Kitchen Layout Guide for New Staff at the Quayside Brasserie

Before your first shift

Every new member of the kitchen team, whether a commis chef, a kitchen porter or a temporary worker supplied by an agency, is expected to read this guide before starting work. A busy kitchen is a dangerous place for anyone who does not know where things are kept, so please learn the layout described below. If anything is unclear, ask the duty sous chef, who will be happy to walk you round before service begins.

Arriving at work

Kitchen staff do not use the restaurant's front door. Instead, come in through the staff door in the south-east corner of the building, which opens onto the rear lane. This door leads straight into the changing room, where you must put on your whites, safety clogs and hairnet before entering any food area. Outdoor coats, bags and mobile phones must be left in a locker here. Staff who arrive more than ten minutes late should report to the duty sous chef rather than going straight to their section.

The cooking line

The heart of the kitchen is the main range, which stands in the middle of the room and has eight gas burners, two ovens and a flat griddle. At the western end of the main range, against the west wall, is the pastry section, where desserts and bread are prepared; it has its own small oven and a marble worktop that must be kept free of raw meat at all times. On the opposite side of the range, against the east wall, is the grill station, which is usually run by two chefs on busy evenings.

Storage and washing up

The walk-in fridge occupies the north-west corner, and its door must never be propped open. At the other end of the north wall, in the north-east corner, is the pot wash, where porters clean pans, trays and utensils. Between these two, in the middle of the north wall, is the dry store, which holds flour, rice, tins and spices. Deliveries are checked by the head chef before anything is put away, and new stock always goes behind old stock so that nothing passes its use-by date.

Service and paperwork

Finished dishes are placed on the pass, a long heated counter along the south side of the kitchen, where waiting staff collect them. Only the head chef or the sous chef may call orders at the pass. Beyond the far end of the pass from the changing room, in the south-west corner, is the kitchen office. It contains the rotas, the accident book and the first-aid box, and you should sign in here at the start of every shift.

Safety reminders

Always shout "behind" when you pass a colleague carrying something hot or sharp. Spills must be cleaned up immediately and a yellow warning sign put in place until the floor is dry. Fire blankets hang beside the main range and next to the grill station, and the fire exit is through the staff door. Never carry more than one stockpot at a time, and use the trolley kept by the pot wash to move heavy trays of washed equipment.