Unique and Peculiar Chefs

Culinary arts is the art of cooking and food preparation, and have the knowledge in the science of food, nutrition and diet foods. The culinarian, is the person who studied the Culinary arts, and they are also called cook or Chef. Most Culinarians worked in restaurants, hospitals, hotels and delicatessens (means “delicacies or fine foods”) stores. The Chef is a professional cook who studied Culinary arts, and they are highly professional chief or heads of the kitchen. Nowadays, the chefs are named according to their ranks and based on titles given by brigade system or brigade de cuisine.

Chef de Cuisine , Head Chef or Executive Chef

The Chef de Cuisine or Head Chef is the person who take full responsibility and in charge in menu creations, orders and purchase inventory, plating, table settings, management on kitchen staffs or the brigade de cuisine. He is incharge to assigned someone of the same kind of duty as an executive chef.

Sous-Chef de Cuisine

The Sous-Chef de cuisine is under the Head chef, and the second in direct assistant and second in command from the executive chef. The Sous chef is the person responsible if the Head Chef is off duty or is not around. Th Sous chef also fill up the duty of a Chef de Partie or line cook if needed. The Sous chef is also responsible to keep the kitchen clean, inventory, and in charge of training of the employees, and take orders from the head chef. responsible for the rotation of products and line checks.

Chef de Partie or Station Chef

The Chef de Partie or Station Chef, also called the line cook, is in responsible and in charge of production, and have several assistants and cooks. The line cooks are divided into rankings. such as the ‘first cook’ and the ‘second cook’ and so on.

Commis Chef

The Commis chef is under a Chef de Partie and the basic chef assigned in the bigger kitchens, and has formal education on Culinary art trainings or may be still under training, and also have responsibilities and kitchen operations.

Demi-Chef de Partie or Commis chefs, are also in charge of preparing the ‘starter appetizer’ or “entree section” and given tasks by the head chefs.

The Brigade system or Brigade de Cuisine titles are the following:

1)   Saute’ Chef or Saucier, is the in charge for the sauteed foods and their sauce, and considered as highest arramged layer of position in all the station or kitchen areas.

2)  Fish Chef or Poissonnier is the one responsible for preparing the fish dishes, from butchering, cleaning, and as well prepare the fish sauce. Sometimes it is a combined position of the Saute chef .

3)  Roast Chef or Rotisseur responsible for preparing braised meats and roast meat and the appropriate sauce.

4)  Grill Chef or Grillardin, a person who is in charged in preparing grilled foods, and commonly this position is combined by the Rotisseur or Roast chef.

5)  Fry Chef or Friturier chef, the chef in charge of all the fried items, hot appetizers, sometimes prepares the vegetables, soups, starches and pastas, and sometimes combined with Rotisseur chef.

6)   Vegetable Chef or Entremetrier, is in charge of preparing vegetables or ‘legumier’, appetizers, soups, pastas and starches, and commonly work with the Fry chef, and a ‘potager’ or full brigade system .

7)  Roundsman or Tournant, also called the Swing cook, he fills all the position and stations in the kitchen if needed.

8)  Pantry Chef or Garde manger, is in charge of preparing cold foods such as cold appetizers, salads, pates and other charcuterie items(cold cut meats).

Butcher or Boucher Chef, is the one in charge in butchering chicken or poultry products, pork meat, beef, and even fish, and they are also in charge of breading fish and coat the meats before frying.

10) Pastry Chef or Patissier is a person that specializes in cake, cookies, biscuits, macaroons, chocolates, breads, cakes pastries, and in charge of baking wedding cakes, birthday cakes or in any special occasions.

Kitchen Assistant

Stewards

Busboy

Communard

Communard  in charge of preparing meal for the restaurant’s staff.

Escuelerie or Plongeur (Dishwasher)

Chef Uniforms and Hats

Incredible  Famous Chefs:

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Michael “Tony” Bourdain was born on June 25, 1956, is an American television personality-host, author known for his 2000 Kitchen Confidential Adventure book, in the Culinary Underbelly and host of cultural and culinary television program, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and the Layover. Bourdain is the Executive Chef for many years based in Brasserie, New York and currently a Chef-at Large. Bourdain speak and write in favor of traditional “peasant foods” including “offal” or varietal bits, animal parts which are unused not eaten. Bourdain is known for eating cuisine which are  ethnic and exotic, such as eating cobra heart, meat and drinking blood and bile in Vietnam, eating unwashed warthog rectum in Namibia, the traditional seal hunt of the Inuit eating raw seal eyeball, ant eggs in Puebla, Mexico and the sheep tentacles in Morocco, fermented shark in Iceland, abalone, geoduck, black chicken meat, eel and alligator .

