CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO KITCHEN ESSENTIALS

Chapter objectives:

1. Define the concept of a commercial kitchen

2. Enumerate and explain the different concepts of kitchen operations
3. Understand the classical kitchen system
4. Comprehend the functions of the different members of the Kitchen
Brigade

Lesson 1: A Brief History of Culinary Arts and the Commercial Kitchen

Quantity cookery has existed for thousands of years, as long as there have
been large groups of people to feed (i.e. armies, religious travelers). Culinary
history revolves mostly in French and, in fact, majority of culinary principles
used today are rooted from French classical cooking techniques.

a. 18th century
- During this time, food production in France was controlled by guilds (an
association of craftsmen and merchants dealing with the same line of
work or products). Caterers, pastry makers, roasters, and pork butchers
held licenses to prepare specific items. An innkeeper, for example, had to
buy the different food items from them in order to serve a meal to their
guests. Guests had little or no choice and ate what was given to them.
- Before the 18th century: chefs worked for the nobility.
- 1765: Boulanger, a soup maker from Paris, began to serve soups called
restaurants or restoratives. According to the story, one of his dishes
was sheep’s feet in a cream sauce. The guild of stew makers brought him
in court believing that he violated guild rules, but Boulanger won by
claiming he didn’t stew the feet in the sauce but served them with the
sauce.
- 1789: The French Revolution occurred which ended the monarchy
leaving many chefs unemployed. The chefs then decided to opened
restaurants in and around Paris to support themselves. The revolution also
abolished the guilds.
- 1795: Benjamin Thompson (a.k.a. Count Rumford) designed the
earliest version of the stove, or potager, which gave cooks a more
practical and controllable heat source than an open fire.

b. Marie-Antoine Carême (1784–1833)

- The greatest chef of the 19th century and named as “the king of cooks
and the cook of kings.”
- At a young age, he learned all the branches of cooking and dedicated his
career to refining and organizing culinary techniques.
- Carême worked as a chef for the wealthy, kings, and heads of state.
 - Carême emphasized procedure and order. His goal was to create more
lightness and simplicity in a style knows as Grande Cuisine.

a. Georges-Auguste Escoffier (1847–1935)

- the father of twentieth-century cookery.
- His two main contributions were:
o the simplification of classical cuisine and the classical menu
o the reorganization of the kitchen or the kitchen brigade.
- He wrote the book entitled Le Guide Culinaire, which arranges recipes in
a simple system based on main ingredient and cooking method.
- He further refined Carême’s work into a style called Cuisine Classique.

b. Fernand Point (1897-1955)

- He further modernized and refined the classic cuisine of Escoffier in what
is known as Nouvelle Cuisine.
- Point despised dominating sauces and distracting accompaniments and
garnishes. He believed that each dish should have one dominant
ingredient, flavor or theme. Garnishes should be simple.
- His goal was to use the finest raw ingredients and to produce food that
looked elegant yet simple.

c. Modern Technology
- Today’s kitchens look but the basic cooking principles remain the same
and many dishes have changed due to the innovations and creativity of
modern chefs.

- Modern Developments include:

o DEVELOPMENT OF NEW EQUIPMENT:
• The easily controlled heat of modern cooking equipment (gas and
electric ranges and oven) as well as motorized food cutters, mixers,
and other processing equipment, has greatly simplified food production
while refrigerators have allowed far better storage.
• Modern equipment has allowed food-service operations to improve
their production methods.
• Cooling, freezing, and heating equipment made it possible to prepare
some foods further in advance and in larger quantities.

o DEVELOPMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF NEW FOOD PRODUCTS

• Modern refrigeration and rapid transportation made fresh foods of all
kinds—meats, fish, vegetables, and fruits—became available
throughout the year.
• Exotic ingredients can now be transported from anywhere in the world
due to the development of preservation techniques—freezing, canning,
freeze-drying, vacuum-packing, and irradiation
• Convenience foods: easy to prepare or ready to eat food items are
now better and more readily available.
 • destroy microorganisms) and genetic engineering (artificially changing
the gene structure of a food to make it resistant to disease, drought,
or insect damage).

o FOOD SAFETY AND NUTRITIONAL AWARENESS

• Food-handling practices have improved a lot due to scientific
researches. Food and food preparation are now safer due to these.
• Nutritional principles are available to many and is an important part of
a cook’s training. Customers are also more knowledgeable and
therefore more likely to demand healthy, well-balanced menus.

