Meaning of Chef

A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.

Chef de cuisine, executive chef and head chef

This person is in charge of all things related to the kitchen which usually includes menu creation; management, scheduling and payroll of entire kitchen staff; ordering; and plating design. Chef de cuisine is the traditional French term from which the English word chef is derived. Head chef is often used to designate someone with the same duties as an executive chef, but there is usually someone in charge of them, possibly making the larger executive decisions such as direction of menu, final authority in staff management decisions, etc. This is often the case for chefs with several restaurants.

[edit]Sous-chef

The Sous-Chef de Cuisine (under-chef of the kitchen) is the second in command and direct assistant of the Executive Chef. This person may be responsible for scheduling and substituting when the Executive Chef is off-duty and will also fill in for or assist the Chef de Partie (line cook) when needed. Smaller operations may not have a sous-chef, but larger operations may have several.^[2]

[edit]Expediter

The expediter (in French aboyeur) takes the orders from the dining room and relays them to the stations in the kitchen. This person also often puts the finishing touches on the dish before it goes to the dining room. In some operations this task may be done by either the executive chef or the sous-chef.^[3]

[edit]Chef de partie

A chef de partie, also known as a "station chef" or "line cook",^[4] is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each station chef might have several cooks and/or assistants. In most kitchens however, the station chef is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with "first cook", then "second cook", and so on as needed.

Station-chef titles which are part of the brigade system include:^[5]

English	French	IPA	Description
sauté chef	saucier	[sosje]	Responsible for all sautéed items and their sauce. This is usually the highest stratified position of all the stations.
fish chef	poissonnier	[pwasoɲe]	Prepares fish dishes and often does all fish butchering as well as appropriate sauces. This station may be combined with the saucier position.
roast chef	rôtisseur	[ʁotisœʁ]	Prepares roasted and braised meats and their appropriate sauce.
grill chef	grillardin	[ɡʁijaʁdɛ̃]	Prepares all grilled foods; this position may be combined with the rotisseur.
fry chef	friturier	[fʁityʁje]	Prepares all fried items; this position may be combined with the rotisseur position.
vegetable chef	entremetier	[ɑ̃tʁəmetje]	Prepares hot appetizers and often prepares the soups, vegetables, pastas and starches. In a full brigade system a potager would prepare soups and alegumier would prepare vegetables.
roundsman	tournant	[tuʁnɑ̃]	Also referred to as a swing cook, fills in as needed on stations in the kitchen.
pantry chef	garde manger	[ɡaʁd mɑ̃ʒe]	Responsible for preparing cold foods, including salads, cold appetizers, pâtés and other charcuterie items.
butcher	boucher	[buʃe]	Butchers meats, poultry and sometimes fish. May also be responsible for breading meats and fish.
pastry chef	pâtissier	[patisje]	Is qualified in making baked goods such as pastries, cakes, biscuits, macarons, chocolates, breads and desserts. Pastry Chefs can specialize in cakes in patisseries or bakeries by making wedding, cupcakes, birthday and special occasion cakes. In larger establishments, the pastry chef often supervises a separate team in their own kitchen or separate shop.

[edit]Commis

A commis is an apprentice in larger kitchens who works under a chef de partie to learn the station's responsibilities and operation.^[3] This may be a chef who has recently completed formal culinary training or is still undergoing training.^[6]

[edit]Kitchen assistants

Kitchen assistants (often known as kitchen porters or kitchenhands) are usually kitchen workers who assist with basic tasks, but have had no formal training in cooking. They carry out relatively unskilled tasks such as peeling potatoes and washing salad. In a smaller kitchen, assistants may be assigned a wider variety of tasks to reduce staffing costs.^[3]

A communard is in charge of preparing the meal for the staff during a shift. This meal is often referred to as the staff or family meal.^[3]

The escuelerie (from 15th century French and a cognate of the English "scullery") or dishwasher, is the keeper of dishes, having charge of dishes and keeping the kitchen clean. A common humorous title for this role in some modern kitchens is chef de plúnge^{[citation needed]} or "Dish Pig".