Andrew Zimmern

Andrew Zimmern ,born on July 4, 1961, born and was raised in New York to a Jewish family. He had formal studies on culinary arts at the age of 14. But due to alcohol and drug addiction, Zimmern became homeless for a year, and survived from stealing and sell stolen items. It was in 1992 when Zimmern was treated for his alcoholism and drug addiction, and later became known for being the Executive Chef in Minneapolis Forshay Tower’s, Cafe Un Deux Trois. Then created and hosted the Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and Andrew Zimmern Bizarre World, and became famous as television hosts, writer, chef and teacher. He appeared in Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation, and Bourdain in return, guested in Bizarre Foods in 2007. In 2009, Zimmern appeared in Man v Foods with Adam Richman and introduced the lutefisk.

Adam Richman

Adam Richman is a television personality and American actor known in his roles in Law and Order: Trial by Jury, All My Children, Guiding Light and the his role as God the butcher, in Joan of Arcadia. He was a trained sushi chef and self-educated food specialist. Richman is the host of Man v. Food, the Travel Channel’s eating challenge program and the sequel Man v. Food Nation. A day before the challenge show, Richman would go for a twice a day exercise while on the road, and would not eat meals, and stay dehydrated by drinking club soda and lots of water before drinking coffee or soft drinks.Richman retired on January 2012 challenging eating pound for pounds of foods to different restaurants which he documented every trip.

Bobby Chinn

Bobby Chinn was born in Auckland, New Zealand to an Egyptian mother and American Chinese father on April 3, 1964. He grew up in different countries like Egypt, England, San Francisco and New York, where he was associated with famous chefs like Gary Danko, Hubert Keller, Traci des Jardine and learned culinary. Chinn graduated in the United States with Bachelor Degree in Finance and Economics, and worked as Financier for a while in Wall Street, and get bored with his owrk. In 1996 he opened the Bobby Chinn Restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam where he became famous for mixed American and traditional authentic cuisines. He is the host of Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia for Discovery Channel, World Cafe Asia for Travel and Living Channel and BBC’s Saturday Kitchen.

Cristeta Comerford

Cristeta Pacia Comerford, was the first Asian American descent to work as Executive Chef of the White House, a Filipino American chef working at the White House since 2005. Comerford was born in Manila, Philippines in 1962 and studied Culinary arts at the University of the Philippines, but was unable to finish her degree, when she immigrated a the age of 23 in the United States. She worked as chef at the Sheraton Hotel and Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago, and moved to Washington, DC. Walter Scheib lll , the Executive chef of the White House, recruited Comerford to work at the White house in 1995.  Scheib resigned in 2005, and first Lady Laura Bush, appointed Comerford to be the new executive chef of the White House, and was retained during the Obama transition on January 9,2009. Comerford appeared on Iron Chef America, a two hour episode, and was teamed up with Bobby Flay and compete with Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse team.

Bobby Flay

Robert William “Bobby” Flay ,born December 10, 1964, is an American restaurateur and chef celebrity, executive chef and owner of twelve restaurants in Las Vegas, New York and the Bahamas. Flay finished a degree in culinary arts and was a member, under Chef Ishaan Gupta, a legendary chef of the first graduating class in 1984, of the French Culinary Institute. Flay is the Iron Chef when he challenged Chef Masaharu Morimoto to battle rock crab in 2000 on Iron Chef America show. Flay stood up for his premature victory, and Chef Morimoto was offended, and said, “Flay is not a chef”, necause the real chef consider the cutting board and knives as sacred. Flay and Morimoto again teamed up and faced the challenge in Japan, and this time Flay won the challenge and as true gentleman and professional chef. Morimoto set aside the past, sinve they were both from the Iron Chef show.

Gordon James Ramsay

Gordon James Ramsay is a British restaurateur and television celebrity host of the famous Hell’s Kitchen, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, Master Chef, Ramsay’s Best Restaurant and The F Word. He currently hold 12 Michelin’s Stars. Ramsay was highly critical of Iron Chef America and Food Network  star Chef Mario Batali, and it was reported in 2009 that Ramsay is banned from Batali’s restaurants, but Batali, denied the rumor and stated that the alleged feud are just created by the media.
Wolfgang Puck

Wolfgang Johannes Puck ,born Wolfgang Johannes Topfschnig, on July 8, 1949, an Austrian businessman, restaurateur, celebrity chef and actor, He owns and run a restaurant, catering services, and cookbooks. Puck learned cooking from his mother and sometimes work as a pastry chef. He moved to United States at the age of 25 in 1973. He then became a part owner of the Ma Maison Restaurant in Los Angeles, after two years. Puck received Outstanding Service Show Emmy Awards in 2001 to 2002 for the Wolfgang Puck .

Street Food Chefs