Brigade system

The brigade system is a way of organizing a professional kitchen into a clear chain of command and a set of stations. Each cook is responsible for one kind of food, such as sauces, fish or pastry. It lets a large team cook many dishes at once, quickly and to the same standard.

Why it works

Each cook repeats the same tasks every day and gets fast and precise at them. Every station sets up its own mise en place before service. During service, orders are called out and each station cooks its part à la minute, timed so that everything meets at the pass, where the dish is checked and plated.

How to use it

The classic roles, from the top:

• Chef de cuisine: the head chef. Plans the menu and runs the kitchen.
• Sous-chef: the second in command. Runs service and fills in anywhere.
• Chef de partie: a station chef who runs one section.
• Saucier: makes sauces and sautéed dishes. Often the most senior station.
• Poissonnier: fish and seafood.
• Rôtisseur: roasted and braised meats.
• Entremetier: vegetables, soups, starches and eggs.
• Garde manger: cold food, such as salads, pâtés and charcuterie.
• Pâtissier: pastry and desserts.
• Commis: a junior cook who works under a station chef.
• Plongeur: washes dishes and pots.

Most restaurants today use a smaller version with fewer, broader stations. At home, the same idea helps when several people cook together: give each person one job and one part of the counter.

Common mistakes

• Two cooks working on the same task without talking, so it gets done twice or not at all.
• Letting a station run out of prepped ingredients during service.
• Skipping the habit of cleaning as you go. A messy station slows down everyone near it.

Where it comes from

The French chef Auguste Escoffier is credited with setting out the system in the late 19th century, drawing on the structure of military units. That is one reason so many kitchen job titles are French.