1. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter Pre-Requisites
Before reading this chapter, you should have already learned:
About basic food-service equipment.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

3. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Recount the history of the garde manger profession from early food preservation to modern times.
List the 12 attributes and characteristics of a successful garde manger chef.
List and define the 6 types of service.
Identify various types of food-service operations that provide opportunity for garde manger work.
Identify large and small equipment used for garde manger work.
Design a restaurant garde manger service line and set up a garde manger station.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

4. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
The Three Definitions of Garde Manger
A place in which cold foods are prepared and stored.
The person in charge of cold foods preparation and preservation.
The craft, or profession, of cold foods preparation.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

5. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Food Preservation in Prehistory
The garde manger profession began with the need to preserve food.
The practice of food preservation is much older than the term garde manger.
Long before humans created organized societies, they already knew how to preserve foods.
The first dependable method of preserving food was drying it.
Perishable moist foods, such as meat and fish, were made less perishable by placing them in the sun to dry.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

6. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Food Preservation in Prehistory
Adding salt to the food, either by soaking it in seawater or rubbing it with mineral salt mined from the earth, helped foods dry faster and keep longer without spoiling.
While the foods were drying, they were sometimes hung from poles over a smoky fire to keep away insects and animal predators.
Humans soon learned that smoke made these foods taste better as well.
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7. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Food Preservation in Prehistory
Farm families were early practitioners of garde manger.
They developed better drying techniques and began to use other flavorings
e.g., herbs, spices, wine, and beer, along with salt.
They discovered that:
Tough meats could be tenderized by chopping/grinding them into little pieces
Adding lots of fat, salt, and spices to their ground meats made them keep longer and taste better.
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8. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in the Classical Cuisine Period
During the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, foods prepared for the aristocracy were overly elaborate and heavily spiced.
In the mid-1600s the taste of European food, and the style in which it was served, slowly began to change.
This can largely be credited to Pierre François de la Varenne , the first French chef to break with Italian-influenced medieval tradition.
La Varenne stressed the importance of natural flavors, lighter sauces, and fresh vegetables.
At the same time, new ingredients from Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas were added to the European larder.
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9. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in the Classical Cuisine Period
A lighter, more modern style of cooking resulted in new dishes and new opportunities.
Salads of leafy greens with vinaigrette dressings took their place among the heavier cooked foods and became the standard accompaniment to roasted meats.
More refined cold dishes combined meat, poultry, or fish with vegetables.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

10. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in the Classical Cuisine Period
The evolution of French cuisine from La Varenne through Escoffier is frequently referred to as the classical cuisine period of French cooking.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

11. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in the Classical Cuisine Period
In the late 1800s, grand hotels such as the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and the Stanford in San Francisco brought in French chefs.
The French chefs created a new style of cooking:
Continental cuisine: a combination of classical French cuisine with North American ingredients and taste preferences.
Later, it incorporated Italian cuisine elements as well.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in the Classical Cuisine Period
One of the most prominent features of continental cuisine was the lavish cold buffets prepared and presented by the garde manger department.
The formal cold buffet increased work opportunities for garde manger chefs.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

13. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in the Classical Cuisine Period
By the time of Escoffier’s death in 1935, the profession of garde manger chef had developed into its modern form.
Escoffier,
Georges-Auguste
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14. The Garde Manger Profession
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The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Star Chefs of Classical Cuisine
Carême, Marie-Antoine was a great innovator of European cuisine. Carême rose to culinary stardom around 1800.
Carême’s writings influenced restaurant cooking.
He is most famous for his pièces montées .
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15. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Star Chefs of Classical Cuisine
Pierre François de la Varenne , known simply as La Varenne, is considered the founder of modern French cuisine.
Credited as the first to use roux as a thickener, and to refine the technique of dough lamination to make an early form of puff pastry.
Lightened and simplified European cooking and popularized fresh vegetables and herbs.
La Varenne wrote an important cookbook in 1651 entitled, La Cuisinier François, which contains recipes still in use today.
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16. The Garde Manger Profession
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The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Classical Cuisine and Culinary Competitions
Cold platter presentations and pièces montées, or showpieces, of classical cuisine are a mainstay of modern culinary competitions.
Plate presentation and team buffet presentation are additional categories.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

17. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The Successful Garde Manger Chef
Attributes and Characteristics of a Successful Garde Manger Chef
Basic training and general experience:
A garde manger chef must be thoroughly grounded in the basic culinary principles and skills of European and North American cuisines.
Formal culinary education:
Today’s competitive entry-level job market makes a culinary school education virtually a necessity.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

18. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The Successful Garde Manger Chef
Attributes and Characteristics of a Successful Garde Manger Chef
Manual dexterity:
Much garde manger work involves handling tiny food décor items and placing them accurately on small pieces of food.
Physical stamina:
Garde manger chefs are frequently on their feet for long hours and may have to lift and carry heavy objects.
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19. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The Successful Garde Manger Chef
Attributes and Characteristics of a Successful Garde Manger Chef
A well-developed sense of taste:
Garde manger chefs need a sensitive palate.
Because cold temperatures dull taste receptors, cold foods are more difficult to evaluate and season.
Artistic ability:
Garde manger dishes depend strongly on visual appeal.
A sense of color and design is important.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

20. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The Successful Garde Manger Chef
Attributes and Characteristics of a Successful Garde Manger Chef
Mathematical ability:
You must be able to quickly and accurately scale formulas up and down, and make weight-volume conversions.
Bad math often results in failed products and can even be dangerous.
Knowledge of food management and sanitation:
Foods served cold are even more susceptible to infestation by harmful pathogens than hot foods.
Garde manger chefs must be doubly vigilant about sanitation, and must thoroughly understand and enforce safe food-handling practices.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

21. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The Successful Garde Manger Chef
Attributes and Characteristics of a Successful Garde Manger Chef
Good interpersonal skills:
Garde manger involves teamwork.
To succeed, you must be able to follow instructions, accept constructive criticism, help and support coworkers, and help maintain morale.
A sense of urgency:
Time is money.
Be aware of labor costs, and accomplish all tasks as quickly as possible without being sloppy or careless.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

22. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The Successful Garde Manger Chef
Attributes and Characteristics of a Successful Garde Manger Chef
Attention to detail:
Small but important details can make or break the success of a garde manger preparation.
The ability to organize and plan:
Organizing garde manger events requires ordering food ingredients, presentation serviceware and equipment, linens, and props.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

23. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in Nouvelle Cuisine
Just as La Varenne is credited with the transition to classical cuisine, Fernand Point is for nouvelle cuisine.
Nouvelle cuisine:
This new style of French cooking emerged in the late 1960s and became world famous in the early 1970s.
Point’s culinary philosophy included seeking simplicity and perfection in all of his dishes, openly sharing knowledge and techniques, and exploring new ideas.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

24. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
The Ten Commandments of Nouvelle Cuisine
Avoid unnecessary complications.
Shorten cooking times.
Shop regularly at the market.
Shorten the menu.
Don’t hang or marinate game.
Avoid too-rich sauces.
Return to regional cooking.
Investigate the latest techniques.
Consider diet and health.
Invent constantly.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

25. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in Nouvelle Cuisine
As nouvelle cuisine chefs traveled the world, they began to add international influences—both techniques and ingredients—to their dishes.
Later chefs expanded on this principle to create new hybrid cuisines that mixed French cooking with Asian or Latin American ingredients.
In the 1980s, this hybrid cooking style came to be known as fusion cuisine.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

26. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in Nouvelle Cuisine
One influence on the garde manger chef was the new practice of plating food in the kitchen.
Previously, most fine-dining French restaurants sent food to the table in platter presentation, to be portioned onto plates by the servers.
Garde manger chefs began to create intricate plate presentations that included individual food portions formed in molds.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

27. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in the Twenty-First Century
Contemporary Advances in Garde Manger
By the end of the twentieth century, the art of garde manger had seen several important advances.
At the same time, one of its traditional functions, the fabrication of meat and poultry, had become virtually obsolete.
By the 1980s, most food-service meat and poultry were being fabricated in packing houses or by meat and poultry purveyors.
The elimination of in-house meat fabrication effectively freed the garde manger chef to spend time on more creative work.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

28. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
The History of Garde Manger
Garde Manger in the Twenty-First Century
Contemporary Advances in Garde Manger
In the1980s, growing concern with healthful eating increased the popularity of salads.
With the influence of European and Asian cuisines, menus began to feature complex salads that included:
cold seafood
poultry
meat
cold vegetables and leafy greens
Charcuterie products, such as smoked meats and fish, and pâtés and terrines, have become popular appetizers and lunch entrées.
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29. The Garde Manger Profession
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The Garde Manger Profession
Opportunities in Garde Manger
The Six Basic Types of Service
À la carte service
Banquet service
Family-style banquet service
Buffet service
Passed service
Room service
Take-out service
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

30. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
Opportunities in Garde Manger
Most all food-service businesses serve cold foods.
Large operations, such as hotels and institutions, have entire departments in charge of cold foods preparation and service.
Smaller operations have garde manger sections staffed by one or two chefs and assistants.
Alternative garde manger career choices include artisan food production, food product research and development, and food styling.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

31. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
Opportunities in Garde Manger
Garde Manger in Restaurants
Unless a party or banquet is scheduled, all garde manger service in restaurants is à la carte.
In a small restaurant, there is frequently only one garde manger chef on duty during a particular service.
In larger restaurants, you may have one or more additional chefs with you on the cold line.
Garde Manger in Catering
Different service styles are utilized for various types of events, including passed or butler service, buffet service, and banquet service.
Buffet work gives the garde manger chef the true opportunity to shine.
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32. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
Opportunities in Garde Manger
Garde Manger in Hotels
Hotel food service offers the largest variety of job opportunities because hotels typically encompass many dining venues.
Virtually all hotel dining venues include garde manger positions.
Garde Manger on Cruise Ships
Garde manger chefs working on cruise ships have all the advantages of hotel chefs, plus free travel.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

33. The Garde Manger Profession
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The Garde Manger Profession
Opportunities in Garde Manger
Garde Manger in Institutional Cooking
As the people who live or work in institutions have become more sophisticated and food-conscious, the operations that prepare and serve their food are finding it necessary to meet the demand for fresher, tastier, and more contemporary food.
Garde Manger in Private Clubs
The garde manger chef in a private club can expect to do cold line turn-out work and to plan and execute banquets and cold buffets.
Garde Manger in Retail Stores
Retail sale of ready to-eat foods is one of the fastest-growing sectors of food-service business.
This trend is providing garde manger chefs with a wide-open field of opportunity.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

34. The Garde Manger Profession
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The Garde Manger Profession
Opportunities in Garde Manger
Artisan Food Production
Artisan foods are high-quality, traditional-style, handmade food products.
Artisan charcuterie products are among the most successful of the artisan enterprises.
Product Testing and Development
Many of the characteristics of a successful garde manger chef are also required for the testing and development of industrially produced food products.
Food Styling
Experienced garde manger chefs often make the transition into food styling.
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

35. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
Garde Manger Facilities and Equipment
The Garde Manger Prep Kitchen
Garde manger subspecialties, such as charcuterie work and cheese making, require their own specialized preparation equipment.
The Garde Manger Service line
A single service line consists of one row of equipment with a pick up window situated above one or more of the equipment units.
A double service line consists of a front line and a back line running parallel.
The cooks and chefs stand in the corridor formed by the two lines, which is typically about 36-inches wide.
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36. The Garde Manger Profession
Chapter 1
The Garde Manger Profession
Garde Manger Facilities and Equipment
Refrigeration Units for the Garde Manger Line
Refrigeration equipment has two main functions:
To keep prepared foods cold during the service
To ensure the refrigerated foods are fast and easy to access.
Sandwich/salad unit fitted with over shelf
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37. The Garde Manger Profession
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The Garde Manger Profession
Garde Manger Facilities and Equipment
Optional Heating Equipment
Countertop convection oven is used:
to accompany dips and spreads.
for toasting croûtons for canapé bases.
for toasting sandwiches.
for heating slices of quiche and other savory pastries.
A conveyor toaster works continuously and discharges the finished toast directly onto the work surface.
Commercial pop-up toasters work in the same manner as domestic toasters. .
Conveyor toaster
Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved