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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Service & Plating

Back of house

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ˌbæk əv ˈhaʊs/nounCommon term

In culinary arts & cooking, back of house means: The areas of a restaurant that guests do not see, such as the kitchen, storerooms and dishwashing area, and the staff who work there.

In Turkish: mutfak ve arka alanlar, mutfak ekibi

How it is used

Often shortened to BOH. Used in job ads, training and management: back-of-house staff, back-of-house operations. It includes cooks, kitchen porters and storeroom staff.

Example sentences

  1. All back-of-house staff must wear hairnets and closed shoes.

  2. We're redesigning the back of house to make the dish area bigger.

Common collocations

  • back-of-house staff
  • BOH team
  • back-of-house operations
  • back-of-house area
  • front of houseThe parts of a restaurant that guests see, such as the dining room and bar, and the staff who work there: hosts, servers, bartenders and managers.
  • kitchen porterA kitchen worker who washes dishes, pots and equipment, keeps the kitchen clean, takes out rubbish and helps with deliveries and basic prep.
  • brigade systemThe traditional way of organising a professional kitchen into a clear chain of command and sections, developed by the French chef Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century.
  • walk-inA large refrigerated room that staff can walk into, used to store bulk food. Short for walk-in fridge, cooler or freezer.

More terms: Service & Plating

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