Where I work we have an executive chef, a sous chef, a line chef, a head chef, and a bunch more.
Why so many? What is the difference?
What do they do?
From this site ,** Markxxx** :
Chef de Cuisine
Executive Chef
Sous-Chef
Expediter
Pastry Chef
Line Cooks
Chef de garde manger
Sometimes the chef de cuisine and the executive chef are one and the same, depending on the restaurant. In my experience, the smaller the restaurant, the more common it is.
A sous-chef is basically the second in command, and runs the show when the executive chef is off. Sometimes there’s more than one sous-chef – again, depending on the restaurant.
And, as always, we pastry chefs are at the bottom of the chef hierarchy…:rolleyes:
Okay, it’s late in the quarter and my French is not at its best, but … “chef de garde manger” – “chef of keep eating”? What’s the real translation?
They rate an expediter over a pasrty chef?Any line cook should be able to expidite-tho any expiditer can’t necessarily cook-or make pastries.
He’s responsble for getting the orders together on time,eg-a sauce or sauce dish-think lobster thermidor-is prepared by the sous chef and/or his help,then taken to the main line were line cooks are puting up the steaks,chops,etc-while the fry cook (s) are frying whatever needs to be fried to complete the order.
I’m talking here a big restaurant that serves 1k and more in a approx.6 hr.period.
Garde mangers are basically doing KP such as making roses out of radishes for celery olive/carrot bowls,or whatever for the tables.
Tho I guess THE garde manger is higher in the heirachy than a line cook,his contributions to the overall meal experience never struck me as more important than a pastry chef’s.
They make those incredible desserts.Maybe I’m biased.I’ll take a choc.mousse cake over any stalk of celery to make my meal.
I have no idea what the literal translation from the French means tho,for GM.
Garde manger is the guy who finishes off the presentation, makes salads, and tends the buffet.
They address this on the website:
It also might have something to do with the fact that the Expediter is often the Sous-Chef.
They address this on the website:
It also might have something to do with the fact that the Expediter is often the Sous-Chef.
Garde Manger literally means “keeper of the food”, in that, traditionally, his job was to make galantines, mousses, terrines. and such from whatever was left over from the previous day’s service. I don’t mean mousse in the sweet sense, though. If you were to attend a banquet, let’s say, which featured a cold salmon mousse glazed in aspic, that salmon mousse is just one of the many quintessential garde manger dishes.
In swankier restaurants, garde mangers still do this, not only to keep the traditional dishes alive, but also…well, to use leftovers. It boils down to money. If a restaurant, say, didn’t sell Y number of lobsters from the X amount they ordered, they have to sell them somehow in order not to lose money. So what do they do? Cook the lobsters off, mix it with other ingredients, perhaps puree it, and volia – offer it as an appetizer! Anthony Bourdain talks about it in much more detail in Kitchen Confidential, btw.
…and as to what CaveMike posted about pastry chefs and the status of women in the kitchen…it’s changing, but unfortunately not as quickly as I know I’d like…:rolleyes:
Isn’t the garde manger also the guy who does the eggs for breakfast and brunch – omelettes, fried eggs, etc.
I understand that it’s one of the least liked jobs in the kitchen.
Hmmm, not to my knowledge, but I could very well be wrong. I’ve always known those people to be simply “breakfast cooks”.
But you’re right, though, in that the position is one of the least liked. For some reason, breakfast and lunch have always been considered the “outcasts” in terms of restaurant meals. This is just a guess, but it might be because that both meals have always had considerably less cachet than dinner. Also, the basic ingredients aren’t as expensive, which means that the the diner’s bill isn’t as expensive. In other words, restaurants usually lose money on both.
Oh, and I don’t remember if it was you or someone else who said something about garde mangers = salad makers, but that’s also certainly true nowadays…
In middle french, “manger” wasn’t only the verb “to eat” but also meant “food” (more exactly the verb was also incorrectly used as a name for what you would eat)…like in “blanc manger”= “white food”.
So, “garde-manger” doesn’t mean “keep eating” but “food keeper”, and refers to the place food was kept in (it’s still used with this meaning nowadays, though more and more rarely, since food is now kept in fridges, not in a fresh place). The “chef de garde-manger” would be originally the guy who was in charge of the food reserves.