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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Kitchen Brigade & Roles

Sous chef

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ˈsuː ʃef/nounCore term

In culinary arts & cooking, sous chef means: The second in command in a kitchen, who helps the head chef, supervises the cooks and runs the kitchen when the head chef is away.

In Turkish: sous şef, şef yardımcısı

How it is used

From French, meaning "under chef". The sous chef often runs the pass during service, writes rotas, checks mise en place and trains junior staff. Large kitchens may have a senior sous chef and junior sous chefs.

Example sentences

  1. The sous chef is running the pass tonight because Chef is off.

  2. After four years as a chef de partie, he was promoted to sous chef.

Common collocations

  • senior sous chef
  • junior sous chef
  • promoted to sous chef
  • sous chef position
  • head chefThe person in charge of a kitchen, responsible for the menu, the team, food quality, ordering and costs. Also called chef de cuisine.
  • chef de partieA chef in charge of one section of the kitchen, such as fish, sauce, grill or pastry, often with one or more commis chefs working under them.
  • 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.
  • passThe counter between the kitchen and the dining room where finished plates are checked, often under heat lamps, before servers take them out.

More terms: Kitchen Brigade & Roles

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