KITCHEN ORGANISATION

The purpose of kitchen organisation is to produce the right quantity of food of the highest standard, for the required number of people, on time, by the most effective use of staff, equipment and materials. Regardless of whether the organisation is simple or complex, the factors which have the greatest effect on the organisation will be the menu and the system used to prepare and present the menu items.

Restaurants which provide a limited menu, such as steak houses, are able to organise very few staff to cope with large numbers of customers to quite a high degree of skill. The required standard can be produced because few skills are needed. Other kinds of establishments which are required to produce large amounts of food to be served at the same time include schools, hospitals, industrial establishments, airlines and departmental stores. Staffs have to be well organised and supplied with large-scale preparation and production equipment and the means of finishing dishes quickly. As costs of space, equipment, fuel, maintenance and labour are continually increasing, considerable time, thought and planning have had to be given to the organisation and layout systems of kitchens. The requirements of the kitchen have to be clearly identified with regard to the type of food that is to be prepared, cooked and served. All areas of space and the different types of equipment available must be fully justified and the organisation of the kitchen personnel must also be planned at the same time.

Classical Brigade

In the 19^th century, when labour was relatively cheap, skilled and plentiful, public demand was for elaborate and extensive menus and in response to this Auguste Escoffier, one of the most respected chefs of the past era, devised what is known as the PARTIE system. The number of parties required and the number of staff in each will depend on the size of the establishment.

Chefs

In the classic partie system, chefs belong to a clear-cut hierarchy much like that of a military organization.

Chef de Cuisine (Head Chef)

The chef de cuisine - who is frequently referred to in these pages as "the chef" - is in command of the kitchen and is second in status only to the overall manager of the establishment. The principal functions of the person in this position are to plan, organize, and supervise the work of the kitchens.

Sous - Chef

The sous-chef, or "under chef:, is the principal assistant of the chef de cuisine. If the chef de cuisine is considered the commander, the sous-chef is the executive officer, or second in command. In large establishments, sous-chefs have no sectional or partie responsibility, but aid the chef in general administration, in supervising the work of preparing food, and in overseeing its service.

Chefs de Partie

A chef de partie is a working cook in charge of clearly defined section of activity within the kitchen. As mentioned above, a chef de partie of one of the more important sections, particularly the sauce or the larder, may have the status and duties of a sous-chef in addition to sectional responsibilities.

La Brigade De Cuisine (Kitchen Brigade)

Executive Chef (Chef De Cuisine)

Sous Chef

Sauce Cook (Le Chef Saucier)

Roast Cook (Le Rotisseur)

Fish Cook (Le Poissonnier)

Grill Cook (Le Grillardin)

Vegetable Cook (L’Entremettier)

Soup Cook (Le Potager)

Larder Cook (Le Chef Garde Manger)

Pastry Cook (Le Patisseaur)

Indian Section Cook

Relief Cook (Le Chef Tourant)

Breakfast Cook (Le Chef de Petit de Jeuner)

Staff Cook (Le Communer)

Commis, Porters, Apprentices for all departments

Cold Work Cook (Le Chef de Froid)

Hors d’oeuvre Cook (Le Hors d’oueuvrier

Butcher (Le Boucher)

Baker (Le Boulangere)

Ice-Cream Cook (Le Glacier)

Tandoor Cook

Hot Section Cook (Curries, Rice, Vegetable)

Halwai (Indian Sweets)

Asst. Relief Cook)

 

The principal chefs de partie are as follows:

·         Chef Saucier (Sauce cook).

The required work comprises cooking, garnishing, and dishing all meat, poultry, and game dishes, with the exception of those that are simply grilled or roasted (these are cooked by the chef rotisseur). The chef saucier is not only the preparer of the sauce section's foods, but the assembler of food prepared and sometimes cooked by others.

·         Chef Garde-manger (Larder Cook).

