Most professional kitchens organise work by station and by rank. The same title can mean different things in a 40-cover bistro and a 400-room resort, so read the brigade size and the station before you read the title.
The ranks, in order
A conventional brigade runs roughly: kitchen porter or steward, who keeps the kitchen clean and functioning; commis chef, the entry-level cook learning a station; demi chef de partie, a cook trusted with a station under supervision; chef de partie, who runs a station; sous chef, who runs the kitchen under the head chef; and head chef or executive chef, who owns menu, cost, team and standards.
The gap between commis and chef de partie is where most careers are made or stall. It is not about cooking harder — it is about consistency, timing, cleanliness, and being reliable enough that someone can stop checking your work.
Larger properties add layers: junior sous, senior chef de partie, executive sous, and specialists such as pastry chef, butcher or garde manger. Smaller ones collapse them, and a single chef de partie may cover three stations.
Stations matter as much as rank
Sauce, larder, grill, fish, pastry and breakfast are different crafts with different rhythms. Moving between them is how you become employable across properties rather than locked into one menu.
When you take a role, ask which station you will own, whether you will rotate, and who trains you. A job that keeps you on one simple station for two seasons is comfortable but narrows your options.
- ✓Ask for the brigade size and how many covers per service
- ✓Confirm which station you own and whether rotation is offered
- ✓Check whether food-safety training and certification are provided
- ✓Find out who signs off your progression and how often it is reviewed
Moving up deliberately
Progression in kitchens is usually earned in visible increments rather than announced. Take on prep for a busier station, learn the ordering for your section, cover a colleague cleanly, run a service when the chef de partie is off. Those are the moments that get remembered at the next vacancy.
Keep a simple record: stations worked, covers handled, menus you contributed to, any certification. Kitchen work leaves little paper trail otherwise, and a specific record beats a generic claim in an interview.
Questions for a kitchen role
- ✓Brigade size and reporting line
- ✓Station you will own, and rotation policy
- ✓Covers per service and peak-season pattern
- ✓Training, certification and who provides it
- ✓How progression is decided and reviewed
- ✓Split shifts and typical finish times
Last reviewed: 6 August 2026. This is general information, not individualized legal, tax or immigration advice. Terms vary by employer and personal circumstances; verify important information with the employer or relevant authority.