Have you ever made your friends a home-cooked meal that was so good they said it tasted like it came from a restaurant? If so, the career path of a professional chef might be in your future. And the first step in that direction is to become a commis chef.
What is a commis chef?
Working in a professional kitchen is much different than cooking at home. While making a meal in your own kitchen requires you to depend entirely on yourself to get the dishes right, working in a pro kitchen requires a high level of teamwork.
Most professional kitchens have a clear and structured hierarchy, known as a brigade. Depending on the restaurant, the brigade may consist of many teams with multiple members or be more simplified and streamlined.
The entry-level job of this hierarchy is the position of commis chef, sometimes known as a prep cook or kitchen helper.
What does a commis chef do?
A commis chef’s main responsibility is to do all prep work necessary for their section of the kitchen. However, the nature of this will change based on which section of the kitchen you are working in.
If you’re working the grill section, you will be slicing and prepping various meats and their accompaniments for the shift ahead. If you are working in the fish section, you may be shucking oysters and preparing the ingredients to create homemade seafood broth.
In smaller restaurants, this role is often called a prep cook and you will be responsible for ingredients for dishes from every part of the menu. It may be a lot to handle but this type of prep cook job can really help you develop your kitchen skills quickly.
Beyond all of the prep work, you will assist the chef de partie during services. You may even need to fill in for them for a shift, should they call in sick or have an emergency.
What is the career path of a commis chef?
The path of a commis chef is short and will land you in the role of chef de partie if you stick with it long enough and show you have a sharp set of skills.
If you work at a restaurant with a large brigade system, the commis level may be divided into two roles: commis chef and 1st commis chef.
The 1st commis chef position functions as a ground level supervisory role. They are responsible for organizing everything the commis chefs’ need and coordinating with the chef or chefs de partie.
A 1st commis chef job will give you an even better idea of what it’s like to be a chef de partie. This will help you out when you have the opportunity to become one yourself.
What training is required to be a commis chef?
Commis chef is many people’s first taste of working in a professional kitchen. This means that experience for those coming into the position may vary. It’s not required to have formal training or years of experience working in restaurants, but it would certainly help.
Even taking a free course on what it’s like to be a commis chef will help prepare you for what to expect when you start.
What skills does a commis chef need to succeed?
Knife Proficiency
Take all the time you want to slice an onion when you’re cooking at home, but not in a restaurant. When you have to dice 20 kilos of onions five different ways, speed, precision, and safety with your knife are absolutely key.
You should watch what the other chefs do closely to learn new knife techniques and even study outside of the kitchen by watching tutorials online.
It's also important to know how to maintain and care for your knives so they stay sharpened and ready for the next shift. After all, a dull knife is much more dangerous than a sharp one!
Teamwork
As mentioned before, working in a professional kitchen means being a member of a team. A busy dinner service is a high-pressure situation so it’s important that everybody knows their role and does their job.
Being a solid teammate means you’re reliable and make things easier for those around you. You need to be a good listener and communicator, be comfortable with taking instructions, and know when to ask for help.
Showing that you can work effectively as part of a team is crucial if you want to move up in the brigade and continue on your career path as a chef.
The role of commis chef is the perfect way to get your foot in the kitchen door. If you’re ready to throw that door wide open, then check out the commis chef jobs available on Hosco today!
