LE GARDE MANGER – An Introduction

The Larder or Garde Manger, as it is known in French, is a department set aside for the
storage of perishable foods, both raw and cooked, and where such foodstuff such as meat,
fish, poultry and even game are prepared and made ready for cooking. In this department
too, all cold items found on the menu, such as hors d’oeuvre, cold fish or meat dishes, cold
sauces salads and salad dressings and charcuterie are prepared and dressed .

For these functions to be effectively carried out, it is essential that:

1. The larder should be separate from the kitchen and located in a cool place. At the same
time it should be close to the kitchen to avoid undue running about between the two
departments which are closely inter- related. It should be light and airy and well
ventilated, sufficiently spacious to allow the staff to carry out their work efficiently.
During the setup of the larder, enough attention must be paid to the physical attributes
such as the flooring, tiling, exhaust systems, ventilation and lighting, both natural as well
as artificial.
2. It should be fitted with the necessary equipment that would be required to carry out the
work. Equipment could be classified as heavy, light and miscellaneous (see attached list
for the classification of the equipment).
3. There should be adequate and well trained staff. Most of the work in the larder is of a
specialized nature and requires proper training and understanding.

Breakdown of work

It naturally follows that the work in the larder needs to be broken down into various
sections and each section is the responsibility of a chef trained in that area. The Chef Garde
Manger who is the over all in charge of the department allocates the duties. His assistants
are called either assistant chefs or commis garde manger. Depending upon the volume of the
work, the number of sections will vary and so will the number of the staff required. At times
in a small establishment, the larder chef may work single- handed, and carry out all the work
himself.

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The sections could include:
- Hors d’oeuvres and appetizers
- Cold sauces
- Salads and salad dressings
- Vegetables and vegetable carvings
- Fruit and fruit carvings
- Sandwiches and canapés (for buffet functions)
- Charcuterie
- Butchery (including the fishmongery & ecaillage)

Very often, in smaller establishments, the sections could be collapsed into smaller units
doing more than one task and one chef /commis could be responsible for more than one
section.

Responsibilities of the Chef Garde Manger

The responsibilities of the Larder Chef are many and varied. He is responsible to the
Executive chef for the smooth running and operation of his department. He is also
responsible for co ordination between his staff and has to make sure that they have
understood the work required from them and the production schedule, either daily or
weekly. Training is another important function he has to carry out. The work of the larder is
of a highly skilled nature and involves a lot of expensive ingredients, procedures and
equipment It is therefore imperative that the staff is well trained. With regards to the
staff, the larder Chef is also responsible for their scheduling and duty rotas. Moreover, he
is also required to co ordinate with the other departments like the kitchen and the bakery.
A lot of pre preparation is done in the larder for the other departments and satellite
kitchens. Their requirements must be made available well in advance. He also has to maintain
registers to record the receipts and dispatch of the foodstuff. He is also responsible for
maintaining hygiene and sanitation standards in the department. A lot of the foodstuff being
processed in the larder is in the raw state and susceptible to contamination and possible
food poisoning. The Larder Chef is also responsible to control food cost and control wastage.
He timely reviews the performance of his staff and is responsible for their appraisal. He
attends the daily kitchen meetings on behalf of his kitchen team. He approves requisitions
entered by the section heads. He plans and approves any new dishes to be implemented. The

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Larder Chef is responsible for hiring staff for his department in co-ordination with the
Executive Chef. The Larder Chef inculcates team building qualities in his staff.

Larder Control

If the larder is to be run effectively, efficiently and economically, it is essential that the
Chef Garde Manger exercise strict control over the foodstuff received and stored in the
department. This will involve:

1. Checking the quality and quantity of all food received in the department.
2. Ensuring that all food stuff is stored at the right temperature and that they can easily
be checked
3. That the food is protected from contamination by vermin.
4. That portion control is ensured.
5. That stock is regularly turned over.
6. That food is not over stocked.
7. A simple daily stock sheet to be maintained by each sub department.
8. Every possible effort is made to ensure the highest standard of hygiene.
9. Pilferage is discouraged and controlled.

A simple control system should be installed to keep a check. It should be simple to use
otherwise at busy periods it will be ignored and this will itself defeat the purpose of control.

The stock sheet should be made simple and easy to write and read and should be updated.
A complicated stock sheet will defeat the whole purpose of the exercise, as it will be
neglected during busy rush periods, when it is the most needed.
A stock sheet can be prepared for every section of the Garde Manger including the
Butchery

Co-ordination with Kitchen and Bakery

The larder is a storage department for most perishable foods and a preparation department
for cold foodstuffs which can be used by other kitchens as well. The larder staff is
responsible for the ordering, storing and preserving of stores, keeping stocks up to date and

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accounting for all food items which pass through the department on their way from the
suppliers to the kitchen and eventually to the restaurant or banquet halls.
To function in an effective manner, the Larder department must operate in harmony with
the Kitchen and the Pastry department to avoid confusion and wastage. A good layout of the
Larder in relation to the Kitchen will avoid undue running from place to place. Lack of liaison
between the departments could result in duplication of work and in certain processes not
being carried out in the correct way.
Pastries for pies and other savouries served from the Larder department are best prepared
by the Pastry staff, who are more skillful in such work and who are equipped with the
necessary tools.
On the other hand, such savoury fillings as are required by the Pastry chef for dishes like
sausage roll, patties are prepared in the Larder department and transferred to the Bakery
as and when required.
Another important function of the Garde Manger is to process and utilize any leftovers from
the other kitchens which can be re-processed and used. These leftovers have to be taken
into account by the Head Chef while planning the menus.
A number of garnishes, accompaniments, stuffings, forcemeats, cold sauces such as Tartare
or Remoulade are prepared by the Garde Manger which are served from the kitchen
department.

