Unit 11

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The staff in the kitchen

Work chart of a functional kitchen

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CHIEF COOK

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Sous-chefs & Assistants

Assistant Assistant

B AKER BUTCHER

CHEFS DE PARTIE

Roast Cook

Sauce Cook

Vegetable Cook

Breakfast Cook

Kitchen Clerk

Fish Cook

Soup Cook

Larder Cook

Staff Cook

Commis and kitchen porters

The preparation of food is a highly specialized function. It implies quite a number of operations. Our main concern here is the staff, whose duties are outlined below.

The Chef supervises all kitchen work and is ultimately responsible for it. In many places the chef does the purchasing. He is helped by a variable number of assistants, depending on the importance of the kitchen work.

A Chef must be:

0. a man of experience, very skilled in his trade,

1. a leader in control of a highly trained staff with the right equipment,

2. a manager, able to make the most of circumstances, and both cost and quality-conscious, doing his best to keep costs down while upholding the good name of the establishment.

The Cooks are in charge of the cooking proper, each in his own department. The sauce-cook attends to the preparation of sauces and entrees; poultry also comes within his province. The soup-cook, deals with soup. Next come the fish-cook, the vegetable-cook, the baker, and, last but not least, the pastry-cook and glacier. The breakfast cook is obviously in charge of all breakfasts, while the staff cook is responsible for all staff food.

All of them « dish up» the food before sending it up to the service area; they know that a palatable dish must first be pleasant to the eye.

The Commis and Kitchen hands help in the preparation of dishes and do most of the preparations: washing, trimming, picking, peeling, scraping, etc. They even sweep and swill the floors, and they are always kept busy one way or another.

Slightly off the service area, the different adjacent rooms provide self-contained working units. Among these may be mentioned:

the still-room, under the direct supervision of the chef, it is particularly well appointed for the preparation of tea, coffee and the like;

the larder, which should be as cool as possible, preferably with a northern aspect. It requires at least one good weekly scrubbing. If

possible, it should be fitted with marble shelving for the storing of sweets and pastry produce,

the vegetable-preparing room provided with sinks to wash and clean the vegetables and bins for the disposal of garbage. It is always within convenient distances of the chef’s office, situated right at the end of the kitchen proper. From there the chef can keep an eye on all that is going on, which does a lot towards the good working of the kitchen.