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Kimberly A. SumayanIII-BSHRM-ACE Mr. Patrick IlanoJune 21, 2010 Assignment #01 Culinary Arts and Sciences AMERICAN CULINARY REVGOLUTION The Culinary Revolution was a movement during the late 1960s and 1970s, growing out of the Free Speech Movement, when sociopolitical issues began to profoundly affect the way Americans eat. The Culinary Revolution is often credited to Alice Waters, the owner of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California; however, such claims are sometimes contested and the movement attributed to collaborations of other individuals.
The mantra of using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients at Waters’s Chez Panisse, as well as other similar “New American cuisine” restaurants, has greatly changed food served in restaurants and at home, thus creating California Cuisine and a broader movement in the cuisine of the United States. ALICE WATERS Alice Louise Waters (born April 28, 1944) is an American restaurant promoter and co-owner of Chez Panisse, the original California cuisine restaurant in Berkeley, California, as well as the informal Cafe Fanny in West Berkeley.
A champion of locally grown and fresh ingredients, she, along with Jeremiah Tower (chef of Chez Panisse from 1972-8), have been credited with creating and developing California Cuisine and she has written or co-written several books on the subject, including the influential Chez Panisse Cooking (written with then-chef Paul Bertolli). She has also promoted organic and small farm products heavily in her restaurants, in her books, and in her Edible Schoolyard program at the King Middle School in Berkeley.
Her ideas for “edible education” have been introduced into the entire Berkeley school system, and with the current crisis in childhood obesity, have attracted the attention of the national media. She is a leading advocate of a multi-billion dollar stimulus package that works to give every child in the public school system free breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. She states that taxpayers should endorse this package because we are already paying for it in terms of our health.
Waters advocates eating locally produced foods that are in season, because she believes that the international shipment of mass-produced food is both harmful to the environment and produces an inferior product for the consumer. Waters developed a new view of the importance of food during her first trip to France in 1965. She began to see that some of her peers deprived themselves of good food. Waters is known to believe that “‘It’s not enough to liberate yourself politically, to liberate yourself sexually – you have to liberate all the senses. She believed that eating together was a socially progressive act, one that was under threat from the fifties American – TV, frozen-food culture. ” Waters introduced to America many foods that today may seem commonplace, such as salads of mixed greens. “We were doing those very early on. I think lettuce was my first passion. I was bringing seeds over in the early seventies from France and planting ’em in my back yard, wanting a French kind of salad, with frise and mache. I’m sure I have contributed to the awful demise of the concept of mesclun, just by promoting it in many, many, many ways.
And now, of course, one of those big companies has grabbed on to the idea, and they cut up big lettuces and put ’em in a bag, mix ’em up, and call ’em mesclun. Who is it — Dole pineapple or somebody? ” Personal Alice Waters was born on April 28, 1944 in Chatham, New Jersey. In 1967, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in French Cultural Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She then trained at the Montessori School in London, followed by a year traveling throughout France. She opened Chez Panisse in 1971.
Waters has been married twice — briefly to French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Gorin; and to Stephen Singer, an importer of Italian olive oil and Chez Panisse’s wine buyer. Her daughter, Fanny, was born in 1983, and a year later Waters opened a stand-up breakfast and lunch restaurant called Cafe Fanny located at the corner of Cedar and San Pablo in Berkeley. Interest in fresh local ingredients Waters’ interest in the possibilities of fresh local ingredients was inspired by her visit to France in the summer of 1964 and, especially, a particular meal she had in Brittany. I’ve remembered this dinner a thousand times,” says Alice. “The chef, a woman, announced the menu: cured ham and melon, trout with almonds, and raspberry tart. The trout had just come from the stream and the raspberries from the garden. It was this immediacy that made those dishes so special. ” Her Chez Panisse Restaurant web page says: “All our produce, meat, poultry, and fish come from farms, ranches, and fisheries guided by principles of sustainability. Chez Panisse Chez Panisse, established in 1971, is considered to be one of the most influential dining establishments in the United States.
This was the public venue in which Waters could put her culinary ideals into practice, using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. The restaurant established working relationships with local farmers and suppliers in order to do so. It also launched the careers of many notable chefs, including Jeremiah Tower, and Paul Bertolli. Counter-Claim Jeremiah Tower has often credited Alice Waters with the invention of the then “new” style of “California Cuisine. ” He left Chez Panisse in 1977 and began an important career on his own.
