Achef is a professional cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term chef de cuisine (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-smallfont-size:85%.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-smallfont-size:100%French pronunciation: [ʃɛf də kɥizin]), the director or head of a kitchen. Chefs can receive formal training from an institution, as well as by apprenticing with an experienced chef.
There are different terms that use the word chef in their titles, and deal with specific areas of food preparation. Examples include the sous-chef, who acts as the second-in-command in a kitchen, and the chef de partie, who handles a specific area of production. The kitchen brigade system is a hierarchy found in restaurants and hotels employing extensive staff, many of which use the word "chef" in their titles. Underneath the chefs are the kitchen assistants. A chef's standard uniform includes a hat (called a toque), neckerchief, double-breasted jacket, apron and sturdy shoes (that may include steel or plastic toe-caps).
The word "chef" is derived (and shortened) from the term chef de cuisine (French pronunciation: [ʃɛf.də.kɥi.zin]), the director or head of a kitchen. (The French word comes from Latin caput (head) and is cognate with English "chief"). In English, the title chef in the culinary arts originated in the haute cuisine of the 19th century. The culinary arts, among other aspects of the French language, introduced French loan words into the English language.[1] The word is often used by itself as an honorific to address chefs by each other, apprentices, and waiting staff.
Various titles, detailed below, are given to those working in a professional kitchen and each can be considered a title for a type of chef. Many of the titles are based on the brigade de cuisine (or brigade system) documented by Auguste Escoffier, while others have a more general meaning depending on the individual kitchen.
Other names include executive chef, chef manager, head chef, and master chef. This person is in charge of all activities related to the kitchen, which usually includes menu creation, management of kitchen staff, ordering and purchasing of inventory, controlling raw material costs and plating design. Chef de cuisine is the traditional French term from which the English word chef is derived.[2] Head chef is often used to designate someone with the same duties as an executive chef, but there is usually someone in charge of a head chef, possibly making the larger executive decisions such as the direction of menu, the final authority in staff management decisions, and so on.[3] This is often the case for executive chefs with multiple restaurants. Involved in checking the sensory evaluation of dishes after preparation and they are well aware of each sensory property of those specific dishes.
The sous-chef de cuisine (under-chef of the kitchen) is the second-in-command and direct assistant of the chef de cuisine or head chef. This person may be responsible for scheduling the kitchen staff or substituting when the head chef is absent. Also, the sous-chef will fill in for or assist a chef de partie (line cook) when needed. This person is accountable for the kitchen's inventory, cleanliness, organization, and the continuing training of its entire staff. A sous-chef's duties can also include carrying out the head chef's directives, conducting line checks, and overseeing the timely rotation of all food products. Smaller operations may not have a sous-chef, while larger operations may have more than one.[4]
A chef de partie, also known as a "station chef" or "line cook",[5] is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each chef de partie might have several cooks or assistants. In most kitchens, however, the chef de partie is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with "first cook", then "second cook", and so on as needed.
A commis is a basic or junior chef in larger kitchens who works under a chef de partie to learn the station's or range's responsibilities and operation.[6] This may be a chef who has recently completed formal culinary training or is still undergoing training.
Kitchen assistants are of two types, kitchen-hands and stewards/kitchen porters. Kitchen-hands assist with basic food preparation tasks under the chef's direction. They carry out relatively unskilled tasks such as peeling potatoes and washing salad. Stewards/kitchen porters are involved in the scullery, washing up and general cleaning duties. In a smaller kitchen, these duties may be incorporated.
The escuelerie (from 15th century French and a cognate of the English "scullery"), or the more modern plongeur or dishwasher, is the keeper of dishes, having charge of dishes and keeping the kitchen clean. A common humorous title for this role in some modern kitchens is "chef de plonge" or "head dishwasher".[8]
Education is available from many culinary institutions offering diploma, associate, and bachelor's degree programs in culinary arts. Depending on the level of education, this can take one to four years. An internship is often part of the curriculum. Regardless of the education received, most professional kitchens follow the apprenticeship system, and most new cooks will start at a lower-level 2nd or 1st cook position and work their way up.
