![]() ![]() When arriving at the title of sous chef, it's a good idea to hang onto it for awhile. Often a sous chef will also need formal training at a culinary school before beginning work. Imparting wisdom requires experience, however, so sous chefs generally work their way up to the position. It's up to the sous chef to cultivate the talents of the chefs and line cooks under him or her. The best way to avoid errors in the kitchen is to have a well-trained staff. This can happen often, but the sous chef is generally granted the power to maintain the kitchen the way he or she sees fit. If a plate arrives late or an order is fouled up, the sous chef is expected to directly accept any complaint a customer may have and remedy the situation. This makes the sous chef, in restaurant terms, the expediter - the liaison between customer and cook. Since the kitchen is effectively under his or her command, the buck stops with the sous chef when it comes to unhappy customers. It's the sous chef's responsibility to keep the fuse that's lit with each order from reaching the powder in the dining room. Deadlines come hard, fast and constantly, and most restaurants maintain time limits for an order to be prepared and served. Anyone who's worked in the restaurant industry can attest that most restaurants resemble a powder keg covered with a veneer of hospitality more than that of a business. And if you were the utmost curious type and inquired just whose handwriting that was, you would almost surely learn that it's the sous chef's. If you look a little more closely, you would find that server is likely copying the specials from a handwritten note. Usually about this time, too, you may spy a server seated in one of these chairs or at the bar indoors scribbling the day's specials on a chalkboard plaque. And if it's a nice day, chairs and tables will be lined up along the sidewalks beneath awnings and umbrellas to shade the eventual guests. The sounds that accompany the smells are placid, a piece of cookery clanging or a pot of something simmering. On a humid day the scents of food cooking escape from the kitchen and drift to your nose. But in the morning, after all of the workers are tucked in their offices and before they're released into the streets once more for lunch, a row of restaurants can be quieting. During a rush, restaurants can be intense, busy places - especially for the staff. If you've ever taken a weekday stroll down a quiet side street lined with bistros and restaurants at around 10:00 a.m., you've likely experienced the wonderful calm before the storm.
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