Front & Back of the House Positions

Server (Front of house)

Also known as waiter or waitress. Takes customers' orders and attends to the customers' needs throughout the meal.

Sous-Chef (Back of house)

Always in the kitchen. Determines daily specials, takes inventory, oversees staff, does all the hands-on work.

Host or Hostess (Front of house)

Greets the guests and shows them to their tables.

Chef de Cuisine (Back of house)

Has the vision and conceives the dishes for the restaurant. Runs the whole restaurant. Responsible for hiring and firing staff, determining costs, revamping the menu, taking care of all administrative tasks, interacting with dining room managers and overseeing the well-being of the restaurant.

Bartender (Front of house)

Provides bar service during meals. Gives the finishes drinks to waiters for delivery to the tables or serves customers directly if they are waiting to be seated.

Pastry Chef or Patissier (Back of house)

Reigns over the pastry section of the kitchen. Traditionally, the pastry section has been assigned less status than the main kitchen.

Busboy (Front of house)

Responsible for the most basic needs of the guests- filling water glasses, bringing bread and butter, and conveying dirty dishes to the kitchen/dishwasher.

Coat Checker (Front of house)

Seasonal worker who checks customers' coats as they enter the restaurant.

Headwaiter (Front of house)

Second-in-command. Oversees service in a particular area of the restaurant, such as a banquet room. If no maitre d', the head waiter is responsible for the overall management of service.

Expediter (Back of house)

Serves as the liaison between the customers in the dining room and the line cooks. Makes sure that the food gets to the customers in a timely fashion, so that everyone sitting at a particular table is served simultaneously.

Line Cooks (Back of house)

The people who cook the food. Divided up by cooking technique (sauté, grill, etc.), or by type of food (fish, meat, etc.). Most cooks work up through the line before being promoted to sous-chef.

Chef de garde Manger (Back of house)

The person in the garde manger section or cold station. Plates all the dishes that do not require heat (salads, fruit, and sometimes desserts, if there is no assigned pastry chef on the line.

Maitre d'Hotel (Front of house)

The person responsible for the overall management of service at a fairly elaborate establishment.

Sommelier (Front of house)

Usually only found at very formal restaurants. Chooses and maintains the restaurant's stock of wines. Serves wines to customers.