ROLES

• ➢ Head chef / maître chef de cuisine

  The head chef has overall responsibility for the organization and administration of the food production operation. He or she is responsible for the management of the food production team, often called a kitchen brigade. They also undertake menu planning and development, overseeing the sourcing of produce, setting standards for the operation and ensuring they are maintained.
• ➢ Second chef / sous-chef de cuisine


  The sous-chef is the second in command to the chef de cuisine and will act as head chef when the head is off-duty. He or she may also cover for or assist a chef de partie when required. They often have responsibilities for staff training and staff rotas as well as overseeing stock control. In smaller operations there might not be a sous-chef, while larger operations may have more than one.
• ➢ Chef de partie / section chef


  A chef de partie may also be known as a section chef and is usually in charge of a specific area of food production such as fish, vegetables, roasts, sweets or the larder. In larger kitchens, each chef de partie might have several cooks and/or assistants.
• A commis is a junior chef who works under a chef de partie in order to gain experience in the section’s work. It is common for commis chefs to work in a number of sections as part of their training.

  ➢ Commis chef
• ➢ Kitchen assistants

  There are often two types of kitchen assistants. Kitchen hands assist with basic food preparation tasks under the section chef’s direction. Stewards work in the scullery and carry out the washing-up and general cleaning

  duties. In smaller kitchen operations these two duties are often combined.
• ➢ Restaurant manager / supervisor


  The restaurant manager or supervisor has overall responsibility for the organization and administration of particular food and beverage service areas. These may include the lounges, room service (in hotels), restaurants and possibly some of the private function suites. It is the restaurant manager who sets the standards for service and is responsible for any staff training that may be required, either on or off the job.
• ➢ Reception head waiter / receptionist


  The reception head waiter or receptionist is responsible for accepting bookings and for keeping the booking diary up to date. They will take reservations and work with the head waiter to allocate these reservations to particular stations.
• ➢ Head waiter / maître d’hôtel / supervisor


  The head waiter has overall charge of the staff team and is responsible for seeing that all the pre-preparation duties necessary for service are efficiently carried out. The head waiter will aid the reception head waiter during the service and will possibly take some orders if the station waiter is busy.
• ➢ Station head waiter / section supervisor / service captain


  For larger establishments the restaurant area is broken down into sections. The station head waiter has overall responsibility for a team of staff serving a number of stations within a section of the restaurant area..
• ➢ Station waiter / chef de rang


  The chef de rang or station waiter provides service to one set of tables (between about four and eight) known as a station within the restaurant area. The station waiter will take the food and beverage orders and carry out service at the table with the help of the demi-chef de rang.
• ➢ Assistant station waiter / demi-chef de rang


  The assistant station waiter or demi-chef de rang is the person next in seniority to the station waiter and assists as directed by the station waiter.
• ➢ Waiter / server / commis de rang

  The waiter or commis de rang acts by instruction from the chef de rang. This person mainly fetches and carries, may do some of the service of either vegetables or sauces, offers rolls, places plates upon the table and helps to clear the tables after each course.
• ➢ Trainee commis /débarrasseur / apprentice


  The trainee commis or debarrasseur is the apprentice or learner who wishes to take up food service as a career. The debarrasseur will carry out many of the tasks during the pre- preparation periods.
• ➢ Carver / trancheur


  The carver or trancheur is responsible for the carving trolley and the carving of joints at the table as required. The carver will plate up each portion and serve with accompaniments as appropriate.
• ➢ Floor or room service staff / chef d’étage / floor or room waiter


  The floor or room service staff are often responsible for a complete floor in an establishment or, depending on the size of the establishment, a number of rooms or suites. Room service of all meals and beverages throughout the day is normally only offered by a first class establishment.
• ➢ Lounge staff / chef de sale


  Lounge service staff may be employed only for lounge service within larger establishments. In a smaller establishment it is usual for members of the food service staff to take over these duties on a rota basis. The lounge staff are responsible for the service of morning coffee, afternoon teas, apéritifs and liqueurs before and after both lunch and dinner and any coffee required after meals.
• ➢ Wine butler / wine waiter / sommelier


  The sommelier is responsible for the service of all alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic bar drinks during the service of meals. The sommelier must also be a good sales person. This employee should have a thorough knowledge of all drinks to be served, of the best wines and drinks to go with certain foods, and of the liquor licensing laws in respect of the particular establishment and area.
• ➢ Bar staff / bartender / mixologist


  The people working within bar areas must be responsible and competent in preparing and serving a variety of wine, drinks and cocktails. They should have a thorough knowledge of all alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks offered within the establishment, the ingredients necessary for making cocktails and knowledge of the liquor licensing laws to ensure legal compliance.
• ➢ Barista


  The word barista is of Italian origin. In Italian, a barista is a male or female bartender who typically works behind a counter, serving both hot and cold beverages as well as alcoholic beverages. Barista does not mean specifically a coffee maker although it is now often used as such. The plural in English is baristas.
• ➢ Buffet assistant / buffet chef / chef de buffet

  The chef de buffet is in charge of the buffet in the room, its presentation, the carving and portioning of food and

  its service. This staff member will normally be a member of the kitchen team.
• ➢ Cashier


  The cashier is responsible for billing and taking payments or making ledger account entries for a food and beverage operation.