Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Chef
official names
type	Profession
activity sector	Culinary arts
formation	Catering college; see European training
employment field	Kitchens, restaurants, hotels, ships, military
related occupation	Chief Cook, Cook (profession), Cook (servant)
average salary	}}

A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.

Etymology

The word "chef" is borrowed (and shortened) from the French term ''chef de cuisine'', the director or head of a kitchen. (The French word comes from Latin ''caput'' and is cognate with English "chief".) In English, the title "chef" in the culinary profession originated in the ''haute cuisine'' of the 19th century. Today it is sometimes erroneously (in the view of those in the profession) used to refer to any professional cook, regardless of rank.

Titles

Below are various titles given to those working in a professional kitchen and each can be considered a title for a type of chef. Many of the titles are based on the ''brigade de cuisine'' (or brigade system) documented by Auguste Escoffier, while others have a more general meaning depending on the individual kitchen. Not all restaurants will use these titles since each establishment may have its own set guidelines to organization. Specialized and hierarchal chef titles are usually found only in fine-dining, upscale restaurants; kitchen-staff members at casual restaurants such as diners are more often called "cook" or "short-order cook".

''Chef de cuisine'', executive chef and head chef

This person is in charge of all things related to the kitchen which usually includes menu creation; management, scheduling and payroll of entire kitchen staff; ordering; and plating design. ''Chef de cuisine'' is the traditional French term from which the English word chef is derived. ''Head chef'' is often used to designate someone with the same duties as an executive chef, but there is usually someone in charge of them, possibly making the larger executive decisions such as direction of menu, final authority in staff management decisions, etc. This is often the case for chefs with several restaurants.

===''Sous-chef''===

The ''Sous-Chef de Cuisine'' (under-chef of the kitchen) is the second in command and direct assistant of the Executive Chef. This person may be responsible for scheduling and substituting when the Executive Chef is off-duty and will also fill in for or assist the ''Chef de Partie'' (line cook) when needed. Smaller operations may not have a ''sous-chef'', but larger operations may have several.

===Expediter=== The expediter (in French ''aboyeur'') takes the orders from the dining room and relays them to the stations in the kitchen. This person also often puts the finishing touches on the dish before it goes to the dining room. In some operations this task may be done by either the executive chef or the ''sous-chef''.

''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 which are part of the brigade system include:

!English	!French	wikipedia:IPA for French>IPA	!Description
sauté chef	''saucier''
fish chef	''poissonnier''		Prepares fish dishes and often does all fish butchering as well as appropriate sauces. This station may be combined with the ''saucier'' position.
roast chef	''rôtisseur''		Prepares roasting
grill chef	''grillardin''
fry chef	''friturier''
vegetable chef	''entremetier''		Prepares hot [[appetizers and often prepares the soups, vegetables, pastas and starches. In a full brigade system a ''potager'' would prepare soups and a ''legumier'' would prepare vegetables.
roundsman	''tournant''		Also referred to as a swing cook, fills in as needed on stations in the kitchen.
pantry chef	''garde manger''		Responsible for preparing cold foods, including salads, cold appetizers, ''pâtés'' and other ''charcuterie'' items.
butcher	''boucher''		Butchers meats, poultry and sometimes fish. May also be responsible for breading meats and fish.
pastry chef	''pâtissier''		Is qualified in making baked goods such as pastries, cakes, biscuits, macarons, chocolates, breads and desserts. Pastry Chefs can specialize in cakes in patisseries or bakeries by making wedding, cupcakes, birthday and special occasion cakes. In larger establishments, the pastry chef often supervises a separate team in their own kitchen or separate shop.

===''Commis''=== A commis is an apprentice in larger kitchens who works under a ''chef de partie'' to learn the station's responsibilities and operation. This may be a chef who has recently completed formal culinary training or is still undergoing training.

Kitchen assistants

Kitchen assistants are of two types, kitchenhands and stewards. Kitchenhands assist with basic food preparation tasks under the chef's direction. They carry out relatively unskilled tasks such as peeling potatoes and washing salad. Stewards are involved in the scullery, washing up and general cleaning duties. In a smaller kitchen, these duties may be incorporated.

A ''communard'' is in charge of preparing the meal for the staff during a shift. This meal is often referred to as the staff or family meal.

