Back-of-the-House Functions & Back-of-the-House Staff

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: • Managers • Cleaning Staff • 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 Brigade

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 END BACK-OF-THE-HOUSE

Back-of-the-House Functions & Back-of-the-House Staff