The Saucier

by Chris Bruno

About the Author:

As Sous Chef at L’Europe in Vista, New York, Chris Bruno trained with a French saucier who taught him classic French cooking techniques. Bruno credits this experience for his success as proprietor of Fiddler’s Restaurant in Brookfield, Connecticut, and Chris’s American Restaurant in the Danbury, Connecticut, area.

Holding a title loosely translated from French as “sauce cook,” the saucier prepares sauces, glazes, stocks, stews, gravies, sautéed foods, and hot hors d’oeuvres. While his or her position is most typical in a classic, brigade-type kitchen, a saucier may also work in a large commercial kitchen.

Generally the third highest position in the kitchen hierarchy, after the executive and sous chefs, as well as the highest grade of chef de partie (specialty or station chef), the saucier must possess the ability to function as a member of a team and work under pressure. As a subordinate chef, the saucier must also accept criticism gracefully. In addition to dependability and attention to detail, the most essential quality of a saucier is creativity, which allows the chef to originate new sauces and assist in the development of new menu items.

Sautéing, one of the most important of a saucier’s duties, involves cooking food relatively quickly over high heat utilizing a shallow pan and a small amount of cooking oil. The saucier generally slices the food thinly or cuts it into small pieces so it can cook quickly and moves it around in the pan frequently to prevent it from burning. This method allows the chef to cook several ingredients at once, as opposed to pan-frying, which cooks only one item at a time.

While sauciers, according to payscale.com, often earn between $11 and $14 per hour, they also frequently work overtime hours at a compensation of time-and-a-half. As most other chefs do, sauciers can expect to work lunchtime and evening shifts. In addition to planning and preparing food, they must maintain efficient and clean stations and cover the duties of the sous chef on occasion. Best of all, sauciers get to make and taste some great sauces.

Seven Good Books for Restaurant and Food Lovers

by Chris Bruno

As a chef and longtime owner of restaurants, I enjoy reading about dining establishments, other chefs, and food. Here are several books that I recommend on those subjects:

1. Restaurant Owners Uncorked: Twenty Owners Share Their Recipes for Success (Volume 1), by Wil Brawley

Software entrepreneur and restauranteur Brawley skillfully guides readers through interviews with successful restaurant owners, covering tactics, operations, and maintaining a successful business.

2. The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection, by Michael Ruhlman

This book chronicles a group of chefs attempting to pass arduous tests at The Culinary Institute of America to earn the Certified Master Chef designation. Another section of the book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the acclaimed restaurant The French Laundry.

3. The Art of Eating, by M.F.K. Fisher

This beloved work gets to the soul of food and relates to life as much as it relates to cooking. Essays cover a wide variety of topics, including food tips dating from World War II and the author’s time studying in France.

4. Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain

Focusing on the crazier side of food service, Chef Anthony Bourdain covers more than 25 years of funny, shocking, and wild tales of the culinary trade.

5. Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany, by Bill Buford

A follow-up to the adventures with British soccer hooligans New York writer Buford described so vividly in Among the Thugs, this book takes him to work with Italian butchers and famous chefs, including Mario Batali.

[Bill Buford-Heat-Bookbits author interview] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHMzPnAZGmc]
[Uploaded by writerly on Jan 23, 2007 [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)]]

6. Paula Deen: It Ain’t All About the Cookin’, by Paula Deen and Sherry Suib Cohen

Many foodies have heard Deen’s Cinderella story: a single Southern mom starts a business with $200 and winds up wildly successful. This book shares the more intimate details of her often difficult rise to the top.

7. Ferran: The Inside Story of El Bulli and the Man Who Reinvented Food, by Colman Andrews

A glowing biography of acclaimed Spanish chef Ferran Adrià, this tribute describes the chef’s often scientific approach to food as well as his quirks, his accomplishments, and the public adulation he receives.

About the Author:

A veteran of the culinary trade for more than two decades, Chef Chris Bruno owned popular Connecticut eateries Fiddler’s Restaurant and Chris’s American Restaurant.

An Overview of Chef Duties

By Chris Bruno

With the popularity of reality television shows such as Iron Chef, Master Chef, and Hell’s Kitchen, the general public possesses a better understanding than ever of the work that goes into being a chef and the pressure that often accompanies it. Less obvious is the variety of chef positions available. Read about the duties of different types of chefs below.

Cooks, Restaurant CareerSearch.com

Executive chef, head chef, chef de cuisine – This is the top dog, the individual responsible for everything in the kitchen, including food preparation and quality, cooking, menu planning, supplies, and cost control. This chef also directs the hiring and training of kitchen staff.

Sous chef – The executive chef’s assistant, the sous chef often assumes the responsibility of training other chefs, plans menus, orders supplies, and fills any other necessary duties in the absence of the executive chef.

Pastry chef – Among the most well-appreciated of chefs, the pastry chef plans, prepares, and styles pastries and breads. This chef typically holds responsibility for pairing desserts with particular wines and coffees and orders supplies related to the specialty.

Chef de partie – Specialty chefs employed in larger restaurants, chefs de partie cover one particular station or specialty. These specialties include the saucier, who creates sautéed foods and their sauces; the grillardin, who prepares grilled items; and the entremetier, who serves as the vegetable chef.

Garde manager – This chef directs the presentation of all cold foods, including meats, salads, hors d’ouevres, patés, cheeses, and canapés. Often responsible for buffet table presentation, the garde manager is usually also accountable for cold sauces, including dressings, vinaigrettes, relishes, chutneys, and pickles.

Other Chefs – Pastry chefs can specialize in a particular item like cakes, and specialty chefs may concentrate on fish, frying, butchering, or other foods and skills. Chefs of all kinds work not only at restaurants, but also at corporate and specialty venues such as resorts, mansions, and the White House.

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About the Author:

A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, chef Chris Bruno possesses more than 20 years of experience in the culinary industry, including working as Head Chef and proprietor of Fiddler’s Restaurant and Chris’s American Restaurant in the Danbury, Connecticut, area.