The Communicating Chef

Microphone check...1...2...1...2

Communication is key in our everyday lives. This blog today is all about communication in your kitchen!

All relationships that we have share one common attribute which is communication. In my 30 years of service in the hospitality industry, this has proven to be true. At age 13 my summer job as a house cleaner in Manitou Springs CO at the good-ole RAINBOW

MOTEL, I learned first hand the importance of communication. Each department depended on one another & ultimately we all had the same goal...get the rooms cleaned & go home!

You can always tell when a chef has his/her team on the same page by the way he or she communicates with them. It all points back to the genius mind set of Georges Auguste Escoffier who created the Brigade System toward the end of the 19th century. Escoffier created & established separate kitchen stations, each responsible for executing certain items off the menu. This system proved to be so effective it is still in use throughout the world & many of our favorite restaurants today.

The word Brigade by definition means: a sub-division of an army, consisting of a small number of infantry battalions & or other units & often forming part of a division.

Modeled after French military organization, Escoffier created the Brigade system which changed the game and brought some clarity to our early chefs as to who is responsible for what in the kitchen. I repeat...communication in any kitchen is the key to your success. To be a great chef you must learn to communicate with your staff, your assistants, your sous chef, your cooks, the General Manager, front of the house management, servers...yup I said servers. No longer can chef so-n-so blame chef all-wayz -late, now there is accountability. One word that should resonate in each & everyone of our hearts.

The Brigade System introduced "stations" that prepare certain items in which all elements in strategic timing become a creation of your desire & choice!

Stay connected for my next blog where I will begin to explain the different positions in Escoffiers dynamic creation! Until then eat good food & know your chef!