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What’s the key to a kitchen that works effectively and produces constant dishes? Navy-like teamwork. The French, who pioneered the trendy restaurant expertise through the French Revolution, shaped their back-of-house (BOH) groups like military brigades.
Within the kitchen brigade system, a military-like hierarchy creates a line of command. Every staff member has a particular function that they fulfill with utmost precision. The system creates order and maximizes productiveness. Whereas the kitchen brigade system is much less extensively utilized in its full type at present, it’s nonetheless the idea of most restaurant kitchen groups.
Should you’ve organized your kitchen workers advert hoc and are discovering issues with their efficiency, chances are you’ll wish to think about adopting the brigade system. We’re going to point out you the ins and outs of the system so as to resolve whether or not it is sensible on your restaurant. This information to the kitchen brigade system will cowl:
Run your restaurant kitchen the fitting approach
Standardize your restaurant’s insurance policies, pointers and processes along with your customized restaurant worker handbook.
What’s a kitchen brigade system?
The kitchen brigade system, often known as the “brigade de delicacies”, is a framework for hiring and organizing restaurant kitchen workers to maximise effectivity. Within the system, everybody has a particular and helpful function, which helps the kitchen run like a well-oiled machine.
The total brigade consists of greater than 20 kitchen jobs together with an government chef, sous chef, and a number of varieties of cooks de partie (line cooks) who oversee specific stations. Examples of line cooks within the full brigade de delicacies embrace a potager, who oversees the soups, a poissonnier, who’s chargeable for seafood dishes, and a pâtissier, who oversees the pastry program.
The kitchen brigade system has roots in high-quality eating. Right this moment, it’s much less generally seen in its entirety as a result of proliferation of extra informal restaurant ideas.
Although the brigade de delicacies was meant for full-service eating places (FSRs), its legacy will be discovered even at quick meals ideas. Quick meals kitchens have stations for frying, grilling and assembling dishes and so they rent line cooks to work these stations and maximize effectivity.
Historical past of the kitchen brigade system
The kitchen brigade system was created within the nineteenth century by Georges-Auguste Escoffier, a chef who’s chargeable for revolutionizing French delicacies. Escoffier, who was a protégé of Marie-Antoine Carême, the daddy of French cooking, grew to become well-known for modernizing and simplifying the French delicacies codified by his mentor.
Escoffier’s particular contact was making use of French military rules to the kitchen. He primarily based the brigade system on his expertise working as a chef within the French navy.
The brigade system was instrumental in enhancing the standard of French delicacies and streamlining kitchen operations. It launched standardized procedures, specialised roles, and a strict chain of command, making it simpler for eating places to keep up consistency of their dishes.
One of many key improvements of the brigade system was the division of labor into specialised stations or stations de travail. Every station had a devoted chef chargeable for particular duties, resembling saucier (sauce chef), poissonnier (fish chef), and pâtissier (pastry chef). This specialization allowed for a extra environment friendly workflow and improved the general high quality of the meals being produced.
Escoffier’s brigade system rapidly gained recognition and was adopted by many eating places all over the world. Its affect on culinary training {and professional} kitchens continues to be evident at present. Whereas the system has developed and tailored through the years, its core rules of group, self-discipline, and specialization proceed to play a significant function in trendy culinary operations, guaranteeing that the spirit of Georges-Auguste Escoffier lives on in kitchens worldwide.
What are the advantages of getting a kitchen brigade in your restaurant?
Implementing the kitchen brigade system may also help you unlock a number of benefits, no matter what sort of restaurant you run. Whereas high-quality eating institutions often undertake the brigade system most strictly, much more informal eating places can profit from its hierarchy.
Establishes a transparent hierarchy and construction
“Kitchen brigade methods assist create hierarchy and delineate obligations in what will be an off-the-cuff and informal working atmosphere,” defined Ellen Eamon, common supervisor of Montréal restaurant Elena.
Lindsay Brennan, co-owner of Tinc Set, seconds that sentiment. “A kitchen brigade system is necessary to create an environment friendly, organized and cohesive staff,” she added.
So, as an alternative of getting a BOH staff through which everybody has the identical stage of seniority and members execute tickets primarily based on availability, the brigade system creates order. There may be an government chef or chef de delicacies who oversees the staff. Then there are line cooks who man stations and contribute to totally different dishes, slightly than creating dishes on their very own from begin to end. This technique ensures that line cooks good the strategies that they concentrate on, which maximizes effectivity and consistency.
Improves the standard of meals and output
The division of labor into specialised stations ensures that every chef or cook dinner turns into an skilled of their assigned duties. This results in larger proficiency and consistency in meals preparation and presentation.
What’s extra the brigade system promotes high quality management by guaranteeing that every dish is ready in accordance with established requirements. The system helps preserve consistency in style, presentation, and portion sizes, which is essential for a restaurant’s repute.
