The Kitchen Brigade

MEMBERS OF THE BRIGADE

The general hierarchy is as follows, with each position directly responsible to the position above his.

Chef de Cuisine –This chef is in charge of the entire kitchen. He prepares menus, purchases foods and directs everything that goes on in his kitchen.

Sous Chef de Cuisine –Sous means under in French. The sous chef is the chef de cuisine’s deputy chef. He takes his orders directly from the chef de cuisine and acts in his place if he is not present.

Chef de Partie –There is no one chef de partie. A chef de partie is in charge of a particular station in the kitchen. Each chef de partie might have one or more cuisiniers, commis or apprentices working directly under him.

Cuisinier –The cuisiniers are cooks. They are responsible for preparing specific dishes at a specific station.

Commis -the commis, or junior cooks, also work a specific station, but they are generally responsible for taking care of the tools on that station. They report directly to the chef de partie.

Apprentice – An apprentice might work a specific station, eventually. They are usually gaining work experience and help with cleaning and prep work. At the start of his apprenticeship, an apprentice might even find himself washing dishes.

THE STATIONS

There were many stations in the kitchens of Escoffier’s time. Each station was run by a chef de partie who reported to the sous chef. I am leaving out some of the more esoteric stations because in my opinion, they have no relevance in todays’ commercial restaurant kitchens. The stations listed below are still seen, in whole or combined with other stations, in modern commercial kitchens.

Saucier – the saucier is the sauté cook—the guy who flips stuff in pans. He’s also the guy who makes the sauces.

Rotisseur – the rotisseur is the chef in charge of roasts. In Escoffier’s day, he also supervised the following two positions.

Grillardin – this is the “grill man,” the guy in charge of making sure all grilled meats come out perfectly cooked and timed correctly for quick service

Friturier – the friturier is the fry cook—he’s the one frying your French fries as well as any other deep fried items—oysters, catfish, tempura. If it comes out of the fryer, it’s the friturier’s job.

Poissonier – this is the fish cook—the poissonier is in charge of all fish and seafood preparations—from sautéing to poaching

Entremetier – this chef de partie is in charge of entrees, literally the “entrance” to the meal. In today’s kitchen, we consider entrees to be the “main course,” but in Escoffier’s day, the entrée was a lighter, starter course. In the traditional brigade system, the entremetier supervised the following two positions.

Potager – the soup guy. The potager was in charge of making soups. In this position, it was one of his jobs to use up any leftover scraps that might otherwise go to waste. A good potager could save a kitchen a bundle of money in food cost.

Legumier – The legumier is the vegetable chef—in charge of gratins, pilafs, braises and other hot vegetable side dishes

Garde Manger – In the traditional brigade system, the garde manger chef was in charge of all cold preparations, from gazpacho to charcuterie, from salads to pates. Along with the potager, it was the garde manger’s charge to virtually eliminate food waste by finding uses for scraps and animal offal and presenting them in ways that were pleasing both to the palate and the eye.

Patissier – This is the pastry chef. It is the pastry chef’s job to create and present all dessert items. In the Escoffier kitchen, the patissier also supervised an ice cream cook (glacier), and candy cook (confiseur) and the cook charged with making large show pieces (decorateur) as well as the boulangier.

Boulanger – the boulangier is the baker. It was his job to prepare breads and breakfast pastries.