From 1978 to 1981 he worked at other Northern California restaurants, like Ventana in Big Sur and Balboa Cafe in San Francisco. He also taught briefly at the California Culinary Academy during the school’s earlier years, around 1978. Tower opened his own restaurant, the widely acclaimed Stars in San Francisco; it was a business partnership with the same investors involved in another popular restaurant called “Santa Fe Bar and Grill” in Berkeley, California. Tower knew the chef who opened Santa Fe Bar & Grill, as he was a former colleague at Chez Panisse.
Tower has criticized Waters for taking most, if not all, the praise and credit for the acclaim of Chez Panisse; furthermore, he seems to criticize her for taking credit for the primary leadership in the new “California Cuisine” movement and the American “Culinary Revolution. “. He also questions Waters’ role as an actual “chef” in the kitchen, implying that she has not cooked in years, then also questions her role in the restaurant altogether. Tower has written about this issue of contention in his book, California Dish: What I saw (and cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution (2003), uoting many of his peers from Chez Panisse for support. Many of these peers have since gone on to other ventures, much as Tower himself has done. Many of them are equally popular and prolific in the ongoing development of the new “California Cuisine” or the “New American Classics” to which Tower refers. `Tower is praised for his contributions by various popular chefs, among them Sara Moulton and Jacques Pepin. On the back of “California Dish” the following quotations appear: “The food of Jeremiah Tower has always satisfied my belly and my soul.
He was there from the start and is more qualified than anyone else to tell the story of the American food revolution of the last thirty years” -Jacques Pepin “California Dish delivers on the double meaning implicit in its title – it serves up a longtime insider’s juicy perspective on the key players of the American culinary revolution… ” -Sara Moulton The Kitchen Brigade Rationale The professional cook may work in kitchens large enough to use the full kitchen brigade down to one or two cook operations. Knowing the evolution of the brigade and the duties of each department or parti will help the cook to find his place in any kitchen.
Learning Outcome When you complete this module you will be able to… Discuss the evolution and duties of the kitchen brigade. Resources http://www. foodreference. com/html/wgeorgesaugusteescoffier. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Escoffier http://www. foodreference. com/html/wmarieantoinecareme. html http://www. geocities. com/NapaValley/6454/careme. html Learning Objectives Here is what you will be able to do when you complete each step. 1. Cite thecontributions of Careme to cooking. 2. Discuss the contributions of Escoffier to classical cooking. 3. Cite the duties of each of the major positions in the classical brigade. . Explain modern variations of the classical brigade. Performance Evaluation To show that you have mastered this task, here is what you will be asked to do: Complete module assessment. OBJECTIVE 1 When you complete this objective you will be able to… Cite the contributions of Careme to cooking. Learning Activities Complete each of the Activities listed below : Make a time line of Careme’s life including the dates of his birth and death. Discuss Careme’s contribution to the development of the kitchen brigade. Explain the term grande cuisine. Learning Material Marie Antoine Careme •1783 to 1833 16th child of poor family, started as kitchen boy in catering service at age 10. •6 years later apprentice patissier and taught himself to read and write. •1803, Chef Patissier to Talleyrand, French foreign minister. •Turned down Czar Alexander’s invitation to be Russia’s leading chef. Became Maitre chef at Carlton House in London where he set standards for chefs throughout Great Britain. •Began a system of organization. Founder of Haute Cuisine. to top of page OBJECTIVE 2 When you complete this objective you will be able to… Discuss the contributions of Escoffier to classical cooking. Learning Activity
Complete each of the Activities listed below : Make a time line of Escoffier’s life including the dates of his birth and death. Discuss his contribution to the development of the kitchen brigade. Explain the term cuisine classique. Learning Material Georges Auguste Escoffier •1846 to 1935 •worked with uncle in Nice at age 13 •1890 with Ritz opened the Savoy in London stayed until 1898 •moved to the Carlton Hotel – one of the most famous in Europe •Emperor William II called him the Emperor of chefs •Chevailer of Legion of Honour 1920 and Officer of the Legion in 1928 •retired in 1921 at 74 (worked for 62 years) wrote Le Guide culinaire and several others •added principle of task organization to that of kitchen layout. to top of page OBJECTIVE 3 When you complete this objective you will be able to… Cite the duties of each of the major positions in the classical brigade. Learning Activity Complete each of the Activities listed below : List each of the major parti in the classical brigade and their duties. Learning Material Chef de Cuisine •Manager of the kitchen and kitchen staff. Executive chef •Highest level possible. Usually with diploma or certificate, often more time spent doing organization and paperwork than actually cooking.
