THE MODERN KITCHEN BRIGADE

Hierarchy of kitchen

Executive Chef

The head chef who coordinates the kitchen operation of at least one (but usually more) restaurants

The title “Executive Chef” has several interpretations depending upon the size of the operation and who
is using the title. The terms Chef, Executive Chef, and Chef de Cuisine are used interchangeably for the
head chef. Larger operations may have all 3 positions (as defined below), but a smaller operation may
have one person who essentially fills all three roles.

Executive Sous Chef

(Second Executive Chef; literally means Executive Sub Chief)

This person is second in command, the Executive Chef’s right-hand man. The role of the Executive Sous
Chef is to assist the Executive Chef in running the operation, and to fill in when s/he is not available.

Many large operations may have an Executive Chef and an Executive Sous Chef. This position is usually
only used in resort hotels which have multiple restaurants, restaurant groups which have multiple
restaurants, or restaurants which do thousands of covers a day.

Sous Chef

(Under Chef; Second Chef, literally means Sub Chief)

The Sous Chef is basically the “second in command” and assists the Chef, Chef de Cuisine, or Executive
Chef in managing a restaurant, or a shift, especially when the Chef in charge isn’t there. But the
responsibilities of this title varies depending upon the property. The Sous Chef may be second in
command over a specific restaurant, or in some hotels s/he may be in charge of multiple restaurants for
a specific shift (days, swing, or graveyard).

Garde Manger

In today’s kitchens, the Garde Manger position is a little convoluted. It usually refers to the salad or
pantry station in a restaurant or in banquets and will be the position of a Garde Manger Cook. This
position takes care of salads, cold appetizers and sometimes plating desserts.
But in a Banquet/Catering kitchen or in large hotels there may actually be a Garde Manger Chef who is
skilled in a large variety of cold preparations including specialty salads, cold appetizers, pate, terrines,
charcuterie, cold soups, hors d’oeuvres, ice carvings and so on.

Banquet Chef (or Catering Chef)

As the name implies, this is the chef who is in charge of banquets. It is a position which is used either by
independent catering companies, or it is one of the chefs hired under the Executive Chef in large
operations such as resort hotels which have restaurants and lots of banquet/catering events. These
operations typically have large banquet rooms and smaller meeting rooms which are available for clients
to rent and hold functions, meetings, weddings, etc.

Chef de Partie, Line Cook, Station Cook

Chef de Partie, Line Cook, and Station Cook are all synonymous names for various positions in today’s
kitchen brigade. All 3 terms refer to a cook who runs a particular station on a restaurant Line. Their job is
to be able to properly prep, prepare, and present all food items which come from their station.
Depending upon the type of operation a cook may be assigned to any of the following stations, and
most cooks are cross-trained to work in multiple stations.

Expeditor – Wheelman

(Wheelman, Ticket Man, Expo; the person who calls tickets for the kitchen)

An à la carte restaurant will have someone who fulfills this role. The position is referred to as “calling the
wheel” or “calling the board” and typically the Chef, Sous Chef, or lead line cook will take this position.
Although duties vary by operation, typical responsibilities include: calling the tickets, organizing the flow
of food to the window, plating dishes, final inspection of food, and final garnishes.

If the Chef is not filling this role then the position goes by a variety of names including the following: the
wheelman, ticket man, expo, and/or expediter. Some operations are busy enough that they will have a
Wheelman to call tickets and organize plates in the kitchen, and they will have a separate Expediter who
does finishing garnishes and organizes plates for the waitstaff. In this type of operation the servers
communicate only with the Expo, and the Expo is the only one who talks with the Wheelman.

Saucier
Responsible for making the sauces and perhaps special garnishes. This person should be skilled at
making demi-glace sauces, beurre blancs, cream sauces, pesto, purees, hollandaise, jus, and various
other sauce creations.

Saute Cook

Often considered both the hardest and the most glamorous position in the kitchen the Saute Cook often
works 6 – 8 pans at a time plus finishing items in the oven and/or salamander. This person must be able
to multitask, have a fantastic sense of timing, and the ability to remain calm under severe pressure.

Grill Cook (Broiler Cook)

The Grill Cook has the most exacting station in regards to perfection because a guest will want their $50
steak cooked to a “rare-medium rare”. If it’s not perfect, the guest complains, the steak is lost, and the
cook has to prepare another one…hopefully to the guest’s satisfaction this time. The Grill Cook also has
to be able to keep track of a dozen or more steaks all cooked to different temperatures and fired at
different times. Plus properly grill tender seafood and vegetables.

Fry Cook

The Fry Cook is responsible for deep fried foods such as fish & chips, french fries, battered vegetables
and so on. If it is a fish & chip restaurant then this may be a specific station. But often it is part of
another cooks station such as the Pantry Cook, Grill Cook, or Saute Cook (usually Pantry).

Pantry Cook

This cook is in charge of the cold station on the Line including salads, cold appetizers, cold components
of hot appetizers, cold soups, and sometimes plates desserts as well (if there is no Baker/Plater or Pastry
Chef)

Tournant or Roundsman

One of the most skilled cooks in the kitchen, this person has worked all the stations and is able to jump
in to Saute, Grill, Expo or wherever and help any station which is being slammed.
Breakfast Cook (Egg Cook)

This cook slings eggs…lots of them! Over-easy, over-medium, sunny side up, omelettes, eggs benedicts,
scrambles, hashbrowns…if you like fast paced perfection then this is the station for you. Turn times are
about 10 minutes or less and you will often have more eggs/omelettes to cook than you have
space/pans to cook them in. I think every cook should have to be a breakfast cook for 6 months…
especially on Sundays. It teaches a lot about how to flip items in a pan and multitasking.

Banquet Cook

A Banquet Cook works (obviously) in the banquet/catering kitchen and needs to be a versatile cook as
food is prepared for a large variety of guests and occasions as well as for numbers of people ranging
from a few dozen to thousands. Cuisine each week may range from Mediterranean, Italian, Asian,
Brunch, Mexican, South American, Pacific Northwest, East Indian, Kosher, and so on.

Demi Chef or Demi Chef de Partie

This position isn’t used much in the US with the possible exception of some cruise ships. It is essentially
the “Under Chef de Partie” or the Chef de Partie in training. In a very large operation you may have 1
Chef de Partie with 1 or more Demi Chefs needed in a station due to the volume of work.

Pastry Chef

The Pastry Chef is the dessert chef and specializes in desserts, pastries, breads, croissants, petit fours,
chocolates, gourmet ice creams & sorbets, cakes and so on. It is an unfortunate reality that few
establishments actually hire a Pastry Chef anymore because of tight labor restrictions and the availability
of so many pre-made quality desserts through vendors such as Sysco and Petersons. In the modern
kitchen, a true Pastry Chef is usually only found in upscale restaurants and hotels. A true Pastry Chef is
knowledgeable in all the aforementioned pastry/dessert skills.

Baker, Dessert Plater

Although many restaurants may not have a true Pastry Chef, many may have a position for a Baker or
Dessert Plater. This person may have some baking skills in specialized areas of dessert making such as
cheesecakes, pies, cakes, cookies, etc. Or they may just have the role of plating and garnishing desserts