Restaurant Chefs: A Complete Guide To Their Types And Roles

Restaurant Chefs That You Need To Run A Professional Kitchen For Your Restaurant

In a professional kitchen, all chefs, cooks, and other members of the kitchen work under a head chef. This blog will introduce you to all the chefs and their respective profiles one by one.

1. Executive Chef

The executive chef is the highest position in the hierarchy of chefs and one becomes an executive after years of hard work and experience. Another name for an executive chef is a head chef as in most kitchens the same person holds both positions. As the name suggests executive chef is the head of all kitchen staff and operations.

The executive chef is not involved in preparing or cooking any dishes. Rather they make sure that every dish is flawless and up to mark before reaching the customers.

An executive chef is therefore responsible for guiding the sous chef, or other chefs who are involved in cooking and tasting dishes before they are sent out to customers.

2. Sous Chef

Sous chefs work right under the executive chef which makes sous-chefs the second most important chef in a restaurant kitchen.

The sous chef supervises other chefs who are below them. They take care of the whole preparation process of all food items. To do so they make sure that all the instructions are properly followed while preparing food.

3. Station Chef

A station chef is also known as a Chef de Partie. Station chefs are allotted a particular station in a kitchen. They generally lead a team of chefs who work under their command.

These chefs specialize in a niche and below are some titles that station chefs specialize in. In some cases, the french name for chef titles is more famous so in the following list, the french name for respected titles is given as well.

• Saute chef: Also known as a saucier.
• Fish chef: Also known as a poissonnier.
• Roast chef: Also known as a rotisseur.
• Grill chef: Also known as a grillardin.
• Fry chef: Also known as a friturier.
• Entree preparer: Also known as an entremetier.
• Soup chef: Also known as a potager.
• Vegetable chef: Also known as a legumier.
• Roundsman: Also known as a tounant.
• Pantry chef: Also known as a garde manger.
• Butcher: Also known as a boucher.
• Pastry chef: Also known as a patissier.

4. Commis Chef

A commis chef is an entry-level chef. They are chefs who have just started their careers in a professional kitchen. Therefore, they usually work under a station chef and help them manage their station effectively.

A commis chef is not involved in much cooking but rather assists the station chef. They follow the orders of a station chef and work under their guidance.

Their responsibilities can include providing required ingredients, tools, and materials to a station chef. With time, when they gain experience and expertise they can climb up the ladder to occupy a higher position.

5. Expediter

An expediter is not a chef but a professional who takes care that the final dish is as per the expectations of the customers and according to the restaurant guidelines.

An expediter job, therefore, becomes important as an expediter works as the bridge between customers and kitchen staff.

6. Kitchen Manager

A kitchen manager is another important member of the kitchen they make sure that the inventory is properly managed and updated.

They also coordinate with the restaurant owner and executive chef to ensure the proper functioning of the kitchen.

A single person doesn’t carry out all the tasks in a professional kitchen. A professional kitchen has a hierarchical team where the Head Chef assigns and distributes tasks to other members of the kitchen as per their qualifications and experience.

Another important aspect to keep in mind is that make sure your kitchen follows all the rules and regulations set by food and government regulatory bodies. 

Hope this blog was useful in introducing you to the different types of restaurant chefs and their specializations.

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