Wikipedia defines a sous-chef de cuisine as the “direct assistant of the executive chef…”. About.com:Restauranting goes on to explain that a sous-chef is “directly involved with food production…”. As I prepare a meal, I enlist one of my children to be my sous-chef. I have actually taken to using the term incorrectly as a verb – “I need someone to sous for me!”. The point is my children know exactly what that means and one of them will always come to the kitchen and assist me.
My sous-chef needs vary from day to day. I may need vegetables cut up, fruit arranged on a platter, rice started, or the table set. I usually prepare the dinner plates, as they would be served in a restaurant, and then place them on the table. Sometimes my sous-chef just helps me with this task. My children learn early on how to arrange a meal on a plate in an attractive manner.
The sous-chef’s responsibilities in our house are directly related to the age of my children. My youngest children can set the table correctly and they enjoy stirring whatever marinate I am preparing. They are terrrific at unwrapping bouillon cubes! My 11-year-old daughter loves to be creative when she sets the table, including folding the napkins into ”candles” or “swans”. She has learned to help me cut up vegetables and fruit and makes a great chocolate pudding for one of my trifles. My older daughters can prepare delicious rice. This is a tremendous help as I serve rice on many occasions. They actually can prepare complete meals and call for their own sous-chef when needed. My older sons’ sous-chef responsibilities range from pouring drinks to grilling chicken.
From an early age, children enjoy helping in the kitchen. Utilizing their energy and training them in age-appropriate kitchen skills will allow you to enjoy cooking in a less stressful manner.
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” – Proverbs 22:6