Brigade de cuisine

Brigade de cuisine is a system of hierarchy found in restaurants and hotels in France that employ extensive staff and are commonly referred to as kitchen staff in English speaking countries. The concept was refined by Georges Auguste Escoffier, but evidence of brigade-style culinary arrangements can be found in late medieval French and English sources. This structured team system delegates responsibilities to different individuals that specialize in certain tasks.

Below is an exhaustive list of the different members of the kitchen brigade system.

Brigade de cuisine is a system of hierarchy found in restaurants and hotels in France that employ extensive staff and are commonly referred to as kitchen staff in English speaking countries. The concept was refined by Georges Auguste Escoffier, but evidence of brigade-style culinary arrangements can be found in late medieval French and English sources. This structured team system delegates responsibilities to different individuals that specialize in certain tasks.

List of positions

Below is an exhaustive list of the different members of the kitchen brigade system. Only the largest of establishments would have an extensive staff of this size. As noted under certain titles, certain positions are combined into other positions when such a large staff is unnecessary.

• Chef de cuisine (Kitchen chef) - Responsible for overall management of kitchen. They supervise staff, create menus and new recipes with the assistance of the restaurant manager, make purchases of raw food items, train apprentices and maintain a sanitary and hygienic environment for the preparation of food.
• Sous-chef de cuisine (Deputy kitchen chef) - Receives orders directly from the chef de cuisine for the management of the kitchen and often represents the chef de cuisine when he or she is not present.
• Chef de partie (Senior chef) - Responsible for managing a given station in the kitchen where they specialize in preparing particular dishes. Those that work in a lesser station are commonly referred to as a demi-chef.
• Cuisinier (Cook) - This position is an independent one where they usually prepare specific dishes in a station. They may also be referred to as a cuisinier de partie.
• Commis (Junior cook) - Also works in a specific station, but reports directly to the chef de partie and takes care of the tools for the station.
• Apprenti(e) (Apprentice) - Many times they are students gaining theoretical and practical training in school and work experience in the kitchen. They perform preparatory work and/or cleaning work.
• Plongeur (Dishwasher) - Cleans dishes and utensils and may be entrusted with basic preparatory jobs.
  • Marmiton - (Pot and pan washer) In larger restaurants takes care of all the pots and pans instead of the plongeur.
• Saucier
  Saucier
  A Saucier is a position in the classical brigade style kitchen, which is still used in large commercial kitchens such as some restaurants. It can be translated into English as sauce chef. This position prepares sauces, stews and hot hors d'œuvres and sautés food to order...
  
  (Saucemaker/Sauté cook) - Prepares sauce
  Sauce
  In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
  
  s, warm hors d'oeuvres, completes meat dishes and in smaller restaurants may work on fish dishes and prepares sautéed items. This is one of the most respected positions in the kitchen brigade.
• Rôtisseur (Roast cook) - Manages a team of cooks that roasts, broils and deep fries dishes.
  • Grillardin (Grill cook) - In a larger kitchen this person prepares the grilled foods instead of the rôtisseur.
  • Friturier (Fry cook) - In larger kitchens this person prepares fried foods instead of the rôtisseur.
• Poissonnier (Fish cook) - Prepares fish and seafood dishes.
• Entremetier (Entrée preparer) - Prepares soups and other dishes not involving meat or fish, including vegetable dishes and egg dishes.
  • Potager (soup cook) - In larger kitchens this person reports to the entremetier and prepares the soups.
  • Legumier (Vegetable cook) - In larger kitchen this person also reports to the entremetier and prepares the vegetable dishes.
• Garde manger
  Garde manger
  Garde manger , meaning "keeper of the food" or pantry supervisor, refers to the task of preparing and presenting cold foods. These typically include such food items as salads, hors d'œuvres, cold soups, aspics, and charcuterie...
  
  (Pantry supervisor) - responsible for preparation of cold hors d'oeuvres, prepares salads, organizes large buffet displays and prepares charcuterie
  Charcuterie
  Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire...
  
   items.
• Tournant (Spare hand/ roundsman) - Moves throughout kitchen assisting other positions in kitchen
• Pâtissier (Pastry cook) - Prepares desserts and other meal end sweets and for location without a boulanger also prepares breads and other baked items. They may also prepare pasta for the restaurant.
  • Confiseur - Prepares candies and petits fours
    Petit four
    A petit four is a small cake generally eaten at the end of a meal or served as part of dessert. The name is from the French petit four, meaning "small oven"....
    
    in larger restaurants instead of the pâtissier.
  • Glacier - Prepares frozen and cold desserts in larger restaurants instead of the pâtissier.
  • Décorateur - Prepares show pieces and specialty cakes in larger restaurants instead of the pâtissier.
  • Boulanger
    Baker
    A baker bakes and sells bread. Cakes and similar and foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades. The place where a baker works is called a bakehouse, bakeshop, or bakery...
    
    (Baker) - Prepares bread, cakes and breakfast pastries in larger restaurants instead of the pâtissier.
• Boucher
  Butcher
  A butcher is someone who prepares various cuts of meat and other related goods for sale. Many butchers sell their goods in specialized stores, although in the Western world today most meat is sold through supermarkets.-Duties:...
  
  (Butcher) - butchers meats, poultry and sometimes fish. May also be in charge of breading meat and fish items.
• Aboyeur (Announcer/ expediter) - Takes orders from dining room and distributes them to the various stations. This position may also be performed by the sous-chef de partie.
• Communard - Prepares the meal served to the restaurant staff.
• Garçon de cuisine - Performs preparatory and auxiliary work for support in larger restaurants.