Chef

Chefs in training in Paris

A chef is a person who cooks food as their job. They usually are found in restaurants.

Full explanation

The chef is responsible for everything about the food in a restaurant. He is responsible for purchasing the food, hiring and supervising the kitchen staff, creating the menus for the customers, and deciding the recipes (the details of how the cooking shall be done).

The sous-chef is the chef's number one man (or woman): the deputy. A chef de partie is a 'line chef', in charge of a station in the kitchen. The commis chef works under a chef de partie. It is usually a training position.

The lines or stations in a big kitchen are:

• Sauté chef; fish chef; roast chef; grill and/or fry chef; vegetable chef; roundsman (fills in where needed); pantry chef; butcher; pastry chef.

The chef's authority stops at the swing doors. Where the customers sit ('front of house') is under a manager or a head waiter. The term is usually 'Maitre d'hotêl' or 'Maitre dee' (Anglo/US version). Big restaurants will have a 'greeter', who welcomes customers, checks the bookings, indicates the cloakroom, and leads the customers to their table

Wine is managed by a Maitre sommelier or Master of Wine (wine steward of a top restaurants), or (less classy) a wine waiter or a bar manager. Sommeliers have exams and qualifications which are recognised internationally.

Other pages

• Celebrity chef

Other websites

• free chefs resource guide built by chefs for chefs
• Official certification levels of the American Culinary Federation