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| Chef Source: SXC |
They never seem to make mistakes and everything seems to flow and the resulting dish looks (and the chefs say) tastes amazing.
These top chefs are always confident, even under pressure and seem to keep up a friendly banter about what they are doing while multitasking with pasta water and the pasta sauce. It all seems to work perfectly whereas no doubt an amateur would simply wilt under the pressure looking hot, flustered and out of control.
These successful chefs were beginners at one time too!
They learnt through experience and working in a large commercial or restaurant kitchen means working under extreme pressure. Also accidents can happen over those hot stoves and experienced chefs virtually have to learn to be cool under pressure and get the job done because customers are waiting.
Also chefs have a team working with them. In any large kitchen there is a hierarchy and the chef is at the top of the line and is always obeyed. He, on the other hand, has pressure from the restaurant owner/manager and from the customers. He has to give them great food and so he works with his team to make that happen.
The Sous chef
The most important person on the chef’s team is his sous chef. The sous chef (means ‘under chef’) is responsible for every station and line chef. They make sure that the sequence of the preparation is followed diligently and they check on the progress of each dish. Their goal is to make sure the that the food is prepared and cooked to perfection and served on time.
On the other hand the line cook is responsible for one area of production. This could mean the station where the grilling or frying is taking place or he could be responsible for vegetable preparation or even making pastry. This all depends on what the restaurant has on its menu.
Also these station chefs or line cooks oversee a certain area while they work on numerous orders from restaurant customers. For example, one guest will want a variation on a dish (say no mushrooms in the dish which normally would have them). He has to make a note of this and make sure that this request is adhered to.
Working together
The whole kitchen has to perform as a unit. It is their goal to serve great food according to the menu, unless the guests request something special. The team in the kitchen has to work together to achieve this goal and organization is key. Without organization and teamwork, the restaurant kitchen would flounder.
This is also the reason why the commercial kitchen layout is designed to make cooking in these stations easy and efficient. This is totally different from a kitchen in the family home and it has to be. Here people have to work together to cook meals, often from scratch. It is a high pressure environment where only teamwork and calmness win.
Some TV shows showcase such behind the scenes in restaurants where you can get an idea of what actually goes on behind the scenes of a large and successful establishment.
It is no wonder then, that top chefs appear cool as a cucumber, regardless what happens in front of the camera. They have so much experience in high stress kitchen environments that working with a TV camera team is not so much different. They are professionals after all, they exude confidence and know exactly what they are doing.
About Author:
By Geoff Roy
Geoff Roy enjoys writing and curating blogs across a wide range of industry niches. In his spare time, he enjoys quality time with his family, running and swimming, and supping the odd pint of T.E.A. from the Hogsback Brewery.