Like many skilled trades, chefs usually go through a formal apprenticeship which includes many years of on-the-job training. Culinary schools and restaurants offer these apprenticeships. Apprenticeships usually take 3 to 4 years to complete and combine classroom instruction with on-the-job training. The training period for a chef is generally four years as an apprentice. A newly qualified chef is advanced or more commonly a toquecommis-chef, consisting of first-year commis, second-year commis, and so on. The rate of pay is usually in accordance with the chefs. Like all other chefs except the executive-chef, trainees are placed in sections of the kitchen (e.g., the starter (appetizer) or entre sections) under the guidance of a demi-chef de partie and are given relatively basic tasks. Ideally, over time, a commis will spend a certain period in each section of the kitchen to learn the basics. Unaided, a commis may work on the vegetable station of a kitchen.[9]
The usual formal training period for a chef is two to four years in catering college. They often spend the summer in work placements. In some cases this is modified to 'day-release' courses; a chef will work full-time in a kitchen as an apprentice and then would have allocated days off to attend catering college. These courses can last between one and three years. In the UK, most chefs are trained in the workplace, with most doing a formal NVQ level 2 or 3 in the workplace.
Chef is a 2014 American road comedy-drama film directed, written, co-produced by, and starring Jon Favreau as a celebrity chef who, after a public altercation with a food critic, loses his job at a popular Los Angeles restaurant and begins to operate a food truck with his young son. It co-stars Sofa Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, and Dustin Hoffman, along with Robert Downey Jr. in a cameo role.
Favreau wrote the script after directing several big-budget films, wanting to go "back to basics" and to create a film about cooking.[5] Food truck owner and chef Roy Choi served as a co-producer and oversaw the menus and food prepared for the film. Principal photography took place in July 2013 in Los Angeles, Miami, Austin and New Orleans.
Miami-born Carl Casper is the head chef of Gauloises in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Although popular with his kitchen staff and hostess Molly, he clashes with the restaurant's owner, Riva, who wants him to stick to the same menu of classical cuisine rather than innovative dishes. Carl also has a strained relationship with his rich ex-wife, Inez, and their tech-savvy preteen son, Percy.
When Carl has the chance to serve prestigious food critic and blogger Ramsey Michel, Riva demands he prepare old favorites at the last minute rather than the innovative ones he wants; Carl concedes, leading to a scathing review. Carl insults Ramsey on Twitter, not realizing that his reply is public, and gains a large online following. He comes up with a new menu that his staff loves and invites Ramsey to a "rematch", but quits after confronting Riva, who wants the old menu again.
At home, Carl prepares the menu he wanted, while his sous-chef Tony serves Ramsey the same dishes from his prior visit. Ramsey tweets negatively about Carl, provoking him into a confrontation at the restaurant. Videos of Carl's meltdown go viral, leaving him humiliated and unemployable.
Carl reluctantly accepts Inez's invitation to accompany her and Percy to Miami, where he rediscovers his love for Cuban cuisine. At her encouragement, her ex-husband Marvin offers him a dilapidated food truck. Carl and Percy bond while restoring the truck and buying groceries, and Carl gives him a chef's knife. Martin, Carl's friend and former line cook, turns down his promotion at Gauloises to join him, whose passion as a chef has been reignited.
Carl, Martin, and Percy drive the truck across the country to Los Angeles, serving Cuban sandwiches and yuca fries. Percy promotes them on social media, and they find success in New Orleans and Austin, where their daily specials include po' boys, beignets and barbecued brisket, made with local ingredients.
Back in LA, having strengthened his relationship with Percy, Carl accepts his son's offer to help with the food truck, with Inez also joining them. Ramsey visits the truck to explain his bad review: though an early fan of Carl, he was disappointed by a meal he felt was beneath Carl's skills. Impressed with the chef's return to form, Ramsey offers to bankroll a new restaurant where Carl will have full creative control. Six months later, the successful new restaurant is open for Carl and Inez's remarriage ceremony.
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