Coordinates all kitchen functions Head chef •The person in authority in the kitchen. Title refers to those who have professional cooks working for them. Working chef •In charge of the kitchen in smaller establishments. Does the duties of a chef as well as being responsible for part or all of a station. Sous Chef •Second in Command. Responsible for the physical operation of the kitchen, including supervision as well as preparation. Chefs de Parti •Saucier: fish, sauteed dishes, stews, hot hors d’ouevers, hot entrees and sauces. Commands after the sous chef. Rotissieur: Prepares items roasted in the oven and on the spit. Works under the Saucier. •Friturier: fry cook – responsible for deep fried foods. Works under the Saucier. •Grillardin: responsible for grilled foods. Works under the Saucier. •Garde Manger: Processes raw meat, cold dishes, forcemeat, pies, galantines and cold hors d’ouevres. Next in line after the saucier for command. •Charcutier, and Butcher: work under the Garde Manger •Entremetre: Vegetable cook, responsible for soups (sometimes saucier does this), vegetables, pasta, and foods made of flour, eggs and cheese.. Potager: soup cook, originally was under the supervision of the Entremetier •Patissier: Pastry chef: all basic desserts, hot desserts, cold desserts, frozen desserts and hot and cold pastries. •Boulanger and Glacier: work under the Patissier •Other cooking stations are Tournant (swing cook), de Garde (duty chef), de Nuit (night chef), Banquet chef, etc. •Commis: assistants to the chefs de partie. Usually journeyman cooks. •Apprentices: training in each of the parties in turn to learn the entire kitchen. Adapted from The Professional Chef’s Guide to Kitchen Management to top of page
OBJECTIVE 4 When you complete this objective you will be able to… Explain modern variations of the classical brigade. Learning Activity Complete each of the Activities listed below : Describe how the brigade might be adapted for: •Kitchens of about 20 cooks •Kitchens of about 10 cooks •Kitchens with 4 or less cooks Learning Material Many larger operations particularly hotels, may use the full, traditional kitchen brigade. Some may even have demi-chef de parti positions. As the kitchen becomes smaller, the use of the brigade and duties of the various parti are adapted.
In a large operation, there may be a Chef de Parti, a demi chef, 2 or 3 commis and 1 or 2 apprentices. This pattern would be similar for each of the departments in the kitchen. In a medium size kitchen, there may be one individual preparing sauces (saucier), another whose responsibility is vegetables (entremetiere), another doing cold foods (garde manger) and so on. In smaller kitchens, brigade lines are blurred. One or two individuals may prepare all the hot food while another does cold food and some desserts. The brigade duties may still exist but not as obviously or as clearly defined as in a larger establishment.
The classic kitchen brigade pt. 2 Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: restaurant, Cooking, restaurant blog, French cooking, Escoffier, kitchen brigade, commercial kitchen, kitchen — teleburst @ 8:19 am As promised, here’s a list of the staff that Escoffier imagined for his brigade de cuisine. Chef du cuisine – Head honcho. Big cheese. Develops the menu, is responsible for all kitchen operations and sets the tone and tempo of the restaurant. Basically what we now call Executive Chef. Sous-chef (under chef or second chef) – Does the bidding of the chef.
Is the chef when the chef is away. Helps the chef with menu development, scheduling, purchasing and any of other responsibilities of running the kitchen. Is often the expediter as well. Chefs de partie (station chefs) – roughly equivalent to our current line cooks. In a large institutional kitchen like the hotel operations that Escoffier ran, specialization would be key, hence the incredible number of possible “stations”. Now, many of these “stations” are lumped together in the normal restaurant, and even large hotel operations don’t usually have this level of specialization.
