CAP Cuisine key terms

The hierarchical organisation of a professional kitchen, with each station (saucier, poissonnier, garde-manger, pâtissier) assigned a defined set of preparations and a clear chain of command under the chef.

A single work station in a professional kitchen, responsible for a specific family of dishes and for keeping its own mise en place stocked throughout service.

The cook in charge of one station; organises its mise en place, coordinates the commis working there, and ensures dishes leave at the correct moment and standard.

A junior cook who assists a chef de partie with preparation and plating, learning techniques station by station before taking responsibility for a partie.

All advance preparation done before service: cutting, portioning, stocks, sauces, blanching, and arranging tools so that dishes can be finished quickly and consistently.

The final arrangement of food on the plate, covering placement of components, sauce, garnish, portion size, and cleanliness of the rim before the dish leaves the pass.

The cold station responsible for salads, cold starters, terrines, and often the preparation of raw ingredients that must stay chilled and hygienically separated from cooked foods.

The station cook responsible for sauces, sautéed dishes, and often the meat preparations that depend on those sauces, working at the stove during service.

The station cook responsible for fish and shellfish: filleting, portioning, cooking, and finishing seafood dishes to order during service.

The cook responsible for desserts, pastry, and often bread and viennoiserie in the restaurant, working with precise weights, temperatures, and resting times.

A stock made by simmering bones, aromatic vegetables, and water; used as the base for sauces, soups, and braises and classified by the animal or vegetable it comes from.

Concentrating a liquid by simmering it so that water evaporates and flavour and body intensify; used to thicken sauces and to build intensity before adding cream or butter.

Dissolving the caramelised juices left in a pan by adding liquid such as wine, stock, or water and scraping the base, so those flavours enter the sauce.

A base sauce from which many derived sauces are made, such as espagnole, velouté, béchamel, and tomato; each is built from a specific liquid and thickening agent.

A mixture of equal weights of flour and fat cooked together, used to thicken liquids; the cooking time and colour (white, blond, brown) determine its flavour and thickening power.

A white sauce made by adding milk gradually to a white roux and simmering until smooth; seasoned with salt, pepper, and often nutmeg, it is a base for many gratins and sauces.

A mixture used to bind or thicken a preparation, such as egg yolks with cream, a starch slurry, or a beurre manié, added at the end of cooking to give body.

A paste of equal weights of soft butter and flour worked together and whisked into a hot liquid to thicken it and correct a sauce at the end of cooking.

Whisking cold butter into a finished sauce off the heat to give it shine, body, and a rounder flavour; the sauce must not boil afterwards or it may split.

A stable mixture of two liquids that do not normally combine, such as oil and water, held together by an emulsifier and mechanical whisking, as in mayonnaise or hollandaise.

A warm emulsion of egg yolks, clarified butter, and an acid reduction such as vinegar or lemon; it must be kept warm, not hot, or it will split.

Butter heated so that water evaporates and milk solids separate and can be removed, leaving a clear fat that resists burning and is used for emulsified sauces and high-heat cooking.

Sprinkling flour over sautéed ingredients and cooking it briefly before adding liquid, so the flour coats the food and thickens the final sauce or braise.

Cooking food slowly in a covered vessel with a small amount of liquid after an initial browning, producing tender meat and a sauce from the cooking juices.

Simmering gently just below boiling so that flavours develop and proteins do not toughen; used for stews, stocks, and long-cooked sauces.

Applying high heat to food quickly so that its surface browns and seals, developing colour and flavour before further cooking or service.

The browning that occurs when amino acids and sugars react under heat, producing colour and complex roasted flavours; it requires a dry, hot surface and is distinct from caramelisation.

The cooking of a food, defined by its method (roasting, steaming, poaching) and its degree of doneness, which for meat is often judged by touch, core temperature, or juices.

Vacuum-sealing food and cooking it in a temperature-controlled water bath, so the core reaches and holds an exact temperature, giving consistent doneness and minimal moisture loss.

A degree of doneness for meat meaning cooked through but still juicy and slightly pink at the centre, between saignant and bien cuit.

The unbroken cold chain: keeping perishable foods at or below the required temperature from delivery through storage, preparation, and service to prevent bacterial growth.

A food-safety system that identifies biological, chemical, and physical hazards at each step of production and defines control points and records to prevent them reaching the customer.

The ability to trace a food product through every stage of supply and preparation by recording its origin, supplier, delivery date, and use, so a problem can be isolated quickly.

The temperature measured at the centre of a food, used to verify that it has been cooked or reheated safely and that cold storage is holding correctly.

A dish assembled and served cold, such as a salad, terrine, or cold starter, which requires strict separation of raw and cooked items and careful temperature control until service.

The accompaniment served with a main item, chosen to balance flavour and texture and often giving the dish its classic name, such as garniture à la florentine.

The measured amount of a food served to one guest, determined by recipe yield and cost control, ensuring consistent quality and predictable food cost.

A written recipe card for professional use, listing exact quantities, method, yield, portion size, and cost, so a dish can be reproduced consistently by any cook.

The cost of the raw ingredients used to produce a dish or menu, calculated from purchase prices and yields, and used to set selling prices and control margins.