Can inspire staff members to hunt profession growth
However this method is beneficial for extra than simply teamwork. The brigade system “can also be an efficient instrument to create an incentive for employees members to decide to the staff and to see a transparent path for future growth throughout the firm,” Brennan says.
The system helps “create a transparent framework for shifting up within the restaurant [like] a junior sous chef being promoted to sous chef,” defined Eamon.
There’s a lot to achieve from utilizing the brigade de delicacies system in your restaurant.
What’s the hierarchy in a kitchen brigade?
Like a common is the pinnacle of the military, an government chef is the pinnacle of the kitchen in a restaurant. In line with the kitchen brigade system, the chef de delicacies is second-in-command to the manager chef. Nonetheless, typically eating places may have both an government chef OR a chef de delicacies, slightly than each positions. Beneath the chef de delicacies is the sous chef de delicacies (colloquially generally known as the sous chef).
Beneath the sous chef are the road cooks, or cooks de partie, who’re accountable for varied stations within the kitchen. Some stations might have a number of varieties of cooks working at them. For instance, the pastry staff might include a pâtissier (pastry chef), boulanger (baker), and glacier (somebody who focuses on making frozen desserts). Commis cooks (junior cooks) spherical out the brigade system hierarchy.
Brigade system kitchen jobs: Who do it is advisable to rent on your kitchen workers?
| Function | Description | Common Wage |
| Chef Exécutif (Government Chef) | Strategic enterprise selections, creating the restaurant’s menu or idea | $61,000 USD |
| Chef de Delicacies (Kitchen Chief) | Overseeing kitchen workers, creating recipes | $61,000 USD |
| Sous Chef de Delicacies (Sous Chef) | Overseeing line cooks, aiding with administration duties | $45,000 USD |
| Commis Chef (Junior Chef) | Executing orders on the stations to which they’re assigned | $44,500 USD |
| Garde Manger (Pantry Chef) | Making ready and assembling chilly dishes, salads, appetizers | $51,162 USD |
| Patissier (Pastry Chef) | Creating baked items, desserts, and pastries | $66,428 USD |
| Chef de Partie (Line Cook dinner) | Overseeing every station within the brigade system | $35,000 USD |
| Saucier (Sauce Chef) | Creating and perfecting sauces | $39,736 USD |
| Boucher (Butcher) | Making ready and dealing with meat, poultry, and typically seafood | $41,160 USD |
| Plongeur (Dishwasher) | Cleansing dishes and getting ready them for an additional spherical of service | $24,000 USD |
| Aboyeur (Expediter) | Speaking between the front-of-house workers and the kitchen staff | $35,039 USD |
Right here’s a better take a look at a number of the commonest kitchen jobs which can be nonetheless in use at present from the French brigade system.
Chef Exécutif (Government Chef)
The chief chef is just like the back-of-house CEO. This function is much less about day-to-day kitchen operations and extra about strategic enterprise selections, like creating the restaurant’s menu or idea.
Common government chef wage: $61,000 USD
Chef de Delicacies (Kitchen Chief)
The chef de delicacies is the supervisor of the kitchen who additionally collaborates with the restaurant’s common supervisor. Not like the manager chef, the chef de delicacies is concerned in day-to-day kitchen operations.
This function is chargeable for overseeing kitchen workers and will be concerned in making hiring selections. The chef de delicacies additionally oversees administrative duties, like meals security and stock administration. This place takes on the crucial job of guaranteeing that the kitchen avoids well being code violations. The chef de delicacies can be chargeable for executing the manager chef’s imaginative and prescient for the menu by creating recipes.
Common chef de delicacies wage: $61,000 USD*
*Wage information reveals that cooks de delicacies and government cooks earn the identical quantity. This information is a bit deceptive as a result of many trendy eating places may have one particular person fulfilling each roles. When a restaurant has each of those roles, the manager chef will likely be paid greater than the chef de delicacies.
Sous Chef de Delicacies (Sous Chef)
The sous chef de delicacies is usually known as the “sous chef” in English. Sous means “underneath” in French, so the title explains that this function is the chef de delicacies‘s deputy. The sous chef helps oversee the road cooks and assists with administration duties. This place steps in for the chef de delicacies when wanted.
Common sous chef wage: $45,000 USD
Commis Chef (Junior Chef)
Within the conventional brigade system, line cooks have junior cooks working with them. Junior cooks assist execute orders on the stations to which they’re assigned. So the commis chef to the poissonnier would assist their boss put together fish dishes, whereas the commis chef to the saucier would assist make sauces.
Common junior chef wage: $44,500 USD*
*Eating places that make use of each line cooks and junior cooks would pay line cooks greater than junior cooks.
Garde Manger (Pantry Chef)
The Garde Manger, also known as the Pantry Chef, is chargeable for the preparation and meeting of chilly dishes, salads, appetizers, and typically, chilly desserts. This function entails the meticulous association and presentation of things like charcuterie, pâtés, salads, and hors d’oeuvres.
