Chef?

[bunnyjadwiga]

So, is the correct term for the head cook of a feast in fact "Chef de Cuisine"? Consider what Tigers & Strawberries has to say about the title:
http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2009/02/13/what-is-a-chef/

So what do I mean by “run” a professional kitchen? What is it that a chef does that home cooks, cooking instructors, food writers, food bloggers, line cooks and television personalities do not do?

They don’t create menus, cost out each menu item so that accurate prices can be assigned to them, set up pantries, understand and effectively run and repair arcane kitchen equipment, much of which is dangerous to life and limb, deal with multiple purveyors, keep track of inventory, order foodstuffs, hire and train staff, create plate presentation, devise and cook off-menu specials, expedite during service, deal with cranky dining room staff, cook and act as both den mother and field marshal at the same time.

*giggle*

Comments

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

Mostly I agree but:

cost out each menu item so that accurate prices can be assigned to them

Any home cook on a tight budget has done this on a regular basis.

Yes -- long

[kandy-elizabet.livejournal.com]

I would say yes, for that event anyway. I understand that this person makes specific reference to a "professional kitchen" but the definition he references is also "head of kitchen." SCA kitchens, especially feast kitchens, are catering kitchens and while not being professional in the "we get paid to do this" sense, the successful ones are run as professionally as possible.

Consider, the head of the kitchen does do most of the items listed, and more. Let's consider:

create menus Check (well, so do home cooks, as Ladypeyton says, home cooks DO do a fair amount of this stuff, but it's more a matter of scale)

cost out each menu item so that accurate prices can be assigned to them Check. Ok, so it's more "cost out each menu item to make sure budget is being followed" but the same concept.

set up pantries Check. Under circumstances that most professional chefs don't -- namely fitting into someone else's kitchen, often only able to use small portions of it.

understand and effectively run and repair arcane kitchen equipment, much of which is dangerous to life and limb Well, not quite, but the SCA chef does have to quickly figure out all manner of equipment at event sites, and often figure out how to get the meal out without a bit of equipment that suddenly doesn't work and on which A MAIN DISH has been planned.

deal with multiple purveyors And, not only that, usually has to go to all those purveyors, many of whom don't know the SCA chef from Adam and could care less about this piddly little order (that seems huge to the SCA chef)

keep track of inventory Ok, not usually so much, unless said SCA chef has a large supply of his/her own service ware....um, oh, wait...

order foodstuffs see Multiple purveoyrs

hire and train staff More like take advantage of the people who volunteer and quickly figure out their strengths and get them to work

create plate presentation Check (or have his "Sous" do that part)

devise and cook off-menu specials Check -- also known as cater to the handful of folks who need something special -- most of whom will not have contacted him before the day of the event.

expedite during service Check.

deal with cranky dining room staff Sometimes, though usually it's deal with servers who would rather be sitting down and socializing.

cook and act as both den mother and field marshal at the same time Oh, yes.

So, yes, I'd say that the (good) SCA head of kitchen (Please, may we be rid of "Feastocrat"), is "Chef de Cuisine"

Or, maybe I'm just biased, being married to (and sometimes part of the team of, IMHO a great SCA Chef.

Re: Yes -- long

[landverhuizer.livejournal.com]

"Please, may we be rid of "Feastocrat"

Not that I'm the praying type... but...
:P
they still insist on using that term here, I'd rather be called by the lowest kitchen titles than have to endure that!

[dragonflybyte.livejournal.com]

Can somebody please send me some background on this. I want to know if i should jump in this fray or not...
Unless you are larger establishment such as a hotel or Country Club where you have multiple people working each station, the term "Executive Chef" would be appropriate. The "Chef De Cuisine" RARELY actually cooks.
There are a gazillion other things that they are doing. I would be happy to start listing some of the differences between a a working kitchen and a home kitchen. Just tell me where to post...............PLEASE

[dragonflybyte.livejournal.com]

OK read the article... and it is very good. Only I think she forgets about half the things a Chef deals with on a daily basis and a BIG one for those Kitchen Managers at Sca Feasts... The absolute Joy of manipulating all of the various personalities, in various states of consciousness and skill, to performing mind-numbing, stinky, dangerous and just plain gross tasks to an exacting degree. Usually in sustained temperatures of 100+ degrees. Whilst maintaining your sense of calm, levelheadedness and adrenal alertness to everything that is happening in your domain .. at any given time.

personalities

[bunnyjadwiga.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it seems like-- from reading and talking to professional cooks etc-- that a 'real' professional kitchen requires less tact than an SCA one.
Which is kinda scary considering I don't do too badly in an SCA kitchen and I have no tact. (I make up for it with thank yous and chocolate, I guess.)

Jumping into the fray

[bunnyjadwiga.livejournal.com]

I'd love to hear your take on this. I was amused by the post which is why I linked to it, but I always like reading what people say about such things.

A chef, huh?

[bytchearse.livejournal.com]

I never called myself one until I was told I had earned the coat. Until then I was a cook, or head cook, or whatever.

As to "Chef de Cuisine" I dislike the title, only using it at St Festus at Adhemar's insistence. I much prefer the term "Kitchener" since in my experience wha the head feast cook does meets that job description (planning, buying/aranging for supplies, shepherding a staff, arranging front-of-house service, etc).

In fact...I think I started the current usage of that particular term ;-D