The back-of-the-house refers to all areas of a hospitality business that are not visible to guests, including the kitchen, storage, receiving, and business offices. It is staffed by employees who do not interact with guests, such as managers, cleaning staff, and food production staff. The kitchen is the center of food preparation and production. Managers oversee menu planning and kitchen operations, with the executive chef typically holding the top management role. Other key roles include sous-chefs, kitchen managers, stewards, dishwashers, chefs, cooks, and expediters who accept and prepare orders.

1. Back-of-the-House
Functions &
Back-of-the-House
Staff

2. Key Terms
• Back-of-the-house (BOH)
• Executive Chef
• Sous-Chef
• Kitchen Manager
• Steward
• Dishwasher
• Chef
• Cook
• Expediter

3. Back-of-the-House
• The back-of-the-house (BOH) is the area in a
hospitality business that guests usually do not
see.
• It is also called the heart-of-the-house.
• In a restaurant these areas include the:
– Kitchen
– Receiving Area
– Storage Area
– Business Offices

4. Back-of-the-House
• The back-of-the-house employees
include all employees whose work does
not directly involve interaction with
guest.

5. Back-of-the-House
• The back-of-the-house is responsible for the
following seven functions:
– Food Production
– Purchasing and Receiving
– Marketing and Sales
– Human Resources
– Accounting
– Security
– Engineering and Maintenance

6. The Kitchen
• The kitchen is the center of all food
preparation and production.
• In the kitchen, food and other items are
received, stored, prepared, and plated for
service.
• Dishes and other items are cleaned and stored
in the kitchen.

7. Back-of-the-House Staff
• The back-of-the-house staff consists of:
o Managers
o Cleaning Staff
o Food Production Staff
• The cleaning staff is responsible for cleaning
and maintaining plateware, flatware,
glassware, and utensils.

8. Managers
• There are two general areas that need to be
managed in the kitchen:
– Menus
– Operations
• The menu area includes everything involved in
planning menus, developing standardized
recipes, and creating new recipes

9. Managers
• The operations area includes:
– Kitchen safety and sanitation
– Hiring, training, and supervising all BOH staff
– Food Quality
– Food Quantity
– Coordination with Front-of-the-House
– Cost Controls

10. Managers
• In an independent restaurant, the executive
chef is the manager that is usually responsible
for both the menu and the operations area.
• The executive chef may have an assistant,
called the sous-chef.
• A unit is a chain restaurant usually has a
kitchen manager.

11. Executive Chef
• The executive chef is the top manager in a
restaurant or hotel kitchen.
• Many executive chefs participate in designing
the menu, developing the look of the dining
room, and designing the layout of the kitchen.
• Some executive chefs coach the staff so that
they can correctly answer questions about the
menu

12. Executive Chef
• The responsibilities of an executive chef include:
– Coordinate kitchen activities
– Direct the kitchen staff’s training and work
– Plan menus
– Create recipes
– Set and enforce nutrition requirements
– Set and enforce safety and sanitation standards
– Participate in the preparation and presentation of
menu items
– Ensure that quality standards are maintained
– Purchase food items and equipment

13. Sous-Chef
• The sous-chef is the second-in-command in
the kitchen.
• The sous-chef has similar training but less
experience than the executive chef.
• The primary responsibility of the sous-chef is
to make sure that the food is prepared,
portioned, garnished, and presented
according to the chef’s wishes.

14. Sous-Chef
• When the executive chef is absent, the sous-
chef takes over the responsibilities.
• The sous-chef often serves as the expeditor or
announcer who accepts the orders from the
dining room staff.

15. Kitchen Manager
• In a chain restaurant, the person responsible
for the menu is the corporate executive chef.
• The corporate chef is responsible for the
menu development for all the units of the
chain.
• As a result, chain restaurants do not have
executive chefs.

16. Kitchen Manager
• Each restaurant will have a kitchen manager.
• A kitchen manager is the top manager in the
kitchen of a unit of a chain restaurant.
• The manager may be called the kitchen
professional or the culinary manager.

17. Steward
• Every restaurant must have clean glassware,
silverware, and plateware.
• The people who take care of this area are the
steward and the dishwashing crew.
• The steward supervises the dishwashing, pot
washing, and cleanup.

18. Steward
• The dishwasher has the responsibility of
operating the dishwashing machine.
• The dishwasher also hand washes large items
like pots and heavily soiled items in large sinks
called pot sinks.

19. Food Preparers
• Food preparers include chefs, cooks, and
expediters.
• The exact titles and organization of the
kitchen vary from restaurant to restaurant.

20. Chefs
• A chef is a professional cook.
• To become a chef requires a considerable
amount of training and experience.
• The traditional titles and responsibilities of
chefs in fine-dining and hotel and kitchens
were developed by the great French chef,
Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935).

21. Chefs
• Auguste Escoffier organized the kitchen into
stations and created specific positions with
specific tasks at each station.
• Escoffier’s system for organizing the kitchen is
called the kitchen brigade.

22. Escoffier’s Kitchen Brigade
Title In English Title In French Tasks
Station Chefs Chefs de Partie
Saute Chef Saucier Sauteed items and their sauces
Fish Chef Poissonier Fish dishes and their sauces
Roast Chef Rôtisseur Roasted foods and their sauces
Grill Chef Grillardin Grilled foods
Fry Chef Friturier Fried foods
Vegetable Chef Entremetier Hot appetizers, soups, vegetables, starches, pastas, eggs
Pantry Chef Garde Manager
Cold foods, such as salads, cold appetizers, pates, salad
dressing, sandwiches
Pastry Chef Pâtissier Baked items, pastries, desserts
Baker Boulanger Breads, rolls
Butcher Boucher Butcher meats, poultry
Swing Cook Tournant Works where needed

23. Cooks
• A cook is a person who prepares food for
eating
• Casual restaurants usually have one or more
cooks who prepare the meals
• These cooks may be called:
– Line Cooks
– Station Cooks
– Short-Order Cooks

24. Cooks
• These cooks are often organized into three
groups:
– Hot Food Cooks
– Cold Food Cooks
– Prep Cooks

25. Expediter
• Most casual, fine-dining, and hotel restaurants
have an expediter
• The expediter is the member of the culinary
staff who gets the orders from the servers,
gives them to the station chefs or line cooks
• They then check the orders before they are
picked up

26. THE END
BACK-OF-THE-HOUSE