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History of Modern Foodservice
Modern foodservice began shortly after the middle of the 1700s, when a Parisian vendor named Boulanger
began selling soup dishes that he referred to as “restoratives” (the French verb restaurer means “restoring/to
restore”).
The great chef following this era was Marie Antoine Carême (1784-1833). He is credited as the founder of
classical cuisine. His many books contain the first really systematic account of cooking principles, recipes, and
menu making. He became famous for elaborate and elegant showpieces, but his practical and theoretical work
helped bring cooking out of the Middle Ages and into the modern period.
Georges-Auguste Escoffier (1847-1935), the greatest chef of his time, is revered by chefs and gourmets as the
father of twentieth-century cookery. Escoffier’s two (2) main contributions are the simplification of classical
cuisine and menu, and the reorganization of the kitchen.
Developments in the Modern Age
• New Equipment. The easily controlled heat of modern cooking equipment, as well as motorized food
cutters, mixers, and other processing equipment, has greatly simplified food production. Modern
equipment has enabled many foodservice operations to change their production methods.
• Availability of New Food Products. Modern refrigeration and rapid transportation caused revolutionary
changes in eating habits. The development of preservation techniques increased the availability of most
food products and made affordable some that were once rare and expensive. Convenience food continues
to account for an increasing share of the total food market.
• Food Safety and Nutritional Awareness. Developments in microbiology and nutrition had a great impact
on foodservice. Nutrition is an important consideration of a cook’s training. Customers are also more
knowledgeable and are more likely to demand healthful, well-balanced menus. Chefs are called upon to
provide more nutritious, low-fat, low-calorie meals; they must also adapt to the needs of customers who
must eliminate certain food from their diets, such as gluten, soy, dairy, or eggs.
20th and 21st Century Cooking
• Nouvelle cuisine. A generation after Escoffier, the most influential chef in the middle of the 20th century
was Fernando Point (1897-1955). Point simplified and lightened classical cuisine. Point’s influence
extended well beyond his own life. Many of his apprentices, including Paul Bocuse, Jean and Pierre
Troisgros, and Alain Chapel, later became some of the greatest stars in the 1960s and early 1970s for a
style of cooking called nouvelle cuisine. Reacting to heavy, and overly complicated classical cuisine, these
chefs took Point’s lighter approach even further. They rejected many traditional principles, such as the use
of flour to thicken sauces, and plating of dishes by waiters at dining rooms.
• New Emphasis on Ingredients. Advances in agriculture and food preservation have had disadvantages and
advantages. People nowadays began to question not only the flavor but also the health value and the
environmental effects of the food they eat. Concern for quality of ingredients has led many chefs to
support and to purchase from farmers who practice sustainable agriculture. This refers to methods of
raising healthful food in a way that is profitable to farming communities at the same time, preserving and
enhancing the soil, water, and air.
• International influences. After the middle of the twentieth century, as travel became easier and as new
waves of immigrants arrived in Europe and North America from around the world, awareness of and taste
for regional dishes grew. Fusion cuisine refers to the use of ingredients and techniques from more than
one (1) regional or international cuisine in a single dish.
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• New Technologies. One (1) of these technologies is the practice of cooking sous vide (soo veed, French for
“under vacuum”). Sous vide began simply as a method of packaging and storing food in vacuum-sealed
plastic bags. Modern chefs are exploring ways to use this technology to control cooking temperature and
times with extreme precision resulting to food products with new textures and flavors.
The Organization of Modern Kitchens
The purpose of kitchen organization is to assign or allocate tasks so they can be done efficiently and properly
and so all workers know what their responsibilities are. The way a kitchen is organized depends on several
factors.
Bases of Kitchen Organization
Menu – the kinds of dishes to be produced obviously determine the jobs that must be done. The menu is
the basis of an entire operation.
Type of establishment – hotels, institutional kitchens (schools, hospitals, airline catering, military
foodservice), private clubs, catering and banquet services, fast-food restaurants, and full-service
restaurants.
