History Of Chef Titles

Our first class session of culinary 101 will answer a subject that many of our ChefTalk viewers have been asking about--what the different positions or divisions of the kitchen are. We will define each of the classical kitchen positions.

 

Defining The Different Titles In The Kitchen

Our first class session of culinary 101 will answer a subject that many of our ChefTalk viewers have been asking about--what the different positions or divisions of the kitchen are. We will define each of the classical kitchen positions. Not every professional kitchen has a different person for each of these positions (i.e. in smaller establishments often one cook might perform the responsibilities of several different stations or positions).

Chef: The term literally means "the chief" in French. Every kitchen has a chef or executive chef who is responsible for the operations of the entire kitchen. (A commonly misused term in English, not every cook is a chef.)

Sous-Chef: This position means "the under chief" in French. This is person is second in command and takes responsibility for the kitchen operations if the chef is absent.

Chef de Partie: The person in charge of any of the following kitchen positions:

Poissonier: The fish cook--all fish and shellfish items and their sauces.

Rotisseur: The person responsible for roasted items.

Saucier: The person responsible for sautéed items and many different sauces. Traditionally, it is the third person in command, just under the sous-chef.

Grillardin: The grill cook.

Potager: The soup and often stock cook.

Entremetier: The vegetable cook.

Friturier: The deep fry cook.

Garde-Manger: The person who prepares cold savory items Boucher.

The Butcher Commis: The common cook under one of the Chef de Partie. This level of cook comprises the bulk of the kitchen staff.

Tournant: A cook who rotates throughout the entire kitchen where needed (i.e. to replace a sick employee).

Patissier: The pastry chef/cook, often under the direction of the chef.

Confiseur: The candy cook.

Boulanger: The bread cook.

 

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