Kitchen Chores Chart

Life is settling down and routines have returned to expected norms, albeit with holiday interruptions.  As the head chef in the kitchen most meals I have found myself becoming more and more disgruntled with the lack of assistance.  Time to revisit our Kitchen Duties chart.

This simple chart was something I created a little over a year ago and used for a period of time.  It is a huge help!  My assistants, ages 4-9, know exactly what is expected of them and who is responsible for which assignment.  In the past they actually looked forward to being assigned the different roles.

Each position is given a title and duties that would loosely be performed by those positions in any restaurant or dining venue.  This is a quick rundown of the general descriptions of each.  (You can view the specific tasks we perform in our home on the photo of my chores chart.  We use clothespins with the kids' names to keep track of resposibilities.)

Sous Chef- The second in command.  Sous is French for "under", and the sous chef works directly under the command of the head chef often directing a portion of the kitchen activity and food prep.

Host/Hostess- The personal representation of the overall hospitality of the staff of the restaurant. It is the job of the hostess to ensure that the dinner seating is prepared and guests are made comfortable.

Maitre D'- Also considered a host/hostess position.  This term comes from the French maître d’hôtel which means "master of the hotel".  This role is defined much like the host/hostess role above and serves in a similar capacity.


(Omni)bus Boy/Girl- Generally the clean-up crew.  This originally came from the term Omnibus Boy meaning "providing many things at once" boy.  It is expected for the Busboy/girl to be available to perform many needed tasks with their primary focus being clearing dishes and garbage.  


In our home these tasks are performed during the evening meal and rotated daily.  This allows my children to work each position and with each other in the various roles. There are two children in the kitchen with me at any given time - sous chef & host; maitre d' & busboy- based on the ways we have divided the various roles.  While this still involves a certain amount of assistance from the head chef, the help is greatly appreciated and the skills learned will last a lifetime (I hope =). 



Pin It