o MODERNIZED COOKING APPLICATIONS

• Ferran Adrià: A Spanish chef who explores new possibilities in gels,
foams, powders, infusions, extracts, and other unexpected ways of
presenting flavors, textures, and aromas.
• His approach to cooking is called molecular gastronomy, a name
coined by the French chemist Hervé. Many of the techniques make use
of unfamiliar ingredients and put familiar ingredients to unfamiliar uses
or techniques.
• Many chefs continue to experiment and to explore what science and
technology can contribute to food and food presentation.

a. Globalization
- The decreasing national barriers and increasing access to the internet
allowed people, ideas and products to easily intermingle with each other.
This brought about the development of fusion cuisine (The use of
ingredients and techniques from more than one regional, or international,
cuisine)
- The modern chef makes use of all the ingredients and techniques available
to them to create truly new and exciting foods.

Lesson 2: The Commercial Kitchen

- Commercial kitchens are designed for efficient and safe production of

food. The production is usually in large batches and are sold for profit.

a. Characteristics of a Commercial Kitchen

1. Licensing and Inspections of Commercial Kitchens

- Commercial kitchens are inspected, licensed and regulated by various
government and private agencies such as health department, business
regulators and private associations.
2. Food Service Equipment
- Most commercial kitchens use professional equipment (e.g. industrial-
grade stoves and freezers).
- All Equipment used in a commercial kitchen must meet standard
requirements for sanitation and food safety.
 - Energy efficiency. Kitchen design directly affects the energy
consumption. For example, placing the cookers in one location reduces
energy costs for range hoods.
1. Layout and Work Flow
- Commercial kitchens are usually designed for easy flow of work while
saving time. Common concerns in designing commercial kitchens
involves:
o sufficient space between appliances,
o an ergonomic design that minimizes movement of kitchen staff
which also prevents employees from bumping into each other,
o Good ventilation prevents steam, smoke and heat from building
up in the kitchen. Prolonged exposure to these three things are
dangerous and unhealthy for your employees. Also, you do not
want that your guests “smells” like food after they leave your
restaurant.
o enough counter space for efficient processes, and
o safe surface areas on floorings to prevent slipping and other
accidents.

a. Parts of a Commercial Kitchen

1. Hot Kitchen
- A part of the kitchen where hot foods are prepared and cooked for
service. This includes areas for grilling, roasting, preparing soups and
sauces.
2. Cold Kitchen
- The part of the commercial kitchen that prepares cold food items such
as cold appetizers, salads and sandwiches.
3. Bakery/ Bakeshop
- Area where breads, pastries and other desserts are made.
4. Butcher Area
- Area where fresh and raw meats are cut and prepared for distribution
to the other parts of the kitchen.
5. Pantry
- Part of the commercial kitchen where various ingredients are stored in
smaller amounts for easy access to the kitchen employees.
6. Stewarding or Dishwashing Area
- Area where pots, pans and other kitchen tools are washed. This is also
the area where plates and utensils from the dining area are washed
and sanitized.
7. Banquet section:
- some large kitchens would have a separate area where bulk cooking
can be done for large catering events.

b. Types of a Professional Kitchen Layout

1. Assembly line layout- ideal for restaurants that do not have a large
number of dishes in the menu and the preparation of meals flows in a
linear manner. This is especially good for fast-food restaurants, sandwich
restaurants or pizzerias.
 1. Ergonomic kitchen layout- a kitchen layout that has been customized
based on the actions that will take place in the restaurant which produces
the fastest cooking time. For example, putting the refrigerator next to the
fryer for the fastest possible preparation of French fries.
2. Zone style layout- Work tables are located in zones with respect to the
operations performed in the kitchen (e.g. cleaning, cutting, mixing, etc.).
the work tables in these zones are equipped with appliances and
equipment that are necessary for the most effective performance of
operations (garbage bins, mixers, knives, etc.).
3. Island style layout- In this kitchen layout, work tables are arranged in
the middle of the kitchen in blocks. The central section is usually used for
cooking while the cleaning and cutting the food is done on tables along
the walls of the kitchen. The reverse arrangement is also possible.