The chef garde-manger is in charge of the larder, the place where the raw materials of cookery are prepared and dressed. The general work of the garde-manger can be divided into two parts: the items for which the garde-manger is solely responsible: and the items the garde-manger produces to be cooked and worked on by other parties.

The garde-manger's own dishes include those commonly found on a cold table - for example, cold cuts and cold fish dishes. Sandwiches, salads, cold sauces and salad dressings are prepared here.

In the professional kitchen, there may be enough work to justify a full-time boucher or butcher. Nowadays, the work of this subsection and of the subsections that follow has been reduced by meat suppliers who normally provide meat butchered to order. A charcutier (pork butcher and sausage maker) is rare in modern professional kitchens because suppliers usually provide these services also. The volailler (or poulterer), if needed, is responsible for plucking, cleaning and dressing not only poultry, but game birds and rabbits. The work of hotel poissonnier (or fishmonger) includes skinning, filleting, and portioning fish and shellfish.

Where the workload justifies it, the preparation of hors d'oeuvres of all kinds is organized separately by an hors-d'oeuvrier (hors d'oeuvre cook).

·         Chef Potager (Soup Cook). This chef de partie is responsible for preparing all soups for the establishment and for making all accompanying garnishes.

·         Chef Poissonnier (Fish Cook). The chef poissonnier is responsible for most of the cooking, garnishing, and sauce-making for the fish courses of a menu, including freshwater fish, saltwater fish, and shellfish such as crabs, crayfish, shrimps, scallops, lobsters, and mussels.

·         Chef Rotissueur (Roast Cook). While the methods and equipment for roasting have changed, the duties of the roast cook have remained similar. Foods to be roasted still cover a wide range of poultry, and game, and meat. This partie is responsible for several other processes in addition to roasting, including all deep-frying (such as of French -fried potatoes).

Larger establishments may have additional specialists in this partie. For example, a chef trancheur (carver) may be under the control of the rotisseur.

·         Chef Grillardin (grill cook) This section deal with savories and combine the functions of the grillardin with those of the savourier (savoury cook)

·         Chef entremetteur (Vegetable, Egg, and Noodle Cook). The entremetteur in the kitchen brigade is concerned mainly with cooking vegetables, but also with preparing eggs (especially omelets), pasta, rice and other starchy dishes. Other responsibilities may include passing vegetable garnishes to another partie for completion of a dish there, and sending items such as cooked spaghetti and rice to another chef as garnish for other

·         Chef Patissier (Pastry cook). The chef patissier is responsible for all hot and cold sweets such as pastry pudding, and ice cream. It operates its own bakery with a full-time boulanger (baker). Where baking is normally restricted to a limited quantity of bread and rolls, the work is likely to be in the hands of one of the chef pattissier's subordinates.

2Ice cream are prepared by chef glacier, however this art is disappearing from all but the most exclusive hotels and restaurants.

·         Chef Tournant (Relief Cook): The chef tournant is simply the chef de partie's replacement - for any partie- when the latter is away on business, for training, or on vacation. Some chefs de partie choose an experienced commis (assistant ) for this position, because this person has fresh memories of all the parties gained during apprenticeship. The appointment may go to an older, more experienced person as a prelude to appointment as a sous-chef: this would provide a useful variety of experience for a chef de partie who had been specializing in a single partie for a long time.

·         Chef de Garde (Duty Cook) The term chef de garde means simply the "chef on guard"- that is, the duty cook in charge when the chef de cuisine and most of the kitchen staff are off-duty. This happens in the late evening after dinner or during the between-meal break in establishments in which the split-shift system is practiced.

·         Chef de Nuit (Night-Duty cook) The chef de nuit is similarly a chef whose duty is to take over when the main kitchen staff has gone.

·         Chef des Banquets (Banquet Chef) In the largest establishment's, completely separate arrangements may be provided for banquets and meals for special functions, with the chef des banquets in charge.

