Term | Pronunciation | Definition | Context/Example |
Aboyeur | ah-bwah-yur | The expeditor who calls out orders to the kitchen line during service | "The aboyeur calls out orders to the line." |
À la minute | ah lah mee-noot | Cooked fresh to order rather than prepared in advance | "This dish is prepared à la minute." |
Al dente | al den-tay | Pasta or vegetables cooked until just firm with a slight bite | "Make sure the pasta is al dente." |
All day | awl day | The total number of a particular item needed across all current tickets | "We've got 4 burgers all day — 2 for table 6 and 2 for table 9." |
Bain-marie | ban mah-ree | A water bath is used for gentle cooking or keeping food warm | "Keep the sauce warm in the bain-marie." |
Baste | bayst | Moisten food during cooking by spooning over liquid or fat | "Baste the turkey every 30 minutes." |
Batch cooking | bach kook-ing | Preparing large quantities of a dish at one time for service | "Batch cook the rice for tonight's service." |
Béchamel | bay-shah-mel | Classic white mother sauce made from butter, flour, and milk | "Start the lasagne with a béchamel." |
Boucher | boo-shay | Butcher responsible for breaking down and portioning meat | "The butcher is breaking down the beef today." |
Breakdown | brayk-down | End-of-shift deep cleaning and resetting of a station | "Start breakdown on your station." |
Brigade | bree-gahd | The structured kitchen team was organised under the classical French hierarchy | "We run a classic brigade system in this kitchen." |
Cambro | kam-broh | Large food-grade plastic storage container used in professional kitchens | "Store the soup in a Cambro." |
Chef de partie | shef duh par-tee | A station chef responsible for one specific area of the kitchen | "Our chef de partie on the grill is out — can you fill in?" |
China cap | chy-nah kap | A conical metal strainer used to strain stocks and sauces | "Strain the sauce through a china cap." |
Commis | kom-mee | Junior chef or apprentice learning the fundamentals of kitchen work | "The commis is learning the sauce station." |
Concassé | kon-kah-say | Peeled, deseeded, and roughly chopped, most commonly referring to tomatoes | "Make a tomato concassé for the base." |
Coulis | koo-lee | A smooth, thick sauce made from puréed fruits or vegetables | "Drizzle raspberry coulis on the plate." |
Dead | ded | Food or a service period that is no longer viable or active | "That sauce is dead — make a fresh batch." |
Demi-glace | dem-ee glahs | A rich, concentrated brown sauce derived from the Espagnole mother sauce | "Finish the steak with demi-glace." |
Dying | dy-ing | Food that has been sitting too long under heat lamps is losing quality | "Table 12's order is dying in the window." |
Emulsify | ee-muhl-sih-fy | To combine two liquids that do not naturally mix, such as oil and water | "Emulsify the vinaigrette slowly." |
Espagnole | es-pahn-yohl | Brown mother sauce made from dark roux, mirepoix, and veal stock | "Reduce the espagnole into a demi-glace." |
Executive Chef | eg-zek-yoo-tiv shef | Head of the entire kitchen operation with full menu and staff responsibility | "The executive chef approves all menu changes." |
Expedite (Expo) | ek-spuh-dyt | To manage and coordinate the flow of orders between the kitchen and servers | "Chef is expediting tonight — keep the pass clean." |
Fire | fyr | Kitchen command to begin cooking a dish or order immediately | "Fire two pastas for table 7." |
Flash | flash | To quickly reheat or crisp an item just before plating | "Flash those fries before plating." |
Fold | fohld | Gently combine ingredients using a soft motion to avoid deflating | "Fold the egg whites into the batter." |
Gardemanger | gar-deh-mon-zhay | The cold station chef is responsible for salads, charcuterie, and cold dishes | "The gardemanger is prepping salads for tonight." |
Glacé | glah-say | Glazed with a shiny coating of reduced stock, sugar, or ice | "The carrots are glacé." |
Heard | herd | Standard kitchen acknowledgment that an instruction has been received | "Pick up table 4! — Heard!" |
Hollandaise | hol-an-dayz | Emulsified mother sauce made from egg yolks, butter, and lemon | "The eggs Benedict come with hollandaise." |
Hotel pan | hoh-tel pan | Standard rectangular stainless steel food pan used across kitchen stations | "Full hotel pan of rice for service." |
Lardon | lar-don | Small cube or strip of fatty bacon used as a garnish or flavouring | "Garnish the salad with lardons." |
Liaison | lee-ay-zon | A mixture of egg yolk and cream is used to enrich and bind sauces | "Use a liaison to finish the velouté." |
Line cook | line kook | A cook who works a specific assigned station on the kitchen line | "We're short one line cook on sauté tonight." |
Lowboy | loh-boy | An under-counter refrigerator used for quick-access cold storage on the line | "Grab more tomatoes from the lowboy." |
