The Pastry Chef & The Brigade

May 6, 2010 at 3:40 am (Kitchen Life) (brigade, chef, pastry)

If you look at the classic kitchen brigade org charts,

http://www.g-w.com/PDF/SampChap/60525_1189_Ch03.pdf

the Pastry Chef often reports to the Sous Chef, but may report directly to the Chef de Cuisine. 

Your life will be better, probably, if you report directly to the Chef.

But why, you ask?

Because the Chef de Cuisine probably has an understanding of the importance of the sweet side of the kitchen, and probably has a considerable degree of skill in that area. He or she wouldn’t have made it to Chef de Cuisine otherwise.

Unless you’re in a very large organization, the Sous Chef’s primary concern is the savory side of the street. They may give little or no thought to pastries, and they may have little or no pastry skills. Fear and loathing go hand-in-hand.

The difference between a Sous Chef with Potential, and a Sous Chef with No Potential — among other things — is an awareness of the Big Picture — that pastry is not a thing to be tolerated, but is, in fact, an essential part of the operation. Too many Sous Chefs think only about the hot line, prep for the hot line, ordering, and dinner service.  They don’t care about the pastry side, and in fact, would be just as happy if they ordered everything instead of having it made in house.

They have decent palates, but go tongue-deaf when it comes to dessert: Box cake is plenty good enough. They may try to doll up the plates with miniature Ferris Wheels carved out of carrots, but taste is generally not something they’re concerned about.

I blame all of the places where the hot food has to be fresh, but the desserts just have to be on the menu. This category includes all chain restaurants —  the breeding ground for Sous Chefs.  I blame all of the places where dessert is an afterthought, only for the sugar-crazed few, and is perceived as insignificant to the bottom line. 

Best to find out where the Sous Chef worked before. 

It may save you a lot of grief later.