Professionalism

The Culinary Professional A culinarian is one who has studied and continues to study the art of cooking. All professional culinarians must first learn the foundations of their profession – handling ingredients and equipment as well as traditional techniques and recipes. A professional’s responsibility is four-fold; to themselves, to coworkers, to the business, and to the guest. In the past years, there has been an increasing trend toward employers valuing a formal culinary education over on-the-job training. A formal culinary education allows the student to learn varieties of cuisine, theories, and techniques about food.

The Culinarian’s Code I pledge my professional knowledge and skill to the advancement of our profession and to pass it on to those that are to follow.  I shall foster a spirit of curteous consideration and fraternal cooperation within our profession.  I shall place honor and the standing of our profession before personal advantage.  I shall not use unfair means to effect my professional advancement or to injure the chance of another colleague to secure and hold employment. I shall be fair, curteous and considerate in my dealings with fellow colleagues.  I shall conduct any necessary comment on, or criticism of, the work of fellow colleagues with careful regards for the good name and dignity of the culinary profession, and will scrupulously refrain from criticism to gain personal advantage.  I shall never expect anyone to subject himself to risks which I would not be willing to assume myself.  I shall help to protect all members against one another from within our profession. I shall be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own. I shall be too big for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the pressure of business to hurt anyone, within or without the profession. *Adopted by the ACF at it's convention in Chicago, August 1957

Workstations A foodservice kitchen has multiple workstations. A workstation is a work area in the kitchen dedicated to a particular task, such as broiling or salad-making. Workstations using the same or similar equipment for related tasks are grouped together into a work section. Workstations help keep a kitchen running smoothly. The guiding principal behind a good kitchen design is to maximize the flow of goods and staff from one area to the next and within each area itself.

Kitchen Brigade System If you think back to Chapter 1, we talked about Escoffier. Escoffier is credited with developing the kitchen brigade system. A brigade is a system of staffing a kitchen so that each worker is assigned a set of specific tasks. These tasks are often related by cooking method, equipment, or the types of foods being produced. Escoffier created a distinct hierarchy of responsibilities and functions for commercial foodservice operations.

Kitchen Brigade System Chef Responsible for all kitchen operations Sous chef: Known as second chef; responsible for scheduling personnel and covering the chef or station chefs if necessary. Accepts orders for the dining room relays them to various station chefs and reviews them before service Station chefs Produce the menu items under the supervision of the chef or sous chef Each station is assigned a specific task based on either the cooking method and equipment or the category of items to be produced.

Station Chefs Sauté station chef: Saucier Fish station chef: Poissonier Grill station chef: Grillardin Fry station chef: Friturier Roast station chef: Rotisseur Soup station chef: Potager Vegetable station chef: Legumier Pantry chef: Garde-manger Swing cook: Tournant Pastry chef: Patissier Demi chefs (assistants): Demi chef Commis (apprentices): Commi Hot appetizer chef: Entremetier Butcher: Coucher Expediter: Aboyeur Candy Chef: Confiseur Bread Baker: Boulanger Frozen dessert chef: Clacier Showpiece baker: Decorateur

Dining Room Brigade Just like the back-of-the-house staff, the front-of-the-house staff is also organized into a brigade. A traditional dining room brigade is led by the dining room manager (maître d’) who generally trains all service personnel, oversees wine selections, works with the chef to develop the menu, organizes the seating chart, and seats the guests.

Dining Brigade System Wine steward Head waiter Captains Front Waiter Sommelier This person is responsible for wine service, including purchasing wines, assisting guests in selecting wines, and serving the wines. Head waiter This person is responsible for service throughout the dining room or a section of it. Captains This person is responsible for explaining the menu to guests and taking their orders. Also responsible for any tableside service Front Waiter This person is responsible for assuring that the tables are set properly for each course, foods are delivered properly to the proper table, and the needs of each guest are met. Back Waiter This person is responsible for clearing plates, refilling water glasses, and other general tasks appropriate for the new dining room workers.