·         Breakfast Cook. The cooking and service of breakfast in hotels is commonly entrusted to a specialty cook whose range is limited to the needs of breakfast.

·         Chef Communar (Staff Cook) A separate section of the kitchen, or even a completely separate kitchen, may be allocated for producing staff meals. The chef communar's staff prepares and cooks meals principally for the employees of the hotel.

STAFF Working under the direction of the various chefs are a number of subordinate personnel of different types. Cooking Artisans Commis (Assistants). The chef of each partie is assisted by one or more trained cooks who have not yet reached full chef status. Apprentices. Each partie has apprentices or trainees who, while learning, are also helping in the practical day-to-day of food preparation and cookery. Non-cooking Kitchen Staff Secretaire de Cuisine (Kitchen Clerk). They handle shipping and receiving of goods such as meat, fish, poultry, and pastry. One kitchen clerk is likely to be attached to the chef de cuisine as a personal assistant for office matters the chef must manage. Assembleur (Expediter). The assembleur or barker is stationed at the edge of the serving area during the time of meal service. On receipt of the written orders from the waiters, he calls out the orders to the different parties, by loudspeaker if necessary. Econome (Storekeeper). The storekeeper is responsible for receiving, recording, and allocating storage. Kitchen Porters. There work involves carrying kitchen loads and cleaning, and assist in vegetable preparation and in unskilled kitchen work of all kinds. Scullery Person: The cleaning of metal kitchen vessels and implements is separate from that for plates and table silver. Kitchen Hands: Large kitchens employ unskilled or semiskilled workers called kitchen hands. They are attached to parties or to the various storage and vegetable rooms for tasks such as making pats of butter, replenishing hors d'oeuvres trays, peeling vegetables, and preparing fruit salad.

 

Modern Kitchen Organisation

Only a large establishment needs a staff like the classical brigade just described. In fact, some large hotels have even larger staffs, with other positions such as separate day and night sous chefs, assistant chef, banquet chef, butcher, baker, and so on. Most modern operations, on the other hand, are smaller than this. The size of the classical brigade may be reduced simply by combining two or more positions where the workload allows it.

JOB DESCRIPTION OF EXECUTIVE CHEF

 

 

 

Job Title                                                  : Executive Chef

 

Responsible to                                         : General Manager

 

Purpose and Scope of Job                        : To plan, organise, direct, co-ordinate and control the overall operation    of all the kitchens.

 

 

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

1.      Smooth functioning of all the kitchens under his control.

 

2.      Checking the operations of satellite kitchens and suggesting any changes if required.

 

3.      Preparation of menus for the hotel in consultation with F&B Manager and F&B control Dept. as per the laid down policies and procedures of the Management.

 

4.      To ensure that all the staff under his control is properly deployed and utilised.

 

5.      Placement of order to various suppliers through stores and purchase department.

 

6.      Advise the Management on the purchase of plant and equipment of the kitchen.

 

7.      Setting the Standard Purchase Specification for the food materials in consultation with purchase department officer and F&B Manager.

 

8.      Quality control of fresh supplies received and for checking the supplies at unspecified intervals.

 

9.       Standardising recipes and their enforcement.

 

10.     Controlling wastages, pilferages and proper storages.

 

11.     Formulation of preventive maintenance schedule in consultation with Executive Engineer.

 

12.      Maintaining food cost as per the laid down policies.

 

13.     To ensure that records and registers of his department are complete.

 

14.     Setting hygienic standards and their enforcement.

 

15.     Preparation of departmental budgets.

 

16.     Continual assessment, training of staff and their welfare.

 

17.     Co-ordinating with other departments.

 

18.     To ensure upkeep of the kitchen equipment and utensils as per laid down standards.

 

 

 

AUTHORITY:

 

a)      To sanction all types of leave for the staff under his control.

 

b)      To authorise deployment of staff on overtime beyond normal, duty hours.

 

c)      To recommend disciplinary action against defaulting employees as per standing orders.

