As established by Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935), the kitchen functions as a brigade with a very specific delineation of responsibilities that serve to create an efficient environment. As a member of the brigade, one must trust in his or her compatriots to complete the assigned tasks of the day for the kitchen to run as intended. We are held accountable to one another, to the chef, to the owner and to the diner most of all. But as anyone who has ever worked in restaurants will attest, mistakes will be made and the responsibilities of a line cook often fall victim to the challenges of the restaurant itself. It is the response to these mishaps that is perhaps the most telling sign of a seasoned line cook, as there is rarely a day where restaurants do not experience problems of execution. A novice cook will attempt to ignore the problem and pray it goes undiscovered, or react as if the absent minded under prepping of a garnish will surely destroy the very foundations of the restaurant, bringing the walls crashing in around him and his lack of croutons. A seasoned veteran of the line will quickly inform the necessary parties and rectify the problem calmly, with precision and speed. These problems will arise, cooks must address them, and you may lose some sleep over the past, present and potential issues that will inevitably develop at inopportune moments over the course of a normal day on the line.
Working to subvert the inevitable, the line cook plans his or her day through a series of rehearsed actions with the goal of completing a very specific list of quantifiable tasks. That is, the line cook is responsible for his or her prep list, as this piece of paper contains all the answers we seek in order to achieve the ideal service. To ignore this list is to damn yourself and your compatriots to a night filled with a la minute prep work and curses both shouted and whispered. You will emerge from a grotesquely long service as a shell of your former self, questioning your skills, your chosen profession and your (G)god(s). The prep list is the means by which a cook attends to his or her responsibilities, filling their role within the network of accountability.
The concept of accountability must be a lesson acquired through lived experience, as nothing has the same permanence as one's memory of failure. I write this piece thinking only of a moment where I committed a sin against these tenants and consciously neglected to write a prep list. A hastily made decision informed by a lack of experience and wealth of concern for the busy day ahead of me. There was much shouting, ticket times were unacceptable, and the handle of a small saute pan was forcibly removed through several beatings on an already damaged red tile floor. I was confident I had lost my job. Though my errors were not so grievous as to warrant termination, it was impressed upon me that such transgressions simply cannot occur or else the brigade fails. Prep lists are our way to ensure we address our responsibilities and maintain the integrity of system.
Having moved to a larger kitchen that possesses the novelty of designated prep cooks, I now feel the necessity of this network more than ever before. We cannot hope to achieve the task of line cookery alone, but must work in tandem with others towards a single goal. When our faith and reliance in others is punished due to the shirked responsibilities and oversights of those around us, we must remain vigilant to the system in place. Only time will prove which of us can adapt and prove themselves to be accountable, and those who simply have no place within the brigade. At a time when cooks are being heralded as great individual creators, there has never been a more pressing need to remind ourselves that we must still function as a team. Through this network of accountability, the kitchen has the potential to thrive and achieve greatness as one while embracing the vision of the brigade leader himself, Auguste Escoffier.
Ian Auger
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