Layout
Planning the layout for a garde manger department can be a complex task. Unlike other
departments that can depend on a basic menu and basic work load, the Garde Manger
department is unique in its operation. On a daily basis the Garde Manger department may
handle its own butchery, its own sauce making, smoking of fish and cold meats , all the
decorating including tallow and ice sculpture , Plus a complete line on charcuterie products
such as galantines and pates.
The Garde Manger department can relate to a food service facility in three ways:
- on a pick up Basis.
- on a distribution basis.
- on a combination of the two bases.

When a Garde Manger department Executes food order on an ala Carte basis, this is known
as Pick up .This system operates in an unpredictable fashion ,Since the number and timing of
orders is not known in advance. Work load is set depending upon the dishes listed on the
menu.

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When the Garde Manger department Executes food orders in advance for a known quantity,
to be delivered at a certain time (Parties, banquets) this is known as the distribution. The
main problem here is workloads will be different each day depending upon booking, functions
etc. For this reason it is difficult to establish an appropriate mise-en-place on a daily basis
as it is bound to vary.

List of Equipment, Machinery and Tools

Heavy:

- Refrigeration equipment including refrigerators, walk-ins, reach-in, pull outs, traulsen,

deep freezers, bottle coolers, ice machines, coolers and chillers.
- Food Processors with attachments for grinding, pureeing, kneading, mixing,
- Buffalo choppers, bone saws
- Gas range, boilers, heaters (if required)
- Weighing scales - Electronic and manual
- Steel tables, cupboards, storage racks and sinks

Light:

- Mixers, juicers
- Butchers block
- Storage bins and shelves
- Slicers
- Blow torch
- Pots, pans, stockpots

Miscellaneous:

- Frying and flat spoons

- Assorted knives
- Butchers saw (Tenon and bow)
- Butchers chopper

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- Filleting knives and palette knives
- Piping bags and assorted nozzles
- Peelers, fancy cutters, mandolin slicer
- Wooden spoons and mushrooms
- Cutlet bat and steak hammers
- Larding and trussing needles and pins
- Lemon zesters, decorating knives and vegetable scoops
- Skewers, butchers hooks
- Brining syringe, brinometer, assorted thermometers
- Assorted trays for storage of food.

All small equipment must be washed and cleaned and dried after every use.

COMMON TERMS USED IN THE LARDER & LARDER CONTROL

Aging: Holding meats in coolers under controlled conditions to allow natural tenderizing to
take place.
AP required: As-purchased amount necessary to yield the desired EP weight. AP required is
computed as EP required divided by yield percentage.
Antipasti: Italian Hors d’oeuvre/first course of an Italian meal.
Beginning inventory: The dollar value of all products on hand at the beginning of the
accounting period. This amount is determined by completing a physical inventory.
Bin card: An index card with both additions to and deletions from inventory of a given
product. To facilitate its use, the card is usually affixed to the shelf that holds the given
item. Used in a perpetual inventory system.
Canapé: A bite-size hors d’oeuvre consisting of a small piece of bread or toast, often cut in
decorative shape, garnished with savoury spread or topping.
Carpaccio: Very thin slices of meat or fish, served raw.
Carryover: A menu item prepared for sale during a meal period but carried over for use in a
different meal period.
Casing: A synthetic or natural membrane used to enclose sausage forcemeat.
Caul: A fatty membrane that covers the stomach of a pig; used for wrapping meats for
cooking and for lining terrines.
Chitterlings: Pork intestines.
Coulis: A vegetable or fruit puree, used as a sauce.
Crepinette: A sausage patty wrapped in caul.
Crudités: A raw vegetable served as a relish.

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Daily inventory sheet: A form that lists the items in storage, the unit of purchase, and the
par value. It also contains the following columns: on hand, special order, and order amount.
Edible portion (EP): This term refers to the weight or count of a product after it has been
trimmed, cooked, and portioned.
Ending inventory: The dollar value of all products on hand at the end of the accounting
period. This amount is determined by completing a physical inventory.
First-in, first-out (FIFO): Term used to describe a method of storage in which the
operator intends to sell his or her oldest product before selling the most recently delivered
product.
Forcemeat: A mixture of chopped or ground meat and other ingredients used for pates,
sausages and other preparations.
Garniture: Garnish; the act or process of garnishing.
Inventory turnover: The number of times the total value of inventory has been purchased
and replaced in an accounting period.
Lard: To insert strips of fat into meats low in marbling.
Last-in, first-out (LIFO): Term used to describe a method of storage in which the
operator intends to sell his or her most recently delivered product before selling the older
product.
Requisition: When a food or beverage product is requested from storage by an employee for
use in an operation specifying the quantity of materials required.
Shelf life: The period of time an ingredient or menu item maintains its freshness, flavor,
and quality.
Tripe: The muscular stomach lining of beef or other meat animals.
Working stock: The quantity of goods from inventory reasonably expected to be used
between deliveries.
Yield: Refers to the amount of product available for use by the operator after all
preparation-related losses have been taken into account.

IHM Mumbai