Garde Manger

Garde Manger

Garde Manger is considered by many to be the most demanding station/job in any kitchen. Garde Mangers need to be able to apply proper seasoning to food that is going to be servedcold and in other cases, season food that is going to be served hot. Many chefs have the ability to season hot food, but lack the ability to season both correctly.

Garde Manger Chefs must be expertsat seasoning, poaching, simmering, searing, roasting, frying, curing, drying, smoking, marinating, grinding, pureeing, forming, molding, piping, spreading, slicing, cutting, carving, rolling, crimping,tossing and finally presenting. Even though all the skills mentioned precede the actual plate or platter presentation, it's usually the plate presentation that gets all the attention.

It must bestressed that a great presentation will only go as far as the quality of the food being served. Garde Manger Chefs, have to constantly be focused on wholesomeness, sanitation, seasonings, time andtemperatures. Many items prepared in a Garde Manger kitchen have to be seasoned, cured, dried and smoked. In these instances the utmost care has to be taken to insure a quality product throughout theentire process. Seasonings need to complement the item being cured and not dominate. Curing times and temperatures need to be closely monitored to insured a wholesome and safe environment. Smokeintensities and flavors need to be balanced with time and the volume of food being enhanced. Chicken or salmon sitting in a smoker for too long a period of time or being exposed to an extremely intense levelof heat or smoke will cause the main flavor to loss its identity and possibly dry out. Maintaining a keen eye on detail is a key characteristic in the complexion of a successful Garde Manger Chef.When preparing pates and terrines, Garde Mangers have to balance the types and amounts of proteins and fats naturally occurring in meats with the amount of fat that may need to be added to a recipe....