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Kitchen Hierarchy: Who’s First?

Food network fans know that some of their favorite celebrity chefs operate and cook in their own restaurants, and you can be sure they run their kitchens with military precision from their own position as executive chef to dishwashers and busboys. . Each position has defined duties, learned in culinary school or on the job, and it’s best not to stray if you want to stay employed. In crowded kitchens, hierarchy is especially important to prevent chaos and get those meals to customers in a timely manner.

Let’s examine those positions in finely tuned and well-managed business establishments. Let those French chefs have established what is taught and followed in all well-run kitchens, which is called, appropriately enough, “The French Brigade System”:

director (Group leader) –
this is the top person who is usually responsible for operating multiple jobs and may cook very little himself;

boss boss (Chef) –
he usually controls the entire kitchen, from managing staff and costs, to working with vendors and creating menus, much like the CEO of a corporation, relying on the help of the sous chef;

sous chef (Second Boss) –
second-in-command, and literally translated means ‘under chef’, this role will usually overlap with that of head chef; smaller kitchens may not even have one;

party chief (Station Chief or Line Chief) –
Again, in larger kitchens there may be positions that specialize in cooking (see
below) instead of a chef assembling and cooking multiple types of dishes, this chef
monitors “junior” types that are assigned to specific categories;

Senior officer (in training or apprentice) –
a junior staff member who works with a chef de partie to learn the ins and outs of a specific station; These are typically people who have recently finished, or may still be in, culinary school;

kitchen porter (Kitchen helper) –
workers who help with tasks within the kitchen and are less likely to have formal culinary training; Duties include basic food preparation such as washing vegetables and peeling potatoes (but gets its own title nonetheless); in the US we would refer to these people as “hands” and in the military this would be a KP duty;

Dishwasher (Escuelerie) even comes with its own title –
“scullery”, which can be a small room or a corner adjoining a kitchen, in which dishes and other kitchen tasks are washed; in some movies set in grand English mansions, we’ll often hear the title “maid” – well, this is where the term originated;

Okay, now we get into the subcategories of workers who handle only one category or type of food and are supervised by the Chef de Partie (usually found only in very large kitchens or high precision French restaurants):

Specific titles may include the following:

chief butcher (aka Butcher) – In charge of preparing meat and poultry (obviously not necessary in a strictly vegetarian restaurant);

fish cook (also known as fishmonger) – preparation of fish dishes;

fry chef (aka friturier) – specializes in the preparation of fried foods (think fast food joints have several of these?);

grill chef (aka grillardin) – the master of all foods that require grilling (oh wow, so if a steak or some fish needs to be grilled, who really executes this? think about it);

pantry chef (also known as pantry) – A pantry chef is responsible for preparing cold dishes, such as salads and spreads (but not necessarily in the pantry);

pastry chef (also known as pastry chef) – now that you’re talking, this person can make all the delicacies;

cook roast (also known as a rotisseur) – master of the meat spits and their sauces (so this person fights the meat guy, or what?);

Delivery man (also known as shift chef, alternate cook, or relief cook): Someone who fills in when needed, so it seems that this person has to be quite skilled;

stir fry cook (aka saucier or sauce chef) – often the most respected role in the brigade system, because this person can make or break a dish with the sauce or sauce (so don’t bother this guy, for the love of God);

vegetable cook (also known as entremetier) – as the name implies, in charge of all vegetables, soups, starches and salads; in very large kitchens, there may be more than one;

Suffice it to say that in the big hotels and fine dining establishments, especially in Europe, their system is strictly adhered to. And it is fascinating to see the execution of these positions on television shows. However, in all likelihood you won’t see this fine precision at your local restaurant or IHOP. But one never knows. Bon Appetite.