Kitchen Essentials & Basic Food Preparation PDF

TH2204 History of Modern Food Service (Labensky et al., 2018) The 18th Century – The Beginning of Food Service The word restaurant is derived from the French word restorative. Its root word, restaurer, means “to restore.” Since the 16th century, the word restorative had been used to describe rich a...

TH2204 History of Modern Food Service (Labensky et al., 2018) The 18th Century – The Beginning of Food Service The word restaurant is derived from the French word restorative. Its root word, restaurer, means “to restore.” Since the 16th century, the word restorative had been used to describe rich and highly-flavored soups or stews capable of restoring lost strength. Restoratives, like all other cooked foods offered and purchased outside the home during the time, were made by guilds. Guilds were trade associations that flourished in Europe between the 11th and 17th centuries. Guilds were established to protect trade skills and to ensure that these skills were passed down and developed through apprenticeships. Each guild had a monopoly on preparing certain food items. One day in 1765, a Parisian tavern keeper named Boulanger (boo-laan-zhay) began selling a special restorative, a dish of sheep feet in white sauce. Before this, inns and taverns usually served food prepared by guilds off premises. Food was served family style to guests staying in the inn or tavern and eaten on communal tables. Inn and tavern keepers did not control what food would be served. Boulanger’s contribution to the food service industry was to serve various food items prepared on-premises to customers whose primary interest was dining. Several restaurants opened in the succeeding decades, including the Grande Taverne de Londres, owned by Antoine Beauvillier (an-twan bo-vee-yey; 1754–1817). He advanced the development of the modern restaurant by offering his wealthy patrons a menu listing available dishes during fixed hours. Beauvilliers’s impeccably trained wait staff served patrons at small, individual tables in an elegant setting. The French Revolution (1789–1799) significantly affected the budding restaurant industry. Along with the aristocracy, guilds and their monopolies were generally abolished. During this time, members of various guilds that served the aristocracy began offering their skills and creativity to the public. Those who lost their jobs working in aristocracy's kitchens opened their restaurants, catering to the growing middle class. The Early 19th Century – The Grande Cuisine By the middle of the 19th century, several large, grand restaurants in Paris were serving elaborate meals decidedly reminiscent of the grande cuisine (also known as haute cuisine [ot kwee-zeen]) of the aristocracy. Grande cuisine is the rich, intricate, and elaborate cuisine of the 18th- and 19th-century French aristocracy and upper classes. It is based on the rational identification, development, and adoption of strict culinary principles. By emphasizing the how and why of cooking, grande cuisine was the first to distinguish itself from regional cuisines, which tend to emphasize the tradition of cooking. Grande cuisine, which arguably reached its peak of perfection in the hands of Marie-Antoine Carême (ma-ree an-twan ka-rem; 1783–1833), was characterized by meals consisting of dozens of courses of elaborately and intricately prepared, presented, garnished, and sauced food items. Carême, known as the “cook of kings and the king of cooks,” was an acknowledged master of French grande cuisine. During his career, he was chef to King George IV of England, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and Baron de Rothschild, among others. His stated goal was to achieve “lightness,” “grace,” “order,” and “perspicuity” in the preparation and presentation of food. As an author, he wrote and illustrated important texts on culinary arts, including: The French Butler (1822), describing the hundreds of dishes he created and cooked in the capitals of Europe; The Royal Parisian Pastry Chefs (1825), containing fanciful designs for les pieces montées (ley pee-yes mon-tey), amazing decorative centerpieces, which were the crowning glory of grand dinners; and his five-volume masterpiece on the state of his profession, The Art of French Cuisine in the 19th Century (1833), the last two volumes of which were completed after his death by his associate Plumerey. Carême’s writings almost single-handedly refined and summarized five hundred years of culinary evolution. 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 5  TH2204 The Late 19th Century – Cuisine Classique Following the lead set by the French in both culinary style and the restaurant business, restaurants opened in the United States and throughout Europe during the 19th century. Charles Ranhofer (1836–1899) was the first internationally renowned chef of an American restaurant, Delmonico’s, in New York City. In 1893, Ranhofer published his “Franco-American” encyclopedia of cooking, The Epicurean, containing more than 3500 recipes. One of the finest restaurants outside France was the dining room at London’s Savoy Hotel, opened in 1898 under the direction of César Ritz (1850–1918) and George-Auguste Escoffier (es-ko-fyey; 1846-1935). Escoffier is generally credited with refining the grande cuisine of Carême to create cuisine classique or classic cuisine. By doing so, he brought French cuisine into the 20th century. Escoffier’s brilliant culinary career began at age 13 in his uncle’s restaurant and continued until his death at age 89. Called the “emperor of the world’s kitchens,” he is perhaps best known for defining French cuisine. Unlike Carême, Escoffier never worked in an aristocratic household. Instead, he exhibited his culinary skills in the dining rooms of the finest European hotels, including the Place Vendôme [plas ven-dom] in Paris and the Savoy and Carlton Hotels in London. Grande cuisine is a late 19th- and early 20th-century refinement and simplification of French grande cuisine. Grande (or classic) cuisine relies on thoroughly exploring