Chef is a term commonly used to refer to an individual who cooks professionally. Within a restaurant however, chef (French for chief or head) is often only used to refer to one person: the one in charge of everyone else in the kitchen. This is usually the executive chef. Another meaning of this word is describing a culinary craftsman specializing in designing, preparing and selecting exquisite dishes.

There are many kinds of kitchen organizations, with the titles and duties for each position varying depending on the particular restaurant. In general, the hierarchy in a classical kitchen brigade is as follows:

[] Executive chef

The executive chef is in charge of everything related to the kitchen, including menu creation, staff management and business aspects. While the position requires extensive cooking experience and often involves actively cooking, it is not necessarily very hands-on.

The executive chef can also be referred to as the "chef" or even "head chef". Although "head chef" may seem redundant, the word "chef" has come to be applied to any cook, kitchen helper or a fast food operator, making the distinction necessary.

[] Chef de cuisine

The Chef de Cuisine is an in between position in the restaurant world. The title outranks Sous Chef, but is not to the level of a Head or Executive Chef. Often, it is the equivalent to the role of an Executive Sous Chef. The only difference in the two titles depending on the presence of the Executive Chef of the restaurant. For instance, an Executive Chef who is in charge of multiple restaurants or an Executive Chef whose job is creating a brand of his name or the name of his restaurants and, therefore, is rarely found on site will need a Chef de Cuisine. In general, an Executive Sous Chef would be employed by a larger operation that also requires the services of a working Executive Chef.

[] Sous chef

The sous chef (pronounced "soo-shef" -- French for "sub chief") is the direct assistant of the executive chef. The sous chef often shares some duties with the executive chef, such as menu planning, costing and ordering. Larger kitchens often have more than one sous chef, with each covering a certain shift or having their own area of responsibility, such as the banquet sous chef, in charge of all banquets, or the executive sous chef, in charge of all other sous chefs. Typically, a cook works every line cook position before being promoted to sous chef.

[] Expeditor

The expeditor - a role generally held by the sous chef - serves as the liaison between the customers in the dining room and the line cooks. With the help of proper coordination and timing, they make sure that the food gets to the wait staff in a timely fashion, so that everyone sitting at a particular table is served simultaneously.

[] Chef de partie

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 station chef might have several cooks and/or assistants. In most kitchens however, the station chef 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. Station chef titles can include:

Sauce chef or saucier [so.si.e] - prepares sauces, stews, and hot hors d'oeuvres, and sautées foods to order. This is usually the highest position of all the stations.

Fish cook or poissonier [pwɑ.so.ɲe] - Prepares fish dishes (this station may be handled by the saucier in some kitchens).

Vegetable cook or entremetier [ã.tʀə.me.tje] - Prepares vegetables, soups, starches, and eggs. Large kitchens may divide these duties among the vegetable cook, the fry cook, and the soup cook.

Roast cook or rotisseur [ʀo.ti.sœʀ] - Prepares roasted and braised meats and their gravies, and broils meats and other items to order. A large kitchen may have a separate broiler cook or grillardin [gʀi.aʀ.dĩ] to handle the broiled items. The broiler cook may also prepare deep-fried meats and fish.

The pantry chef or garde manger [gaʀd mã.ʒe] - is responsible for cold foods, including salads and dressings, pâtés, cold hors d'oeuvres, and buffet items.

Pastry chef or pâtissier [pa.ti.sje] - prepares pastries and desserts.

The relief cook, swing cook, or tournant [tuʀ.nã] - replaces other station heads.

[] Cooks and assistants

In larger kitchens, each station chef would have cooks and assistants (commis) that help with the particular duties that are assigned to that area. With experience, assistants may be promoted to station cooks and then to station chefs.

Escuelerie-dishwasher (from 15th century French), is the keeper of dishes, having the duty of servant in charge of dishes, working in the scullery.