 

d)      Authorised to recommend purchases, condemn articles and indent material required to be used in the kitchen.

 

e)      Authorised to entertain commercially important guests with the prior permission of the General Manager.

 

f)      Authorised to check the supplies and reject those not found as per the specifications.

 

g)        Authorised to do all risk purchases whenever a supplier fails to deliver the goods in time.

 

h)        Authorised to report the performance of the employees working under him.

 

i)         To recommend special awards/incentives to the really deserving staff members for exceptionally innovative performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOB DESCRIPTION OF SOUS CHEF

 

 

 

Job Title                                                     : Sous Chef

 

Responsible to                                                             : Exec. Chef or G.M./Manager where he is the department head

 

Nature and Scope of Job          : To plan, organise, direct and control the kitchen operations.

 

 

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

1.        To assist the Executive Chef in his day-to-day work.

 

2.        To directly supervise food preparation.

 

3.        To check the food during peak hours regarding service garnishes and accompaniments..

 

4.        To co-ordinate with Executive Chef with regard to the maintenance and upkeep of the kitchen equipment.

 

5.        To inform the Executive Chef about each and every detail of the kitchen.

 

6.        To keep a strict control on pilferages and wastages.

 

7.        To make changes from one section to another to ease the pressure in any particular section.

 

8.        To officiate in place of Executive Chef when he is off duty.

 

9.        To assist the Executive Chef in menu planning and costing.

 

10.     To regularly check the fresh supplies received at the time of receiving and send a note of the discrepancies to purchase department office through Executive Chef.

 

11.     To ensure strict discipline in the kitchen.

 

12.     To ensure proper communication between Executive Chef and staff.

 

13.     To ensure strict hygienic standards in the kitchen.

 

14.     To assist the Executive Chef in formulating preventive maintenance schedule.

 

15.     To assist the Executive Chef in forming the training schedule.

 

16.     To assist the Executive Chef in deployment and proper utilisation of the staff.

 

17.     To co-ordinate with other departments as per the advice of the Executive Chef.

 

 

 

AUTHORITY:

 

a)        To recommend all types of leaves in consultation with Executive Chef.

 

b)       To authorise deployment of staff on overtime after giving proper justification in writing.

 

c)        To recommend disciplinary action against defaulting employees in consultation with Executive Chef.

 

d)       Authorised to assess the performance of the staff and apprise the Executive Chef accordingly.

 

 

 

 

 

JOB DESCRIPTION OF CHEF

 

 

 

Job Title                                                     : Chef

 

Responsible to                                                             : Exec. Chef or Sous Chef

 

Nature and Scope of Job          : To organise, direct and coordinate in the smooth functioning of his section.

 

 

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

1.        Smooth functioning of his department.

 

2.        Deployment and proper utilisation of the staff under his control.

 

3.        Preparation of the duty roster for his staff.

 

4.        Requisitioning the raw material for day-to-day use in his section.

 

5.        To check and approve fresh supplies as and when deputed by the Executive Chef/Sous Chef.

 

6.        To assist the Executive Chef in preparation of new menus.

 

7.        To assist the Executive Chef in formulating the standard purchase specifications.

 

8.        To ensure that all the records and consumption sheets of his section are submitted to Executive Chef.

 

9.        To control wastages in his section.

 

10.     To ensure strict portion control.

 

11.     Quality control with special attention to presentation and accompaniments.

 

12.      Actual training of the staff by demonstrating the dishes to be prepared by them.

 

13.     To organise the Chefs special menu of the day in consultation with Executive Chef.

 

14.     Officiating as Sous Chef when he is off duty.

 

15.     To ensure strict hygienic standards in his section.

 

16.     To ensure strict discipline in the section.

 

17.      Any other job as assigned.

 

AUTHORITY:

 

a)        To recommend the indents for the raw material to be used in the section.

 

b)       Authorised to recommend any leave for the staff under his control.