culinary principles and techniques and emphasizes the refined preparation and presentation of superb ingredients. Escoffier did much to enhance grande cuisine as defined by Carême. He simplified the profusion of flavors, dishes, and garnishes, typifying Carême’s work. He also streamlined some of Carême’s overly elaborate and fussy procedures and classifications. His many writings include The Menu Book (1912), where he discusses the principles of a well-planned meal, and My Kitchen (1934), surveying the cuisine bourgeoisie. But his most important contribution is a culinary treatise for the professional chef, The Culinary Guide (1903). Still in use today, it is an astounding collection of over 5000 classic cuisine recipes and garnishes. In it, Escoffier emphasizes the mastery of techniques, the thorough understanding of cooking principles, and the appreciation of ingredients—attributes he considered to be the building blocks professional chefs should use to create great dishes. The Mid-20th Century – Nouvelle Cuisine The mid-20th century witnessed a trend toward lighter, naturally flavored, and simply prepared food items. Fernand Point (pwa; 1897-1955) was a master practitioner of this movement. Point refined and modernized the classic cuisine of Escoffier. He disdained dominating sauces and distracting accompaniments and garnishes. He believed that each dish should have a single dominant ingredient, flavor, or theme. Garnishes must be simple and match “like a tie to a suit.” The procedure was of great importance. He devoted equal efforts to frying an egg and creating the Marjolaine (a light almond and hazelnut sponge cake filled with chocolate and praline buttercreams). His goal was to use the finest raw ingredients to produce perfect food that looked elegant and simple. Point’s goal of simplicity and refinement was carried to even greater heights by a generation of chefs he trained: principally Paul Bocuse, Jean and Pierre Troisgros, Alain Chapel, François Bise, and Louis Outhier. They, along with Michel Guérard and Roger Vergé, were the pioneers of nouvelle cuisine in the early 1970s. At the same time, Gaston Lenôtre modernized the classic pastries of grande cuisine, infusing them with the bright, fresh flavors of nouvelle cuisine. 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 5  TH2204 Nouvelle cuisine, French for “new cooking,” moves away from classic cuisine principles and toward a lighter cuisine based on natural flavors, shortened cooking times, and innovative combinations. This culinary philosophy was principled in rejecting overly rich, needlessly complicated dishes. These chefs emphasized healthful eating. The ingredients must be absolutely fresh and of the highest possible quality; the cooking methods should be simple and direct whenever possible. The accompaniments and garnishes must be light and contribute to an overall harmony; the completed plates must be elegantly designed and decorated. Following these guidelines, some traditional cooking methods have been applied to nontraditional ingredients, and ingredients have been combined in new and previously unorthodox fashions. The Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries – The American Culinary Revolution Over the last 30 to 40 years, broad changes launched in the United States have affected the global culinary landscape. Two (2) such trends are “bold, ethnic flavors” and “fresh food, simply prepared.” The first trend was due, in large part, to the wave of immigration to the United States during the 1960s. Asian and Latin American immigrants brought with them recipes from their countries. This made ethnic and regional cuisines commonplace throughout America. Ethnic cuisine is the cuisine of a group of people having a common cultural heritage, as opposed to the cuisine of a group of people bound together by geography or political factors. Regional cuisine is a set of recipes based on local ingredients, traditions, and practices; within a larger geographical, political, cultural, or social unit, regional cuisines are often variations of one another that blend together to create a national cuisine. It ushered in a period of bold experimentation. American chefs began to combine ingredients and preparation methods from various cuisines. Their work resulted in fusion cuisine. Fusion cuisine is the blending or use of ingredients and/or preparation techniques from multiple ethnic, regional, or national cuisines in the same dish. During this same period, restaurateurs and chefs began Americanizing the principles of French nouvelle cuisine. When Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, in 1971, her goal was to serve fresh food, simply prepared. Rejecting the growing popularity of processed and packaged food items, Waters wanted to use fresh, seasonal, and locally grown produce in simple preparations that preserved and emphasized the foods’ natural flavors. Chez Panisse and the many chefs who passed through its kitchen launched a new style known as New American cuisine. New American cuisine stresses using fresh, locally grown, seasonal produce and high-quality ingredients simply prepared in a fashion that preserves and emphasizes natural flavors. As Waters’ culinary philosophy spread across the United States, farmers and chefs began working together to make fresh, locally grown food items, and producers and suppliers began developing domestic sources for some of the high-quality ingredients that were once available only from overseas. The concern for locally raised ingredients, referred to as the farm-to-table or locavore movement, has influenced chefs to serve fresh seasonal food items, such as wild greens or seafood from day-boat fishers that are grown or harvested within a few miles of their restaurants, thus providing economic support for small local farmers and farmers markets and emphasizing seasonal ingredients. While the locavore movement gained popularity and media attention in the United States in the early 21st century, it is nothing new or revolutionary. For millennia cooks worldwide relied upon local sources for their ingredients. The Kitchen Brigade A foodservice operation must be well organized and staffed with appropriate personnel, traditionally called a brigade, to function efficiently. The kitchen brigade is a system of staffing a kitchen so that each worker is assigned specific tasks. These tasks are often related to the cooking method, equipment, or the types of food items being produced. Escoffier is credited with developing the kitchen brigade system used in large restaurant kitchens; modern kitchens use a simplified version of this brigade to reduce labor costs and streamline operations. Although chefs will be most familiar with the back-of-the-house or kitchen, they should also understand how the dining room or front of the house is organized (Labensky et al., 2018). 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 5  TH2204 Classical Brigade (Gisslen, 2015) The classical kitchen brigade, with many variations, is still in use, especially in large hotels with traditional food service. The major positions are as follows: Chef – This is the person in charge of the kitchen. The word “chef” literally means “chief” or “head” in French. In large establishments, this person has the title of executive chef. The executive chef is responsible for all aspects of food production, including menu planning, purchasing, costing, planning work schedules, hiring, and training. Chef de cuisine – S/He is the chef-in-charge in each department (formal dining room, casual dining room, and catering) of a large foodservice operation. The chef de cuisine reports to the executive chef. Sous chef (soo shef) – S/He is directly in charge of the production. From the French word “sous,” which means “under,” the sous chef works as an assistant to the executive chef or chef de cuisine. Because the executive chef’s responsibilities may require a great deal of time in the office, s/he often takes command of the actual production and the hands-on supervision of the staff. Chef de partie – Also called stations chefs, they are in charge of particular production areas. The following are the most important station chefs: Saucier (so-see-ay) – Also called the sauce chef, s/he prepares sauces, stews, and hot hors d’oeuvres (or-dervs), and sautés food products to order. This is usually the highest position of all the stations. Poissonier (pwah-so-nyay) – The fish cook, s/he prepares fish dishes. In some kitchens, this station is handled by the saucier. Entremetier (awn-truh-met-yay) – The vegetable cook, s/he prepares vegetables, soups, starches, and eggs. Large kitchens may divide these duties among the vegetable cook, the fry cook, and the soup cook. Rotisseur (ro-tee-sur) – Also called the roast cook, s/he prepares roasted and braised meats and their gravies, and broils meats and other items to order. A large kitchen may have a separate grillardin (gree-ar-dan), or griller cook, to handle grilled and broiled items. The garde manger (gard mawn-zhay) or the pantry chef is responsible for cold food preparations, including salads and dressings, pâtés (pa-teys), cold hors d’oeuvres, and buffet items. The pâtissier (pa-tees-syay) or pastry chef prepares pastries and desserts. The tournant (toor-nawn) or relief/swing cook replaces other station heads. The aboyeur (ah-bwa-yer) or expediter accepts orders from waiters and passes them on to the cooks on the line. The expediter also calls for orders to be finished and plated at the proper time and inspects each plate before passing it to the dining staff. In many restaurants, this position is taken by the head chef or the sous chef. Cooks and assistants/commis (koh-mee) – They are needed in each station or department to assist the station chefs. For example, the assistant vegetable cook may wash, peel, and trim vegetables. With experience, assistants may eventually be promoted to station chefs. 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 4 of 5  TH2204 Only a large establishment needs a staff like the classical brigade. Some large hotels have even larger teams, with other positions such as separate day and night sous chefs, assistant chefs, banquet chefs, butchers, and bakers. Modern Kitchen Organization (Gisslen, 2015) Most current operations require less kitchen staff. The size of the classical brigade may be reduced by combining two (2) or more positions where the workload allows it. A typical medium-sized operation may employ a chef, a second cook, a broiler cook, a pantry cook, and a few cooks’ helpers. Working chef – S/He is in charge of operations not large enough to have an executive chef. The working chef also handles any of these production stations: the sauté station, plates food during service, helps on other stations when needed, and more. Small kitchens may only have a chef, one (1) or two (2) cooks, and perhaps one (1) or two (2) assistants to handle simple jobs such as washing and peeling vegetables. Line cooks – These are cooks who prepare or finish hot à la carte items during service in a restaurant. Short-order cooks – They serve as the backbone of the kitchen during service time. These cooks may handle the broiler, deep fryer, griddle, and sandwich production, or even prepare food items that are quickly prepared to order. Breakfast cook – This is a special type of short-order cook. This worker is skilled at quickly and efficiently turning out egg dishes and other breakfast items to order. By contrast, establishments such as school cafeterias may do no cooking to order at all. Stations and assignments are based on the requirements of quantity preparation rather than cooking to order. For instances like this, an institutional cook is hired, who generally works with large quantities of packaged or prepared food items for a captive market such as a school, hospital, or prison (Labensky et al., 2018). References: Gisslen, W. (2015). Essentials of professional cooking (2nd Ed.). Wiley Labensky, S.R., Martel, P.A., & Hause, A.M. (2018). On Cooking: A textbook of culinary fundamentals (6th Ed.). Pearson 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 5 of 5