We also now seem to make the distinction, rightly or wrongly, of calling them “line cooks” instead of “station chefs”. Without further ado, here are the positions: Saucier (saute station chef) – This is the guy or gal who you see sweating over the stove with multiple saute pans making your pasta, your pan-fried meats, etc. This is often the most demanding job on the line because of the quantity and variety of dishes that the saute person encounters. Not only does the saute often times build sauces right in the pan, he or she also has to time dishes to come out with the rest of the line and also has to finish many dishes in the oven.
That’s a lot of logistics to keep track of and a lot of skill involved. Poissonier (fish station chef) – One of those positions that you don’t see these days. Has been absorbed into other positions. Grillardin (grill station chef) – This position is usually combined with the rotisseur (roast station chef). This is your “broilerman” (for steakhouse mavens) or your “grill cook” for burger places. This position is key for obvious reasons – if the meat isn’t cooked properly, chaos occurs. Food costs skyrockets, guests can’t eat in a timely fashion, waiters crumble – basically civilization as we know it deteriorates into a disaster movie.
Friturier (fry station chef) – This position is sometimes called “the man in the middle”. In most “standard kitchens” the saute chef will be on one side, the “fry cook” will be in the middle and the broiler cook will flank him. The fry cook does more than just fry stuff though. He or she might pick up tasks from either end. There are certain dishes that he or she will be responsible for. It’s an anchoring-type position because he or she could be considered a floater in a way. They might assist either end if they are getting pounded. Potager (soup station chef) -This task is usually handled by other positions.
The chef might take it as a personal project, dish it off to the sous chef, or assign various personnel to the task. He or she might very well have a soup specialist but that will be only part of their responsibilities. Usually, it would be the responsibility of a dedicated prep person or persons, cooks who do a lot of the basic tasks that have to be done – cutting veggies and potatoes, preparing stocks and sauces needed en masse, cutting meat, etc. Legumier (vegetable station chef) – once again, not really used in the modern kitchen. his would be handled by prep cooks and various line cooks depending on the dish. Entremetier (for lack of a better word, intermezzo or entree chef)- In Escoffier’s time, this was often a combination of the previous two positions. they handled things served after the roast course (veggies, fruits or sweet items like sorbets). Boucher (butcher). Pretty obvious here. Cuisinier (cook) – sort of a catch-all term. Might have a specific dish to prepare, or might be a utility person. Garde-manger (pantry chef) – in charge of the “cold line”, i. e. “the pantry”.
The pantry is where you get the salads, cold appetizers, pates, cold cuts (charcuterie), terrines, hors d’oeuver, and in some kitchens is in charge of breakfast. In most kitchens, you have line cooks that are in charge of setting up the cold line. Garde-manger per se is a vanishing position. This is usually just a part of the supervisory area of the chef and sous chef. But it’s still an important position in many large hotel operations. By the way, it’s pronounced “guard monzhay”, not “guard manager”. Garcon de cuisine (prep cook). Pretty self-explanatory. Does all of the grunt (yet important) work.
Takes big things and makes them small. Makes things in quantity. Usually is off to themselves doing their thing. Tourant – floater. Works where needed. There are also demi-chefs (assistants or literally “little chefs) and commis (no, not communists, but apprentices). And then we come to the baked section. I’m going to throw them all into one description starting with the main person: Patissier (pastry chef). The big dog of desserts, the patsy of pastry, the baron of baked goods. We still have this position in some restaurants and in every decent sized hotel operation.
This is the chef responsible for all baked goods. On the organizational chart, he or she is basically equal to the sous chef and they answer to the chef. In modern operations, they usually handle all of the baking and they might have an assistant. In Escoffier’s system, it was broken down this way – boulanger (bread baker), confiseur (candies and petit fours), glacier (chilled and frozen desserts) anddecorateur (special cakes, showpieces, cake decoration, etc. ). Finally we come to the two most important positions in the kitchen – plongeur (dishwasher) and marmiton (pot and pan washer).
These positions are the grease on which the kitchen runs. Without them, everything fails. There are also two auxiliary positions that, even in Escoffier’s day, weren’t that common and were usually performed by others. They are aboyeur (expediter) and communard (preparer of the staff or family meal). And now you know the basis for our modern kitchen, thanks to Escoffier, who codified the design of the modern kitchen and who is responsible for the traditional “hot and cold line” arrangement of most modern kitchens. ________________________________________