What is a Sous Chef? All about chefs titles and roles.

All aspiring chefs need to have an understanding of the different job roles and titles that chefs use in a large kitchen brigade, such as in a 5-star hotel, cruise ship or large venue.  A large kitchen brigade follows a highly organised system known as the Brigade de Cuisine, created to maintain efficiency, consistency, and professionalism. Every chef has a specific role, and together they keep the kitchen running smoothly. In a way, it is very much like the military, where each person has a rank and role to play for the whole team.

Here’s a clear breakdown of each role.

Executive Chef:

At the very top of the kitchen structure is the Executive Chef, the head of all culinary operations at the whole venue. This is a management role; Executive Chefs rarely cook themselves. This is the person who has final responsibility for everything kitchen and food-related as well as staffing and financial control  

Executive Sous Chef:

An Executive Sous Chef (Sous means 'Under' in French) is second in charge of the whole venue’ culinary operations and reports directly to the Executive Chef. Once again, this is a management role and this chef will spend most of their time visiting and supervising all the outlets in the venue to maintain quality control and help fix any problems.

Chef de Cuisine

A Chef de Cuisine is the head chef at one outlet at the venue. If a venue has 5 outlets, then there would be 5 Chef de Cuisines. They report to both the Executive Chef and the Executive Sous chef. They are also responsible for all culinary operations at their outlet, including quality control, rostering, and financial control of the outlet.

Sous Chef

A Sous Chef is second in charge of one outlet at the venue and reports directly to the Chef de Cuisine. They are more hands-on than the Chef de Cuisine and are involved in cooking as well as helping to manage the kitchen in that outlet with tasks such as ordering, and staff supervision.

Chef de Partie

A Chef de Partie is in charge of one section or part of the kitchen. These sections may include the grill, sauce, vegetables, wok, frying, breakfast, cold kitchen, or desserts. They prepare and plate dishes during service, supervise junior cooks, maintain section organisation, and ensure the food that is served meets the hotel’s quality standards.

Commis

A Commis is a cook who has gone through their training and is now qualified and has some experience. They prepare and serve all the food in the section that they work in and report directly to the Chef de Partie as well as to the Sous Chef and Chef de Cuisine.

Apprentice / Trainee

An Apprentice / Trainee are a junior in the kitchen who is undergoing training and often will rotate through the different sections of the kitchen to build a foundation of skills. After their training, they then become a Commis.  

Kitchen Helper / Steward

This is more a cleaning and helping role rather than a cooking role. They keep the kitchen, equipment and dishes, cutlery, and utensils clean and may help to collect and move around receiving ingredients.  Without stewards, chefs cannot work efficiently.

Understanding the kitchen hierarchy helps aspiring chefs see the clear career path ahead—from trainee to Sous Chef. Each step builds the skills needed to succeed in a culinary career.