On this World Chefs' Day, at Ensuite, we wanted to shine a light on the behind-the-scenes work that chefs do to continually offer better and more exciting dishes. We hope this article can give you a clearer idea of what goes on on the other side, in the kitchen 🙂
The typical day of a chef
A chef's days are similar and follow a pattern. Typically, they can be divided into four main parts, which we will detail for you 🤓
The Morning
Every morning, the chef must perform what are known as verification tasks, meaning that they must ensure good cohesion so that everything runs smoothly 👌
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Ensure that the entire team is present; if not, rearrange the schedule for maximum production efficiency
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Check that the delivery of dry and fresh goods has occurred as planned to be able to prepare today's menu
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Ensure the quality of the ingredients
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Brief the teams so that everyone knows which tasks to focus on, in what order, and then motivate the troops
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Check the cleanliness of the kitchen and the dining area
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Go to the market to buy fresh ingredients for the day.
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The lunch service
The lunch service often starts as early as 11:30 am, so you need to be quite responsive to ensure everything is ready for everyone. As a result, you'll need to have a briefing with the team to ensure everything is in order and get busy in the kitchen. But that's not all. It's possible that the chef may come to help in the dining area if there's too much traffic, be in the kitchen and oversee the quantities to ensure there's enough for the service without having too much to avoid wasting leftovers. 👍
The afternoon
In the afternoon, once the lunch rush is over and customers are no longer placing orders or dining in, there are still some daily tasks to be done:
- Ensure that the dining area is well-organized, cleared, and cleaned so that if there is an evening service, everything is operational, and if there is no service, everything is ready for the next day.
- Plan the menus for the next day and ensure that the stocks are sufficient, so you can reorder any missing or insufficiently stocked products.
- Clean the kitchen thoroughly and ensure that all sanitation standards are met.
The evening service
Not all chefs work in the evening; however, if there is an evening service, it follows a similar process to that of lunch. The major difference is that the day's accounts are reconciled in the evening at closing, and both the dining area and the kitchen must be in order for the restaurant to close before returning the next day 🙂 .
And With Ensuite Traiteur ?
Our Chef, Shafiq
At Ensuite , our brigade leader is Shafiq. Shafiq hails from Bangladesh and has been working with us for several years now. He loves cooking with spices, so if you find our dishes to be flavorful, you now know why 😛. He is passionate about cooking and equally skilled in Mediterranean, Asian, and Breton cuisine – a true jack-of-all-trades ready to surprise you. Shafiq ensures that his cuisine is diverse, healthy, and delicious to consistently offer you high-quality meal trays 👍
Oh, and within the Ensuite team, if we had to choose someone chattier, it would be Shafiq. He's a real chatterbox, talking a lot about various things. In short, Shafiq is a passionate and fascinating chef that we're happy to have by our side. A brigade leader like no other 🙏
The Daily Routine of Shafiq
Regarding our brigade leader's daily routine, it's quite similar to the points we discussed earlier in the article. He selects the crème de la crème of foods and ingredients because, as a reminder, at Ensuite, we offer cuisine with fresh ingredients. Then, he heads to the kitchen to brief his team so that everyone can get to work on preparing breakfast, meal trays, buffets, and cocktails, all based on the number of orders to continually combat food waste. food waste . He also ensures that orders are delivered correctly, that the brigade lacks nothing, and that your dishes remain as enjoyable as ever. In short, Shafiq is a true multitasker! 🎉
We genuinely hope that this article has allowed you to learn more about this somewhat lesser-known profession. Happy World Chef Day to all the chefs who make French gastronomy what it is! 👏