Lesson 3: The Kitchen Brigade

A hierarchy and ranking system used by restaurant to identify the scope

of a kitchen employee’s tasks.

English French Job Description

Executive Chef Chef Executif In most western restaurants, they act
as the manager and they do more
paper work than cooking. But, in
smaller restaurants, they are
considered the head of the kitchen.
Head Chef Chef de cuisine They are responsible for the day-to-
day operations of the kitchen. In larger
kitchen, they head the different
departments of larger kitchens.
Asst. Head Chef Sous Chef In charge of food production. Their
focus is mainly in the kitchen
production and they function directly
under the head chef.
Station Chefs Chef de partie Chefs in charge of particular areas.

Sauce chef Saucier Sauces, stews and hot hors d’oeuvres

Fish Chef Poissonier Prepares fish & seafood dishes

Vegetable chef Entremetier Vegetables, soups, starches and eggs

- Soup chef - Potager • Soups and stocks

- Vegetable - Legumer • Cooked vegetables dishes
chef
- Salad - Saladier • Salads
Roast chef Rotisseur Roasts, braise and broils meat
Grill chef Grillardin Grilled and broiled meats
Pantry chef Garde manger Cold foods: slads, dressings, pates,
cold hors d’oeuvres.
Pastry chef Patissier Pastries and dessert
*** - Confiseur • Prepares candies and petits fours
*** - Glacier • Prepares frozen and cold desserts
*** - Decorateur • Prepares show pieces and specialty
cakes
- Baker - Boulanger • Prepares bread, cakes, and
breakfast pastries
Relief/ swing Tournant Substitutes the chef from other
chef stations
Butcher Boucher Butchers meats, poultry, and
sometimes fish
Pork butcher/ Chacutier Makes sausages and other processed
sausage meat products
Expediter Aboyeur Accepts orders from waiters and
passes them to the cooks and dishes
out plates to the waiters for serving

Junior chef or Commis Also works in a particular station but

assistant cook reports directly to the chef de partie
Takes care of the tools in that station
Dishwasher Plongeur Cleans dishes and utensils
Sometimes entrusted with prep work
*** Marmiton Pot and pan washer
Night duty chef Chef de Nuit Takes the graveyard shift and prepares
some ingredients or meals used by the
day shift
Banquet chef Chef de banquet Responsible for preparing food items
for banquet services.
Short order cooks *** Prepares food that are quickly or
easily cooked
Breakfast cook *** Prepares breakfast items

- Factors Affecting a Kitchen’s Brigade System

o The type and size of menu- The larger the restaurant, the larger
the kitchen brigade is. And, the more complex a menu being
offered is, the more employees are needed to prepare them.
o Type of Establishment
▪ Hotel, Institutional Kitchens, Catering, Quick service
restaurants, carry-out, etc.
o Size of operation and number of employees
o Physical Facilities and Equipment Available
Lesson 4: Basic Kitchen Terminologies:

a. Menu- list of food items to be served in a food service facility

b. Menu Planning- designing food items to be served.
c. Forecasting- using past information to make a prediction of the amount
of food preparations needed for a particular time.
d. Batch Cooking- cooking food in large quantities
e. Combination cooking- using both dry and moist cooking methods
f. Advance cookery- cooking food items a day and more before service
g. Outsourcing- in commercial cooking, means purchasing prepared food
items to be used for the kitchen to save time, money, storage and
manpower.
h. Market List- organized list of all items to be purchased in the market
needed for restaurant operations.

References:

Behmen-Milicevic, A. (n.d.). The Complete Guide to Restaurant Kitchen Design.

Retrieved from https://possector.com/hygiene/restaurant-kitchen-design

Collier, E. (2018, February 26). The Kitchen Hierarchy Explained: What is the
Brigade de Cuisine? Retrieved from
https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/kitchen-hierarchy-brigade-de-cuisine/

Gartenstein, D. (2019, February 4). What Makes a Commercial Kitchen?

Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/commercial-kitchen-12663.html

Gisslen, W. (2011). Professional Cooking (Seventh Edition). John Wiley & Sons,
Inc. United States of America.

Odajna, I. (n.d.). The History of Culinary Arts. Retrieved from

https://slideplayer.com/slide/11781541/

Preceden (n.d.). History of Culinary Arts. Retrieved from

https://www.preceden.com/timelines/131535-history-of-culinary-arts