The ''escuelerie'' (from 15th century French and a cognate of the English "scullery"), or the more modern plonguer or dishwasher, is the keeper of dishes, having charge of dishes and keeping the kitchen clean. A common humorous title for this role in some modern kitchens is "''chef de plonge''" or "head dishwasher".

Culinary education

United States and Canadian training

Culinary education is available from a wide number of institutions offering diploma, associate, and bachelor degree programs in culinary arts. Depending on the level of education, this can take one to four years. An internship is often part of the curriculum. Regardless of the education received, most professional kitchens follow the apprenticeship system, and most new cooks will start at a lower-level ''chef de partie'' position and work their way up.

European training

The training period for a chef is generally four years as an apprentice. A newly qualified chef is a commis-chef, consisting of first-year ''commis'', second-year ''commis'', and so on. The rate of pay is usually in accordance with the training status. ''Commis'' chefs, like all other chefs except the executive-chef, are placed in sections of the kitchen (e.g., the starter (appetizer) or entrée sections) under the guidance of a ''demi-chef de partie'' and are given relatively basic tasks. Ideally, over time, a ''commis'' will spend a certain period in each section of the kitchen to learn the basics. Unaided, a ''commis'' may work on the vegetable station of a kitchen.

The usual formal training period for a chef is two years in catering college. They often spend the summer in work placements. In some cases this is modified to 'day-release' courses; a chef will work full-time in a kitchen as an apprentice and then would have allocated days off to attend catering college. These courses can last between one to three years.

Uniform

The standard uniform for a chef includes a hat, necktie, double-breasted jacket, apron, houndstooth (check) trousers (to disguise stains) and shoes with steel or plastic toe-caps, or clogs. A chef's hat was originally designed as a tall rippled hat called a Dodin Bouffant. The Dodin Bouffant had 101 ripples that represent the 101 ways that the chef could prepare eggs. The modern chef's hat is tall to allow for the circulation of air above the head and also provides an outlet for heat. The hat helps to prevent sweat from dripping down the face. Skullcaps are an alternative hat worn by chefs.

Neckties were originally worn to allow for the mopping of sweat from the face, but as this is now against health regulations, they are largely decorative. The chef's neck tie was originally worn on the inside of the jacket to stop sweat running from face and neck down the body. The jacket is usually white to show off the chef's cleanliness and repel heat, and is double-breasted to prevent serious injuries from burns and scalds. The double breast also serves to conceal stains on the jacket as one side can be rebuttoned over the other.

An apron is worn to just below knee-length, also to assist in the prevention of burns because of spillage. If hot liquid is spilled onto it, the apron can be quickly removed to minimize burns and scalds. Shoes and clogs are hard-wearing and with a steel-top cap to prevent injury from falling objects or knives. According to some hygiene regulations, jewelry is not allowed apart from wedding bands and religious jewelry. If wound dressings are required they should be blue—a colour not usual for foodstuffs—so that they are noticeable if they fall into food. Bandages on the hands are usually covered with rubber gloves.

See also

American Culinary Federation

''Brigade de cuisine''

Culinary art

Development chef

''Great Chefs''

Marie-Antoine Carême

International Association of Culinary Professionals

List of chefs

Tenzo

World Association of Chefs Societies

Personal Chef

Notes

References

External links

Official certification levels of the American Culinary Federation

Chef training and career progression in New Zealand

Chefs Category:French loanwords

ar:طباخ bg:Готвач ca:Cuiner cs:Kuchař da:Kok de:Koch es:Cocinero eo:Kuiristo fr:Chef cuisinier ko:조리사 id:Koki it:Chef he:שף jv:Koki ht:Kizinye la:Coquus hu:Szakács my:စားဖိုမှူး nl:Chef-kok ja:調理師 no:Kokk nn:Kokk pt:Chef ro:Bucătar qu:Yanuq ru:Повар simple:Chef sk:Kuchár fi:Kokki sv:Kock th:พ่อครัว zh:廚師

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Ted Allen
birth name	Edward R. Allen
birth date	May 20, 1965
birth place	Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
alma mater	Purdue University New York University
occupation	TV host and writer.
website	TedAllen.net }}

Ted Allen (born Edward R. Allen on May 20, 1965, in Columbus, Ohio) is an American writer and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the American Bravo network's Emmy-winning television program ''Queer Eye.'' He now is the host of the prime-time series on Food Network ''Chopped'', a culinary competition in which four chefs per episode attempt to cook their way through three courses to win a $10,000 prize. He previously also hosted ''Food Detectives'', which used scientific experiments to test myths about food. He regularly appears on the Food Network's show ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'' and other television cooking shows, and he is the author of magazine articles and books.