 

c)        Authorised to recommend the disciplinary action against the defaulting employees.

 

d)       Authorised to detain staff on overtime in absence of Executive Chef/Sous Chef.

 

 

 

 

 

JOB DESCRIPTION OF CHEF-DE-PARTIE

 

 

 

Job Title                                                     : Chef-de-Partie

 

Responsible to                                                             : Exec. Chef / Sous Chef / Chef

 

Nature and Scope of Job          : Plan and organise the preparation of food in his section.

 

 

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

1.        To plan and organise the actual preparation of food in his section.

 

2.        To ensure the mise-en-place and mise-en-scene in his section.

 

3.        To ensure strict food serving standard with regard to presentation and garnishes.

 

4.        Preparation and dishing out a la carte orders.

 

5.        Preparation of food for party menus.

 

6.        To ensure proper portions as per the standard recipes.

 

7.        To inform Chef/Sous Chef of any mechanical defect in the equipment in his section.

 

8.        To ensure strict hygienic standards in the section.

 

9.        To try out new dishes as per the advice of the Chef.

 

10.   Any other job as assigned.

 

 

 

AUTHORITY:

 

a)        Authorised to write requisition for raw material in the absence of Chef. However, obtaining signature of an Executive on the requisition is a must.

 

b)       Authorised in the absence of the Chef/Sous Chef, to receive and replace the food whenever returned by the guest in case of complaint or otherwise.

 

 

 

JOB DESCRIPTION OF COMMIS-I to COMMIS-III

 

 

 

Job Title                                                     : Commis (I, II, III)

 

Responsible to                                                             : Chef

 

Nature and Scope of Job          : To prepare the Food.

 

 

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

1.        Preparation of dishes as assigned to him.

 

2.        Mise-en-scene and mise-en-place in the dept.

 

3.        Finishing and dishing out a la carte orders.

 

4.        Preparation of food for party menus and buffets.

 

5.        Assisting Chef/Chef de Partie in performance of their duties.

 

6.        Controlling the wastages.

 

7.        Portion control as per the standard yields.

 

8.        Informing Chef/Sous Chef of any defect in the equipment of his section.

 

9.        Cleaning of working areas and equipment used during the preparation of dishes.

 

10.     Ensuring strict hygienic conditions around his place of work and equipment.

 

11.   Any other job as assigned to him.

 

 

 

JOB DESCRIPTION OF KITCHEN STEWARD

 

 

 

Job Title                                                     : Kitchen Steward

 

Responsible to                                                             : Executive Chef / Sous Chef

 

Nature and Scope of Job          : To organise and control silverware, flatware, glassware, crockery, cutlery and         

 

                                                           kitchen utensils.

 

 

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

1.        Control of all kitchen flatware and service dishes.

 

2.        Control of cutlery crockery and other banquet requirements.

 

3.        Arranging cutlery, crockery, glassware for the parties as per size of the partie.

 

4.        Maintaining stock registers for all cutlery, crockery, glassware, silverware, kitchen utensils and miscella­neous items and ensuring stock-taking of the items once a week.

 

5.        Placing indents for more material as and when the par stock declines.

 

6.        Proper deployment and utilisation to utility workers under his control.

 

7.        Preparation of duty rosters for utility workers in consultation with Executive Chef.

 

8.        To ensure cleaning and polishing of all the equipment in the stewarding department.

 

9.        To assist Chef in transporting various stores to maintain par stocks of perishables, non-perishables and non-food items.

 

10.     Enforcing strict hygienic standards in the kitchen.

 

11.     To ensure proper and speedy cleaning and storage of all service wares in dishwashing machine/manual washing area.

 

12.     Proper and speedy cleaning and storage of all pots and pans.

 

13.     Any other job as assigned.

 

 

 

AUTHORITY:

 

a)        To recommend indents of the material required by his department.

To recommend leaves to Executive Chef for the staff under his control