The Kitchen Brigade System

While talking about the Kitchen Brigade System, we can not miss talking about Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935).It was Auguste who first  invented the concept to categorize the kitchen individuals in proportion to their specialization & tasks. The Kitchen Brigade system can be defined as a hierarchy system which is used in hotels & restaurants for food service operations.

Note: Depending upon the size & needs of the station, there shall be one or more demi-chefs(assistants)& commis (apprentices) who work under the supervision of station chefs.

• Chef de Cuisine

Chef de Cuisine is the head chef of the kitchen who is accountable for all operations,creating new menu items, recipes & sets kitchen tone & tempo.

• Sous-chef de cuisine

Sous-chef de cusine (second chef) is the principal assistant of chef de cuisine. Sous-chef often works as a aboyeur(announcer),who recieves the orders from restaurant & pass on the order to different station chefs & reviews the food before service.

• Chef de partie

Chef de partie is the one who prepares the menu items under the supervision of sous-chef.S/he is responsible for managing the given station. Generally, they are categorized into the following stations:-

• The Saucier- The saucier is responsible for all sauteed items & most sauces.
• The poissonier- The poissonier is responsible for all fish items & sea foods & their related sauces.
• The grillardian- The grillardian is responsible for all the grilled items.
• The friturier- The friturier is responsible for all fried items.
• The rôtisseur – The rôtisseur is responsible for all roasted items & their related sauces.
• The potager- The potager is responsible for all soups & stocks.
• The legumier- The legumier is responsible for all vegetables & starch items.
• The grade-manger- The grade-manger is responsible for cold food preparations, including salads, cold appetizers & supervises the boucher (butcher) for butchering the meat products & poultry items.
• The pâtisserie- The pastry chef is responsible for all baked items. Its not necessary that the pâtisserie should be under the supervision of sous-chef.
  • The pastry chef supervises:
  •  The boulanger who is reponsible for making breads,rolls & baked dough containers used for other pastry menu items.
  • The confiseur who is reponsible for making candies & petit fours.
  • The glacier who is reponsible for making all chilled & frozen desserts.
  • The décorateur who is reponsible for making showpieces & special cakes.
• The tournant is a roundsman. S/he works where needed.