Brigade (kitchen and dining room)

What is a brigade in food service?

A brigade is the organized, hierarchical team of a restaurant, in the kitchen as well as in the dining room, where each post has a defined role — from chef to commis, from maître d’hôtel to runner — to run service with speed and coordination.

The kitchen brigade model was codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935). Often slimmed down today, it remains the organizing framework of the rush: each member knows what to do, when, and with whom.