Culinary-Kitchen Brigade System

What is "culinary" word meaning?The word "culinary" defined as something that related to cooking or kitchens.So,the culinary art is the art of preparing food or dishes.A person who working in the culinary art known as "culinarian".The other word for culinarian that we familiar with is a cook or a chef.This culinary artist working in higher level than ordinary cook which their job is to prepare a certain meals or dishes with proper skill in addition of knowledge in science of food and deep understanding of diet and nutrition.Their work is not necessarily preparing but also to keep the appearance of the meals as pleasing to the palate as to the eye.

Does a chef do everything by himself?in a large kitchen of big restaurant or hotel does he do the frying,baking,grill,cut vegetables,roasting and pastry by himself?The answer is no.For professional kitchen there is a hierarchy or title for a type of chef.This title based on brigade system or brigade de cuisine depend on individual kitchen.This set of organization only found in fine dining,upscale restaurants and five stars hotel.Kitchen staff at casual restaurant usually called "cook" or "short order cook".Chef de cuisine,sous-chef,expediter,chef de partie,commis and kitchen assistant is a title in this brigade systems.

Chef de cuisine or widely known as head chef or executive chef is the person in charge of all thing related to kitchen management,scheduling manpower,payroll,ordering,menu creation and even plating design.Easy to say,chef de cuisine is a person with highest authority in the kitchen.Below the chef de cuisine title there is Sous-Chef.Sous-Chef is the direct assistant of executive chef which is second in command.This title is responsible for doing all the scheduling in absence of executive chef.The Sous-Chef also responsible in assisting or monitoring the Chef de partie when needed.

The expediter takes the orders from the dining room and also often giving a last touch on the dishes before it goes to the dining room.In absence of executive chef or sous-chef this person will be the last person who "dressing" or put the finishing touches on the dishes.A station chef or Chef de partie is in charge of particular area of production.For a person who responsible in preparing fish,there is fish chef.The one who prepares all grilled food is call a grill chef.Pastry chef or patissier responsible for preparing baked goods,pastries and dessert.There are also Saute chef,roast chef,fry chef,pantry chef,roundsman,vegetables chef and butcher.

A chef who recently finish formal training in cooking is called commis.A commis is an apprentice who work to assist chef de partie in certain area of production.Then there is kitchen assistants who usually doing a basic task in the kithen.They usually doesn't have any kind of formal training in cooking.