Friday, January 30, 2015

20 Types of Vegetable Cuts


Left to Right, Top to Bottom

Julienne : When Vegetables are cut into long thin strips.
Brunoise [Bru-nu-o-a] : Julienne or Batonnet cuts that are cut into cubes.
Fine Brunoise / Fine Julienne : Finer version of the cuts above.
Batonnet : A bigger version of a Julienne
On the Bigs : Basically a diagonal cut of a celery, I couldn't find this cutting technique on google, so I'm not sure what it exactly is.
Wedges : ... No idea how to explain this but this technique is usually used to cut round fruits and vegetables?
Ciseler : To chop finely. I used to call it finely dicing an onion, but now I call it ciseler ! haha
Mirepoix [Meer-puah] White : A combination of Onion, celery and leek.
Chopped : Bigger than Mincing.
Turned : a block is rounded to make it look like a rugby ball shape.
Half Turned : Only half of it is rounded, the other half is flat.
Chiffonade : Chopping vegetables to long thin strips. Stack the leaves up and roll them and slice! 
Slices : Slicing duh.
Floret : Usually for broccoli or cauliflowers. cut off the tiny trees!
Mirepoix [Meer-puah] Red : A combination of Onion, celery and leek and carrots.
Rings : Cutting the vegetable in its original shape? so that it looks like rings.
Cube : Bigger sized brunoise
Vinchy / Vichy : Chef cut the celery in V shape but the internet says theres only Vichy and it is used for carrots.. I'm confused.
Jardiniere : Almost the same thing as Batonnet.

Okay, I feel like this post is pretty bad.
So here,

Basis of Kitchen Organisation


George Auguste Escoffier also known as the King of Chefs in France.
He utilised his military experience and implemented it in the kitchen.
He created a hierarchy system for the kitchen where communication was from the top to the bottom level.
He also made very specialised area or departments to have a more systematic kitchen.

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In Hotels, this is usually the system


Corporate Chef : The Big Boss of everything!
For example Hotel A has 100 hotels in Asia Pacific, He is in charge of ensuring the quality of the restaurants in all 100 hotels by keeping up with the Executive Chefs. Obviously the one that earns the most and also the one that will get fired first if problems persists. 

Executive Chef : This person is in charge of all activities related to the kitchen, which usually includes menu creation, management of kitchen staff, ordering and purchasing of inventory, and plating design. 

Executive Sous Chef : Second in command!

Executive Pastry Chef : Obviously in charge of pastries. His pay is as much as the Executive Sous Chef as good Pastry Chefs are not easy to get!

Tournant Chef : The Substitute. If the executive chef is sick or unable to be present, The Tournament chef will take over and not the sous chef. However, if a Commis is not present, he will have to take over their parts as well. He's the Jack of All Trades.

Chef De Cuisine : This chef is almost like the executive chef, but he is the head chef for a particular restaurant in the hotel. Chef De Cuisine is also the traditional french word for Chef.

Sous Chef : Second in Command

Junior Sous : Very obviously stated by the name.

Chef De Partie : Head chef of a specific area. Also known as the "Station chef" or the "Line cook"

Commis : Slaves. JUST KIDDING. Commis is where new cooks start from. /Started from the bottom now we here!/
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In Big Restaurants.


Station Chefs Titles aka Chef de Partie Titles

Rotisseur - Roast Chef
Grillardin - Grill Chef
Friturier - Fry Chef 
Sautier - Saute Chef
Poissonier - Fish Chef
Garde Manger - Pantry Chef , in charge of the cold kitchen (appetizers, ham , salads)

Vegetable Chefs
EntrĂ©metier - Prepares hot appetizers and often prepares the soups, vegetables, pastas and starches. In smaller establishments, this station may also cover those tasks performed by the potager and legumier.
Potager - Prepares soups in a full brigade system. In smaller establishments, this station may be handled by the entremetier.
Legumier - Prepares vegetables in a full brigade system. In smaller establishments, this station may be handled by the entremetier.

Boucher - Butcher
Charcutier - Cured meat, Expert in preservation (Ham, sausages)

Patissier - Pastry Chef
Confiseur - does confectionaries (like chocolate)
Glacier - Finishing of desserts. Glazes everything
Decorateur - Decorator 
Boulanger - Baker
Commiserie - Prep kitchen