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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. Chefs can receive formal training from an institution, as well as by apprenticing with an experienced chef.

There are different terms that use the word chef in their titles, and deal with specific areas of food preparation. Examples include the sous-chef, who acts as the second-in-command in a kitchen, and the chef de partie, who handles a specific area of production. Various titles, detailed below, are given to those working in a professional kitchen and each can be considered a title for a type of chef. Auguste Escoffier, while others have a more general meaning depending on the individual kitchen. Other names include executive chef, chef manager, head chef, and master chef. This person is in charge of all activities related to the kitchen, which usually includes menu creation, management of kitchen staff, ordering and purchasing of inventory, controlling raw material costs and plating design. Chef de cuisine is the traditional French term from which the English word chef is derived.

In the UK, the title executive chef normally applies to hotels with multi outlets in the same hotel. Other establishments in the UK tend to use the title head chef. This person may be responsible for scheduling the kitchen staff or substituting when the head chef is absent. This person is accountable for the kitchen’s inventory, cleanliness, organization, and the continuing training of its entire staff. A chef de partie, also known as a “station chef” or “line cook”, is in charge of a particular area of production.

In large kitchens, each chef de partie might have several cooks or assistants. In most kitchens, however, the chef de partie is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with “first cook”, then “second cook”, and so on as needed. A commis is a basic chef in larger kitchens who works under a chef de partie to learn the station’s or range’s responsibilities and operation. This may be a chef who has recently completed formal culinary training or is still undergoing training. The highest position of the stations.