Size of operation – refers to the number of customers and the volume of food served.
Physical facilities – include equipment, storage areas, and furnishings.
Classical Brigade
o Chef – the person in charge of the kitchen. The word chef is French for “chief/head”. In large
establishments, this person has the title of executive chef. The executive chef is a manager who is
responsible for all aspects of food production, including menu planning, purchasing, costing, planning
work schedules, hiring, and training.
o Chef de cuisine – the chef-in-charge in each department (formal dining room, casual dining room, catering)
of a large foodservice operation. The chef de cuisine reports to the executive chef.
o Sous chef (soo shef) – directly in charge of production and works as the assistant to the executive chef or
chef de cuisine (the French word sous means “under”). Because the executive chef’s responsibilities may
require a great deal of time in the office, the sous chef often takes command of the actual production and
the hands-on supervision of the staff.
o Chef de partie – or stations chefs are in charge of particular areas of production. The following are the
most important station chefs:
Saucier (so-see-ay) – Also called the sauce chef, s/he prepares sauces, stews, and hot hors
d’oeuvres, and sautés food products to order. This is usually the highest position of all the
stations.
Poissonier (pwah-so-nyay) – Also called the fish cook, s/he prepares fish dishes. In some
kitchens, this station is handled by the saucier.
Entremetier (awn-truh-met-yay) – Also called the vegetable cook, s/he prepares vegetable,
soups, starches, and eggs. Large kitchens may divide these duties among the vegetable cook,
the fry cook, and the soup cook.
Rotisseur (ro-tee-sur) or the roast cook prepares roasted and braised meats and their gravies
and broils meats and other items to order. A large kitchen may have a separate grillardin
(gree-ar-dan) or griller cook to handle grilled and broiled items.
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Garde manger (gard mawn-zhay) or the pantry chef is responsible for cold food preparations,
including salads and dressings, pâtés (pateys), cold hors d’oeuvres (ordervs), and buffet items.
Pâtissier (pa-tees-syay) or the pastry chef prepares pastries and desserts.
Tournant (toor-nawn) or the relief/swing cook replaces other station heads.
Aboyeur (ah-bwa-yer) or the expediter accepts orders from waiters and passes them on to the
cooks on the line. The expediter also calls for orders to be finished and plated at the proper
time and inspects each plate before passing it to the dining staff. In many restaurants, this
position is taken by the head chef or the sous chef.
o Cooks and assistants/commis (koh-mee) – are needed in each station or department to assist the station
chefs. Example, the assistant vegetable cook may wash, peel, and trim vegetables. With experience,
assistants may eventually be promoted to station chefs.
Modern Kitchen Organization
The size of the classical brigade may be reduced simply by combining two (2) or more positions where the
workload allows it. A typical medium-size operation may employ a chef, second cook, a broiler cook, a pantry
cook, and few cooks’ helpers.
o Working chef – is in charge of operations not large enough to have an executive chef. The working chef
also handles one (1) of the production stations, e.g., handles sauté station, plates food during service, and
helps on other stations when needed.
Small kitchens may have only a chef, one (1) or two (2) cooks, and perhaps one (1) or two (2) assistants to
handle simple jobs such as washing and peeling vegetables.
o Line cooks – cooks who prepare or finish hot à la carte items during service in a restaurant.
o Short-order cook – serves as the backbone of the kitchen during service time. This cook may handle the
broiler, deep fryer, griddle, sandwich production, and even prepare food items that are quickly prepared
to order.
• Breakfast cook – a special type of short-order cook. This worker is skilled at quickly and efficiently
turning out egg dishes and other breakfast items to order.
Skills required of food production personnel vary not only with the job level but also with the establishment
and the kind of food prepared. Skills can be grouped into three (3) general categories:
Supervisory – leadership, motivation, planning and production, costs and budgets, and purchasing
Skilled and technical – knowledge and experience in cooking techniques
Entry level – requires no particular skills
Reference:
Gisslen, W. (2016). Essentials of professional cooking (2nd Edition). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
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