Priscilla Gomez
Le Cordon Bleu College- Chef Silva
Difference Between Modern and Classical Brigade
Within the culinary industry, the brigade system provides a method of organization in the kitchen. Each worker has a specific food preparation or cleaning duty in a specific location. The concept is designed to enable kitchens to run more efficiently and provide better service. Georges Auguste Escoffier is generally accredited with establishing the brigade system. After serving in the French army, he brought his experience with military hierarchy to the kitchen of the Savoy Hotel in the late 1800s.
The classic kitchen brigade had a station for everything, since it had no convenience food and had to make it all from scratch. While the modern brigade has been smoothed down to a skeleton crew of what it used to be. You may not be able to completely duplicate the Kitchen Brigade System in your kitchen, but if you understand it, you’ll at least know what it takes to get a meal together. And there may be parts of the system that you can adapt in your kitchen to make your meals even more successful than they already are.
A classic brigade kitchen consist of Chef de cuisine, Sous chef, Chef de garde, Chef de partie, Saucier, Poissonier, Garde manager, Butcher, Rotissiur, Grill cook, Fry cook, Entremetier, Potager, Legumier, Pastry Chef, Pastry Cook, Baker, Decorator, Tournant, Commis, Communard, and Expeditor. One hundred years ago, larger staffs were needed to work kitchens than are needed today. Fewer cooks are needed to staff today’s smaller operations equipped with modern conveniences and more limited menus. Despite the reduced staff size, a chain of command and the organization of tasks by stations still exist. That is where the modern brigade system came in. Modern kitchens show less specialization, but the fundamental roles are the same. At the top is the executive chef, who is primarily a manger. If the chef