Back-of-the-House Functions &

Back-of-the-House Staff

Key Terms

• Back-of-the-house (BOH)• Executive Chef• Sous-Chef• Kitchen Manager• Steward• Dishwasher• Chef• Cook• Expediter

Back-of-the-House

• The back-of-the-house (BOH) is the area in a hospitality business that guests usually do not see.

• It is also called the heart-of-the-house.• In a restaurant these areas include the:– Kitchen– Receiving Area– Storage Area– Business Offices

Back-of-the-House

• The back-of-the-house employees include all employees whose work does not directly involve interaction with guest.

Back-of-the-House

• The back-of-the-house is responsible for the following seven functions:– Food Production– Purchasing and Receiving– Marketing and Sales– Human Resources– Accounting– Security– Engineering and Maintenance

The Kitchen

• The kitchen is the center of all food preparation and production.

• In the kitchen, food and other items are received, stored, prepared, and plated for service.

• Dishes and other items are cleaned and stored in the kitchen.

Back-of-the-House Staff

• The back-of-the-house staff consists of:o Managerso Cleaning Staffo Food Production Staff

• The cleaning staff is responsible for cleaning and maintaining plateware, flatware, glassware, and utensils.

Managers

• There are two general areas that need to be managed in the kitchen:– Menus– Operations

• The menu area includes everything involved in planning menus, developing standardized recipes, and creating new recipes

Managers

• The operations area includes:– Kitchen safety and sanitation– Hiring, training, and supervising all BOH staff– Food Quality– Food Quantity– Coordination with Front-of-the-House– Cost Controls

Managers

• In an independent restaurant, the executive chef is the manager that is usually responsible for both the menu and the operations area.

• The executive chef may have an assistant, called the sous-chef.

• A unit is a chain restaurant usually has a kitchen manager.

Executive Chef

• The executive chef is the top manager in a restaurant or hotel kitchen.

• Many executive chefs participate in designing the menu, developing the look of the dining room, and designing the layout of the kitchen.

• Some executive chefs coach the staff so that they can correctly answer questions about the menu

Executive Chef

• The responsibilities of an executive chef include:– Coordinate kitchen activities– Direct the kitchen staff’s training and work– Plan menus– Create recipes– Set and enforce nutrition requirements– Set and enforce safety and sanitation standards– Participate in the preparation and presentation of menu

items– Ensure that quality standards are maintained– Purchase food items and equipment

Sous-Chef

• The sous-chef is the second-in-command in the kitchen.

• The sous-chef has similar training but less experience than the executive chef.

• The primary responsibility of the sous-chef is to make sure that the food is prepared, portioned, garnished, and presented according to the chef’s wishes.

Sous-Chef

• When the executive chef is absent, the sous-chef takes over the responsibilities.

• The sous-chef often serves as the expeditor or announcer who accepts the orders from the dining room staff.

Kitchen Manager

• In a chain restaurant, the person responsible for the menu is the corporate executive chef.

• The corporate chef is responsible for the menu development for all the units of the chain.

• As a result, chain restaurants do not have executive chefs.

Kitchen Manager

• Each restaurant will have a kitchen manager.• A kitchen manager is the top manager in the

kitchen of a unit of a chain restaurant.• The manager may be called the kitchen

professional or the culinary manager.

Steward

• Every restaurant must have clean glassware, silverware, and plateware.

• The people who take care of this area are the steward and the dishwashing crew.

• The steward supervises the dishwashing, pot washing, and cleanup.

Steward

• The dishwasher has the responsibility of operating the dishwashing machine.

• The dishwasher also hand washes large items like pots and heavily soiled items in large sinks called pot sinks.

Food Preparers

• Food preparers include chefs, cooks, and expediters.

• The exact titles and organization of the kitchen vary from restaurant to restaurant.

Chefs

• A chef is a professional cook.• To become a chef requires a considerable

amount of training and experience.• The traditional titles and responsibilities of

chefs in fine-dining and hotel and kitchens were developed by the great French chef, Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935).

Chefs

• Auguste Escoffier organized the kitchen into stations and created specific positions with specific tasks at each station.

• Escoffier’s system for organizing the kitchen is called the kitchen brigade.

Escoffier’s Kitchen BrigadeTitle In English Title In French Tasks

Station Chefs Chefs de Partie

Saute Chef Saucier Sauteed items and their sauces

Fish Chef Poissonier Fish dishes and their sauces

Roast Chef Rôtisseur Roasted foods and their sauces

Grill Chef Grillardin Grilled foods

Fry Chef Friturier Fried foods

Vegetable Chef Entremetier Hot appetizers, soups, vegetables, starches, pastas, eggs

Pantry Chef Garde ManagerCold foods, such as salads, cold appetizers, pates, salad dressing, sandwiches

Pastry Chef Pâtissier Baked items, pastries, desserts

Baker Boulanger Breads, rolls

Butcher Boucher Butcher meats, poultry

Swing Cook Tournant Works where needed

Cooks

• A cook is a person who prepares food for eating

• Casual restaurants usually have one or more cooks who prepare the meals

• These cooks may be called:– Line Cooks– Station Cooks– Short-Order Cooks

Cooks

• These cooks are often organized into three groups:– Hot Food Cooks– Cold Food Cooks– Prep Cooks

Expediter

• Most casual, fine-dining, and hotel restaurants have an expediter

• The expediter is the member of the culinary staff who gets the orders from the servers, gives them to the station chefs or line cooks

• They then check the orders before they are picked up

THE ENDBACK-OF-THE-HOUSE