Early life

Allen was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in Carmel, Indiana. His Southern-born mother instilled in him a love of food and cooking.

Career

Education and early years

Allen received a degree in psychology from Purdue University in 1987. Subsequently, he enrolled in Purdue’s Krannert Graduate School of Management, but left to accept a job as a copyeditor at the Lafayette, Indiana, ''Journal & Courier.''

He later returned to grad school, gaining an M.A. in journalism from the Science and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University. He then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a reporter for Lerner Newspapers, a chain of community weekly newspapers. He got his start in restaurant criticism there as one quarter of a bi-weekly group-review team called "The Famished Four," along with Rice, then the chain's entertainment editor, who initiated the concept with Lerner food editor Leah A. Zeldes.

Allen then became a freelancer for ''Chicago'' magazine, eventually becoming a senior editor, and often writing about food, wine and luminaries of the culinary world. He joined ''Esquire'' in 1997 as a contributing editor. He contributed to an ''Esquire'' food series, profiled many celebrities and co-authored the magazine's popular "Things a Man Should Know" series. He has written for a variety of other magazines and continues as a contributing editor for ''Esquire.''

Television

Allen gained great visibility in 2003, when he became a cast member of the reality television series ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. Allen was the show’s food and wine specialist. He continued to make television appearances as a gourmet, including as a frequent guest judge on Food Network's ''Iron Chef America''. Allen hosted a six-part documentary, "Uncorked: Wine Made Simple," on PBS starting May 7, 2007. Beginning June 13, 2007, Allen appeared as a regular judge on seasons 3 and 4 of Bravo's reality television program ''Top Chef'', following several guest judge appearances during the previous two seasons. In 2008, he left Bravo when Food Network offered him the host job on two shows: ''Food Detectives'', which debuted on July 29, 2008, and ''Chopped'', which launched a 13-episode series on January 13, 2009. "Detectives" returned for a second season of 13 episodes, also in January 2009. "Chopped" was renewed for 26 episodes, and went back into production in March 2009 in New York. The show took off with viewers and was renewed for another 26, which shot in January and February 2010. Solid ratings continued, and "Chopped" was signed for another season of 26, which was taped in September and October 2010. Since moving to Food Network, Allen has made appearances on many of that channel's programs, including ''Paula's Party'' and multiple episodes of ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'', ''Dear Food Network'', and ''The Next Food Network Star''. On November 16, 2008, Allen returned to ''Iron Chef America'' as co-floor reporter for the show's Thanksgiving special.

Books

''Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Style'' (Riverhead Books, 1999) with Scott Omelianuk (ISBN 1573227633, ISBN 9781573227636, OCLC 42310518)

''Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Marriage'' (Riverhead Books, 2000) with Scott Omelianuk (ISBN 1573227773, ISBN 9781573227773, OCLC 42462917)

''Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Sex'' (Riverhead Books, 2001) with Scott Omelianuk

''Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Handshakes, White Lies and Which Fork Goes Where: Easy Business Etiquette for Complicated Times'' (Riverhead Books, 2001) with Scott Omelianuk (ISBN 1588160688, ISBN 9781588160683)

Co-author, ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab Five's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better'' (Clarkson Potter, 2004) (ISBN 140005446X, ISBN 9781400054466, ISBN 1400097843, ISBN 9781400097845)

''The Food You Want To Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes'' (Clarkson Potter, 2005) (ISBN 1400080908, ISBN 9781400080908)

Personal life

He is openly gay and currently lives in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, with long-time partner/husband Barry Rice, a former professor at Columbia College Chicago.

Awards

In 2004 the cast and producers of ''Queer Eye'' won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Reality Program" from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The show was also nominated again for that category in 2005.

In 2001 Allen was nominated for a National Magazine Award for an article on male breast cancer in ''Esquire''.

He contributed to an ''Esquire'' food series that was a finalist in the National Magazine Award 2003 awards.

References

External links

Official site

Internet Movie Database: Ted Allen

Top Chef bio

Category:1965 births Category:American television personalities Category:Emmy Award winners Category:LGBT journalists Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:Living people Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Lafayette, Indiana Category:People from Columbus, Ohio Category:Purdue University alumni Category:LGBT television personalities

de:Ted Allen sv:Ted Allen tl:Ted Allen