How to Become a Chef de Partie

Louise Petty

January 29, 2025

5 min read

The hospitality industry presents a vast range of job opportunities and the demand for professional chefs at all levels remains high, as people choose both to eat out at restaurants and eat in via home delivery. Opting to follow a career in hospitality as a chef de partie is a great way to show off your advanced cooking skills, kitchen experience and management abilities. In this article, we’ll outline everything you need to know about the role of a chef de partie so that you can understand whether it’s the right role for you.

What is a Chef de Partie?

A chef de partie (also known as a station chef or line cook) is a senior member of the kitchen team responsible for overseeing food preparation in a particular area, known as a station. They are experienced chefs in a middle-management role who have a wide range of responsibilities, including preparing and cooking food, supervising their specific section of the kitchen and managing junior staff members, such as commis chefs.

The station that a chef de partie is responsible for depends on their particular knowledge, experience and skills. For example:

A fish chef (poissonnier) handles fish and seafood.
A butcher chef (boucher) is responsible for meat and poultry.
A sauce chef (saucier) prepares sauces and gravies.
A vegetable chef (entremetier) is responsible for vegetables, soups and egg dishes.
A pastry chef (patissier) handles pastries, desserts and baked goods.

Chefs de partie rank third in command below head chef and sous chef, following the traditional French Brigade de Cuisine hierarchy used in most professional kitchens.

They may work in hotels, restaurants, fine dining, gastropubs, members’ clubs or cruise ships, to name a few. Most chef de partie positions involve working fairly long shifts, structured around lunch and dinner service times, including weekends and holidays.

Chef de Partie Responsibilities

Chef de partie responsibilities are varied and numerous, and it can be quite a demanding role to undertake. Examples of chef de partie responsibilities include:

Overseeing their specific kitchen station.
Checking inventory.
Ensuring ingredients are ready for service.
Preparing ingredients.
Cooking and serving high-quality dishes.
Checking the expiry dates of ingredients in storage.
Stock rotation.
Quality control of finished dishes to ensure they meet expected standards.
Menu development.
Ensuring health and safety standards are adhered to.
Monitoring and enforcing food hygiene and safety.
Ensuring equipment and utensils are used correctly and hygienically.
Following orders from more senior chefs.
Working as a team with the sous chef.
Mentoring, motivating and training junior chefs.

Not sure if the role of chef de partie is right for you? Take a look at our articles on Alternative Careers for Chefs and Careers in Hospitality and Catering to discover what other options are out there.

Chef de Partie Qualifications

To become a chef de partie, it’s important to have as much experience of working in a professional kitchen as possible. Chefs de partie also need to be highly knowledgeable about their particular station and, whilst there are no specific qualifications to become a chef de partie, holding some sort of formal training or certification will be beneficial.

Chef de Partie Certifications

On-the-job training is essential if you want to become a chef de partie as you’ll need in-depth knowledge and experience of the industry, kitchen environment and chosen area of expertise. There are various certificates you can obtain that will help you pursue a career as a chef de partie. A few examples include:

Level 2/3 NVQ in Professional Cookery.
City & Guilds certificate in Professional Catering.
Level 3 Chef de Partie BTEC.
Diploma in Professional Cookery.

Chef de Partie Apprenticeships

The most common way to become a chef de partie is by doing an apprenticeship, whether you’re starting at a foundational level or are ready for something more advanced. An apprenticeship is a great way to learn practical cooking skills in a professional kitchen alongside your college classes and enables you to work in all types of kitchen environments.

Relevant apprenticeships include a Level 1 or Level 2 Food Preparation and Cooking course, or a Level 3 course in a more specialised topic. You’ll need at least two GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for an entry level apprenticeship or five GCSES at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for an advanced level.

Chef de Partie Health and Safety Training

UK law requires all food handlers to have completed a food hygiene course in order to work safely in a kitchen. Alongside this, there are various other health and safety training courses you may wish to consider that, with a certificate, will look great on your CV and give you valuable knowledge for working in a chef de partie role.

Relevant chef de partie training courses to consider include:

Want to Learn More?

View our full range of Food Hygiene and Safety Training Courses to find more training relevant to your role as a chef de partie. All our courses can be completed online, in your own time and come with a certificate at the end.

What Skills Do I Need to Be a Chef de Partie?

As well as being able to carry out the practical, day-to-day tasks associated with being a chef de partie, such as preparing, cooking and serving high-quality food (your hard skills), a successful chef de partie also needs to possess a wide range of soft skills. Important soft skills for a chef de partie to have include:

Up-to-date knowledge of the food and hospitality industries.
Working knowledge of French kitchen terms.
Strong communication skills.
Ability to work as a team.
Independence and initiative.
Time management skills.
Problem-solving skills.
Ability to remain calm under pressure.
Ability to think on your feet.
Good attention to detail.
Organisation skills.
Reliability.
Creativity.
Ability to plan ahead.
Adaptability.
Staff supervision and mentoring skills.
Proactive professional development.

Two chefs working together in the kitchen

Want to find out more about working in the hospitality industry? Take a look at our other articles on the Skills You Need to Be a Chef or the Top 8 Skills for a Successful Career in Hospitality to learn more.

Chefs de partie are an essential part of the kitchen hierarchy so, if you’re looking to use your kitchen experience and cooking skills to become a successful chef de partie, then it’s important to ensure you have the right abilities, training and attitude for the role. Then, you can take the next steps in pursuing your dream hospitality career and focus on getting your CV up-to-date, start searching for jobs as a chef de partie online or finding an apprenticeship near you.