Common Garde Manger (Pantry Chef) wage: $51,162 USD
Patissier (Pastry Chef)
The Patissier, or Pastry Chef, focuses on creating a variety of baked items, desserts, and pastries. Their function entails crafting beautiful candy treats like truffles, pastries, tarts, goodies, and confections. They’re chargeable for creating dessert menus, getting ready dough, batters, and fillings, and executing intricate adorning strategies.
Common Patissier (Pastry Chef) wage: $66,428 USD
Chef de Partie (Line Cook dinner)
Stations are a signature of the brigade system. The total brigade has stations for each sort of meals preparation methodology wanted within the kitchen. The system has a number of varieties of cooks de delicacies, often known as line cooks, that oversee every station within the brigade system. Their particular duties, and titles, rely upon their stations.
For instance, a saucier, is accountable for creating all the restaurant’s sauces, whereas a friturier is chargeable for fried gadgets.
Common line cook dinner wage: $35,000 USD
Saucier (Sauce Chef)
They’re chargeable for creating and perfecting sauces that improve the flavors of varied dishes. The Saucier prepares a variety of sauces, from basic French mom sauces like béchamel and hollandaise to reductions, coulis, and vinaigrettes. Their experience lies in attaining the fitting stability of flavors, consistency, and texture in sauces.
Common Saucier (Sauce Chef) wage: $39,736 USD
Boucher (Butcher)
The Boucher, or Butcher main focuses on getting ready and dealing with meat, poultry, and typically seafood. Their obligations embody a variety of duties associated to procuring, processing, and guaranteeing the standard of protein-based components.
Common Boucher (Butcher) wage: $41,160 USD
Plongeur (Dishwasher)
The dishwasher, or plongeur, is a crucial kitchen job within the brigade system. This place cleans dishes and prepares them for an additional spherical of service by drying and organizing them.
Common dishwasher wage: $24,000 USD
In case your staffing wants change from season to season, think about hiring a few of these roles quickly.
Aboyeur (Expediter)
Whereas not a standard a part of the basic kitchen brigade system, the Expediter is a contemporary addition to many busy kitchens, particularly in high-end and fast-paced institutions. Their main accountability is to behave because the communication hub between the front-of-house workers (resembling servers and waitstaff) and the kitchen staff. They be certain that orders from the eating room are precisely relayed to the kitchen and that accomplished dishes are despatched out to the right tables.
Common Aboyeur (Expediter) wage: $35,039 USD
Right here’s a better take a look at a number of the commonest kitchen jobs which can be nonetheless in use at present from the French brigade system.
Adapting the kitchen brigade system for contemporary eating places
The brigade system was helpful in its full-fledged type when eating places had been bigger and fewer prevalent, and when high-quality eating was the one possibility for eating out. Most eating places at present aren’t in a position to assist 20-person kitchen brigades as a result of recognition of informal eating, growing labor prices, and the smaller measurement of eating places. Nonetheless, they’re nonetheless benefiting from the legacy of the brigade system. So what does the trendy kitchen brigade seem like?
Tinc Set has discovered success in stripping the system right down to the naked necessities. “We have now a small kitchen workers, together with Juan, the manager chef, a chef de delicacies who’s Juan’s right-hand man, in addition to two cooks,” explains Brennan. “All 4 individuals contribute to the preparation earlier than service, in addition to the execution of service. We even have one dishwasher.”
Throughout Montréal, the staff at pizza restaurant Elena has tailored its positions with Italian aptitude. “Elena isn’t a standard French kitchen, so we don’t have the total vary of brigade positions,” Eamon explains. “Whereas French kitchen would have a saucier, we’ve a pizzaiolo. We have now a chef, a chef de delicacies, a chef de manufacturing and one or two sous cooks in regular, non-COVID instances, in addition to garde-manger and line cooks.”
Like many others, the restaurant has needed to pare down their BOH staff due to the pandemic. “Previously few months, our kitchen has change into much less hierarchical as we’ve a restricted workers, which means everybody has extra accountability. We even have the luxurious of placing extra time into coaching, empowering our workers to have extra possession and enter within the inventive course of and the every day administration of the kitchen,” says Eamon.
The staff at Elena has additionally used that point to create and sell products that assist laid-off restaurant workers in Montréal.
Undertake the kitchen brigade system for optimum effectivity in your BOH
Whereas the kitchen brigade system was born in French military kitchens, it’s been utilized by eating places for hundreds of years. As eating places’ wants proceed to vary, the brigade system evolves with them. It’s time to check out your restaurant operations and discover methods to take them to the subsequent stage. Undertake the kitchen brigade system (or its most related facets) to your restaurant for optimum effectivity and consistency.
Find out how Lightspeed’s restaurant POS may also help your restaurant streamline operations. Let’s chat.
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