Kitchen Organization and the Brigade
The classical brigade
Escoffier's brigade defines roles. The executive chef sets menus, budgets and standards; the head chef (chef de cuisine) runs the kitchen; the sous chef is second in command and manages service; the chef de partie runs a section; the commis chef is the junior. Sections include saucier (sauces, sauté), poissonnier (fish), rôtisseur (roasts, grills), grillardin (grill), friturier (fried items), entremetier (vegetables, soups, eggs), garde-manger (cold larder, salads, pâté), pâtissier (pastry), boucher (butchery), tournant (relief) and aboyeur (caller/expediter).
The kitchen plan
A well-planned kitchen follows the work-flow principle: goods enter at one end (delivery, dry store, cold store, preparation, cooking, plating, wash-up, waste out) with no crossing of clean and dirty routes. The work triangle links storage, preparation and cooking. Equipment zoning keeps raw and cooked preparation physically apart.
The kitchen brigade today
Modern kitchens flatten the hierarchy: section chefs, a larder chef, a pastry chef and a kitchen porter. Questions often ask who reports to whom - the commis reports to the chef de partie, who reports to the sous chef, who reports to the head chef.
Communication and mise en place
Mise en place means everything in its place: ingredients prepared, tools ready, station stocked before service. The aboyeur calls orders; the pass is where the head chef checks every plate for temperature, seasoning, portion and presentation. A good answer names the pass as the final quality gate.
Worked example
An order of grilled fish, chips and salad arrives. The poissonnier cooks the fish, the friturier the chips, the garde-manger the salad; the aboyeur calls the ticket and the head chef checks the pass. If the fish is ready first, it is held under a heat lamp only briefly - quality suffers if held long.
Traps
Confusing garde-manger with pâtissier, or tournant with commis. Remember tournant is a relief cook who covers any section.