges-Auguste Escoffier
(1847-1935)
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Escoffier brought French Cuisine into the twentieth
century and is considered to be the father of twentiethcentury cooking.
Escoffier rejected the “general confusion” of the old
menus in which quantity seemed to be the main
emphasis.
He called for order and diversity and a careful selection
of one or two items per course.
His dishes had to be harmoniously, and delight the taste
with their delicacy and simplicity.
Escoffier’s recipes and books are still quality references
for chefs of today
Escoffier’s second major accomplishment was
reorganizing the kitchen, creating a streamlined
workplace. He called this system “the brigade system”
and is still used today around the world.
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Development of New Equipment
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Today, we often take for granted electric ranges
and ovens and electric refrigerators, which did
not exist until fairly recently.
The easily controlled heat of modern cooking
equipment and the use of motorized cutters and
mixers have greatly simplified work.
Development of food preservation and storage
techniques, such as freeze-drying, vacuumpacking, and irradiation, have become valuable
preservation techniques and allow certain foods
to be prepared ahead of time and in large
quantities.
Modern refrigeration and rapid transportation
have made a world of foods available fresh and
in the peak condition all years long.
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Development of New Equipment
(cont’d)
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Some large multiunit chains prepare foods in central
commissaries for distribution to their individual stores.
They cook, cool, or freeze the foods at the peak of their
quality and flavor.
Techniques of food production are changing rapidly. It is
now possible to do some preparation and processing
away from the food service operation rather than in it.
Convenience foods will continue to be a increasing share
of the market.
Although this might look like a threat to the chef of
today, it will allow the drudgery aspects of food
production to be taken away from the chef, so they can
spend more time using there skill and creativity.
Research and technology continue to produce new
advancements in tools of the kitchen.
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Sanitation and Nutritional Awareness
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The development of sciences of
microbiology and nutrition had a
considerable impact on food service. In
Escoffier’s day, little was known about
sanitation and nutrition.
Today customers are very
knowledgeable about nutrition and
sanitation which makes this a very
important aspect of a cook’s training.
This will allow chefs to produce healthful
and well-balanced meals.
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Modern Cooking Styles
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Two opposing forces can be seen at
work throughout the history of cooking.
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One: eliminate complexity and
ornamentation, and emphasize plain,
natural tastes and fresh ingredients.
Two: highlight the creativity of the chef with
the focus on fancier, more complicated
presentations and procedures.
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Modern Cooking Styles (cont’d)
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In the 1960s and 1970s, chefs developed
nouvelle cusine (“new cooking”) which focused
on simple and natural flavors, resulting in
lighter sauces and seasonings and shorter
cooking times.
Today there is a mixture of traditional
preparation techniques, nouvelle cuisine, and
foods that use regional ingredients.
Combinations that draw on traditions brought
by immigrants and the ingredients indigenous
to a bountiful land make for stellar cuisine.
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The rapid growth of the food service
industry provides great promise for
cooks and chefs in the future.
Imaginative chefs will continue to create
new dishes and develop new techniques.
The application of new world and old
world techniques will produce high
quality foods for all the dining public.
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Organization of the Modern Kitchen
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The way the kitchen is organized
depends on many factors.
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The menu
Type of establishment
Hotel
 Institutional kitchens
 Catering and banquet services
 Quick service, carry-out, and full-service
restaurants.
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The size of the operation
The physical facilities, including equipment
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The Classical Brigade
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The chef is the person in charge of the kitchen. In large
establishments he might be called the executive chef.
The sous chef is normally second in command and
controls production and staff supervision.
The station chefs are in charge of specific areas of
production:
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The saucier – sauces, stews, stocks, hot hors d’oeuvres, and sauté.
The poissoner– fish dishes
The rôtisseur– roasted and braised meats and their gravies and
broiled meats.
The grillardin– broiled items, and maybe deep–fried meats and fish.
The garde manger – cold foods, including salads, dressings, pâté,
cold hors d’oeuvres, and buffet items.
The pâtissier– pastries and desserts.
The tournant– relief cook.
The expediter or aboteur – takes orders from waiters and passes
them on to cooks.
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Modern Kitchen Organization
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The organization is based on the size of
the operation.
The Classical Brigade system would be
replaced by grouping two jobs or more
jobs, such as a second cook also doing
the sauce, fish, soup and vegetable
cooks job.
An operation may have a chef, two cooks
and two assistants to handle the more
simplistic routine tasks.
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Skill Levels
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Skills can be grouped into three
categories
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Supervisory
Skilled and technical
Entry level
Starting at the entry level has been the
traditional method of advancing ones
food service career.
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Standards of Professionalism
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These are the qualities that a
professional must have:
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A positive attitude on the job
Staying power - requiring physical and mental
stamina
Ability to work with people
Eagerness to learn
A full range of skills
Experience
Dedication to quality
Understanding of the basics
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Professionalism
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Great cookery requires
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Taste and creativity
Appreciation for mastery of technique
Understanding of principles
Exercising sound judgment
Commitment to excellence
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Copyright ©2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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