Mandoline | man-doh-leen | A flat-blade slicing tool used to produce ultra-thin, uniform cuts | "Use the mandoline for paper-thin onions." |
Mise en place | meez ahn plahs | Everything in its place; complete pre-service preparation and organisation | "Before the shift starts, make sure your mise en place is done." |
Mirepoix | meer-pwah | Aromatic vegetable base of carrot, celery, and onion used to build flavour | "Start the soup with a good mirepoix." |
Mother sauce | muh-ther saws | One of the five foundational sauces in classical French cuisine | "Béchamel is a mother sauce." |
Nappe | nap | The consistency of a sauce that coats and clings to the back of a spoon | "Cook until it reaches nappe consistency." |
On the fly | on thuh fly | An order is needed urgently, typically due to a mistake or a late addition | "I need a steak on the fly — table 5 got the wrong order!" |
Pass | pass | The area where completed dishes are plated, checked, and picked up by servers | "Don't crowd the pass; wait until your ticket is called." |
Pâté | pah-tay | A seasoned mixture of ground or puréed meat, often served chilled | "Serve the pâté with cornichons." |
Pâtissier | pah-tis-ee-ay | The pastry chef is responsible for all desserts, pastries, and baked goods | "The pâtissier is finishing the dessert course." |
Pickup | pik-uhp | Ready food sitting on the pass waiting to be collected by a server | "Hot pickup on the pass!" |
Plate up | playt uhp | The final assembly, plating, and garnishing of a dish before service | "Plate up the desserts for table 8." |
Prep | prep | All food preparation tasks are completed before service begins | "Finish your prep list before the rush." |
Purée | pyoo-ray | Food that has been blended or processed to a completely smooth consistency | "Purée the soup until smooth." |
Ratios | ray-shee-ohz | Standard ingredient proportions used consistently in classic recipes | "Learn the mother sauce ratios." |
Reach-in | reech-in | A standard stand-up refrigerator used for accessible cold storage | "Check the reach-in for more butter." |
Reduction | rih-duhk-shun | A sauce or liquid concentrated in flavour by simmering to evaporate moisture | "Make a balsamic reduction." |
Roux | roo | A cooked mixture of equal parts flour and fat used to thicken sauces | "Start the sauce with a blonde roux." |
Salamander | sal-ah-man-der | An overhead high-heat broiler used for grilling, glazing, and finishing dishes | "Flash the gratin under the salamander." |
Sear | seer | High-heat cooking is used to caramelise and crust the surface of proteins | "Sear the scallops for 2 minutes per side." |
Sixth pan | siksth pan | A 1/6 size hotel pan used for smaller portions of mise en place or garnishes | "Put the garnish in the sixth pans." |
Sous chef | soo shef | Second-in-command in the kitchen, responsible in the executive chef's absence | "The sous chef handles the kitchen if the executive chef is out." |
Sous vide | soo veed | A cooking method using vacuum-sealed bags in a temperature-controlled water bath | "The salmon is cooked sous vide." |
Speed rack | speed rak | A rolling wire storage rack used to hold sheet pans and trays | "Put the sheet pans on the speed rack." |
Spider | spy-der | A wire mesh skimming ladle is used to lift food from hot liquid or oil | "Use the spider to lift the pasta." |
Squeeze bottle | skweez bot-uhl | A plastic bottle used for precise sauce application during plating | "Put the aioli in a squeeze bottle." |
Stage / Staging | stahzh / stahzh-ing | Working in a kitchen, unpaid or for experience, is common in fine dining | "He's staging in our kitchen for two weeks." |
Station | stay-shun | A chef's assigned cooking area within the kitchen line | "Work the grill station tonight." |
Sweat | swet | Cooking vegetables gently over low heat without browning | "Sweat the onions until translucent." |
Temper | tem-per | Gradually adjusting the temperature of a sensitive ingredient before combining | "Temper the eggs before adding to the hot mixture." |
Tongs | tawngz | A spring-loaded gripping tool used for turning, lifting, and plating food | "Use tongs to flip the chicken." |
Tournant | toor-nahn | A relief chef who is trained across multiple stations and fills in where needed | "The tournant is covering grill tonight." |
Truss | truhs | Tying poultry or a joint of meat into a compact shape for even cooking | "Truss the chicken before roasting." |
Velouté | vel-oo-tay | A light mother sauce made from a pale roux and white or fish stock | "Make a fish velouté for the sauce." |
Walk-in | wawk-in | A large walk-in refrigerator or freezer for bulk cold storage | "Stock the produce in the walk-in cooler." |
Waste | wayst | Discarded or unusable food that must be logged and tracked | "Track all waste on the waste log." |
Zest | zest | The coloured outer peel of citrus fruit is used to add aromatic flavour | "Add lemon zest to brighten the dish." |