Look who's cooking!

Pepper: Which is your favorite restaurant Mr. Salt?

Salt: Mmmm.. difficult question you put Pepper, you know that I am a foodie, I have so many of them, but the one next to the beach (read kitcherie) serves amazing food. I can bet on the mullet there, I always make sure I order that on every visit.

Pepper: Aha, I never tried that..

Salt: Oh.. you should, the Chef there is a friend of mine and an interesting person to talk, I just love the way he cooks my mullet to perfection and the way it is always the same... I think he is a gifted Chef, young and very talented. His recipes are just out of the world.

I guess all of us have our favourite restaurant, in that favourite restaurant we have our favourite dish. The one dish that you just LOVE!! It's a must have whenever we go to that restaurant. And also we do not forget to brag about this place and the food all the time.. as if you get paid to be the brand ambassador! The icing on the cake here will be if you are friends or happen to know the Chef or even someone in the Management. Its socialy fashionable.


The above dialogue between Mr.Salt and Mr. Pepper is a very common one, I can put my money on it that all of us must have heard or talked something similar at some point. What made me and Salt think about this is who is the real super star here? Who is the man behind the perfect steak all the time? Is he the same guy who cooks for me all the time? For me and many like me, its easy to identify him. 

Of course he is the Chef! The brilliant friendly Chef who visits the tables in the restaurants, wearing the crisp white jacket with embroidered name, the tall torque and talks about food like poetry.


Think again, is he the one behind the hot stove and grill, sweating it out to do your perfect steak? How does he manage to do it all by himself and still stay so clean in his jaket? You even see on the televison about this handsome pretty face, giving a warm welcome for food.
No it's NOT HIM!

If you observe a busy restaurant kitchen closly you will find that it resembles an orchestra, everyone moves and plays his instrument to precision and at the end what you get is beautiful compilation - MENU!! and all synchronized by a the conductor, the CHEF!

The Man might be the face of the restaurant, might have been a mozzart, but this is not about him. This is about the one violin player in the orchestra who has a very important chord to play. He is the one at the heat of the grill, pushing your orders with skill and craftmanship! He is the less heard of COMMIS CHEF! He is the line cook, or shall I say, he is the soldier with the gun at the front trench facing the first bullet from the other side.

He / she is the one who cooks.
Its the brigade of cooks and in kitchenese terminology  it's called 'Commis'
noun (es, pl2=commis)
1.(obsolete) A deputy or clerk of a foreign official
2.(especially in combination) An assistant to a chef


The second definition is more closer to reality.


It's the commis who actually cook that perfect dish of yours. Please don't take away all the credit from the Chef who make makes the standard, trains the commis and ensures that they cook every dish the same way as he made them see and taste for the first time.


Chef is more essentially a good leader, teacher, cook and a Flirt! I always see Chefs busy flirting with the waitresses at the food pass or anywhere else, atleast thats what my close friend Ms. J.R.C likes to believe. And she is not completely wrong. Trust me, Chefs are pretty good at what they do.. ;-)Anyway, as I was telling, this time it is more about the real action hero / or should I say the stunt man? this reminds me that a close friend of mine Ms.Z, will always tell me it should be less about you and more about others. I agree, thats the key to happiness maybe. So, the Commis Chef needs a special recognition here. He definitely deserves the applause. I always make sure to pass on the thanks from the guests to the team without whom the heavenly experience wont be complete for the guest, and at the same time also make sure to tell the guests that its the hard working Commis who made the perfect steak for him!

Many a times its difficult to find a commis Chef who will share the equal amount of zeal and passion as your very french poetic Chef will have. I believe its purely because maybe the for the commis Chef it is more of a livelihood than a form of art to follow or passion? It is indeed the bitter reality.

the Mozart of cuisine wants his violinsts (read commis Chefs) to be passionate but not always innovative. your favourite steak should taste the same every time you visit kitcherie. Chef likes his commis to display the repetoire of his dishes when he is in the process of making a menu. But once the menu is finalised, Chef does not like the commis to experiment with his menu. he trusts the commis to cook the same way every time.

A highly trained/specialist commis Chef has a good technique, precise movement, clean work table and all of it done with great speed. but the most important character he must have is endurance. he never calls in sick, shows up late, and works his entire shift even in pain or slight fever.

Professional cooking is not about about best recipe, best ingredients, beautiful presentations or the flavour or texture of food. as all of them have been decided much before you take your seat on the table with the beautiful view. its more about what is done at the moment of truth, by the commis Chefs. He cooks with consistency, performs same tasks over and over again in exactly the same way.

So lets give them the due credit for the good job done. a pat on the back and all the words and deeds of motivation for making your steak taste as delicious every time!!