Quick answer: A chef de partie (CDP), also called a station chef or line cook, is the chef who runs one section of a professional kitchen: sauce, fish, meat, pastry, or larder. The role sits above commis chef and below sous chef in the kitchen brigade, and a CDP is expected to prep, cook, and plate their section without supervision.
“CDP” appears on kitchen rotas, job adverts, and agency booking confirmations with no explanation attached, and it is the role Chefs Bay places more often than any other. If you have seen the title in a vacancy listing or heard it shouted across a pass and wondered what it actually covers, this guide sets out the meaning, the hierarchy around it, the day-to-day work, and what the role pays in 2026.
What does chef de partie mean?
Chef de partie is French. “Partie” means part or section, so the literal translation is “chef of the section”. The title comes from the brigade de cuisine, the kitchen staffing system codified by Auguste Escoffier in the early 20th century and still the default structure in hotels, restaurants, and large contract kitchens across the UK.
In plain terms: a head chef runs the kitchen, a sous chef runs the pass, and each chef de partie runs one station of the cooking line. The CDP preps that station before service, cooks every dish that comes off it during service, and holds its standard from the first ticket to the last.
Two other names describe the same job. “Station chef” is the direct English equivalent. “Line cook” is the American term, although a UK CDP usually carries more autonomy than an entry-level US line cook: they write their own prep lists, flag their own ordering, and often supervise a commis chef on the section.
Where a CDP sits in the kitchen brigade
The brigade is a ladder. Every rank has a defined scope, and the chef de partie is the first rung where a chef is trusted to run something alone.
| Rank | Brigade title | What they run |
|---|---|---|
| Executive chef | Chef exécutif | Multiple kitchens or sites; menus, budgets, suppliers |
| Head chef | Chef de cuisine | One kitchen: the team, the menu, the numbers |
| Sous chef | Sous chef de cuisine | Second in command; runs the pass and the kitchen in the head chef’s absence |
| Chef de partie | Chef de partie | One section of the line |
| Demi chef de partie | Demi chef de partie | Junior section chef; assists a CDP and covers their days off |
| Commis chef | Commis | Trainee; rotates through sections under the CDPs |
| Kitchen porter | Plongeur | Pot wash and kitchen cleaning; not a cooking rank, but on every rota |
Most UK kitchens run a shortened version of this. A 40-cover gastropub might have a head chef, two CDPs, and a kitchen porter. A 200-cover hotel kitchen might run the full ladder with six CDPs across separate stations. The titles stay the same; the headcount changes with the size of the menu.
The sections a chef de partie can run
The classic brigade names each station in French, and the terms still turn up in job adverts. The saucier handles stocks, sauces, and reductions, traditionally the most senior station because every plate depends on it. The poissonnier cooks fish and shellfish. The rotisseur (or grillardin) runs roasts and grilled meats. The entremetier covers vegetables, soups, and egg dishes. The pâtissier owns desserts, bread, and pastry, usually on a prep cycle separate from the main line. The garde manger runs the cold section: salads, starters, and charcuterie.
In practice, many UK kitchens collapse these into “sauce”, “grill”, “larder”, and “pastry”, and a CDP is hired for one of them. The section matters more than the title. A pastry CDP and a grill CDP are different chefs with different skills, which is why venues booking section cover through an agency are always asked to name the station, not the role alone.
What a chef de partie does day to day
Take a hotel dinner shift as the example. The CDP arrives mid-afternoon, reads the prep list left from the night before, and checks what the morning deliveries actually contained. The next three hours are mise en place: sauces reduced, proteins portioned, garnishes picked, fridges labelled and dated.
Before service the sous chef runs a line check. The CDP confirms their station is ready: every component in place, every container at the right temperature, backups prepped for the dishes that sell hardest.
Then service. For four or five hours the CDP cooks every ticket that hits their section, plates to the standard the head chef set, and calls back to the pass. If a commis or demi chef is attached to the station, the CDP directs their work between checks.
After the last ticket comes close-down: the station stripped and cleaned, fridge temperatures logged for the food safety file, wastage recorded, and a prep list written for tomorrow. Stock running low gets flagged to the sous chef for ordering. The food safety paperwork is a genuine part of the job, not an afterthought; in care home and school kitchens it is inspected, and allergen records sit with the section that cooked the dish.
Chef de partie vs commis, demi, and sous chef
The ranks blur from outside, so here is the practical difference.
A commis chef is a trainee. They work under instruction, rotate through sections to learn each one, and are not responsible for a station’s output. It is the standard entry route into professional cooking, whether from catering college or straight into a kitchen.
A demi chef de partie is the half-step up: a junior section chef who assists a CDP, takes the station on the CDP’s days off, and is learning to run it permanently. Larger hotel brigades use the rank widely; smaller kitchens skip it and promote straight from commis to CDP.
A chef de partie owns a section. Output, standards, prep, and food safety records for that station are theirs across every service.
A sous chef supervises all the CDPs, runs the pass during service, and takes the whole kitchen when the head chef is away. It is a management rank with cooking in it, where CDP is a cooking rank with some supervision in it.
What a chef de partie earns in 2026
For a permanent, direct-hire CDP, live 2026 adverts cluster between £28,000 and £32,000, with the median around £29,000 outside London and roughly £33,000 in the capital (Indeed; Glassdoor; Ch3f.co.uk live listings). Job-board averages run lower because they fold in older contracts.
Agency CDPs are paid by the hour, through PAYE. Typical UK agency pay for the role in 2026 is £15 to £20 an hour, assignment-dependent, with London and premium venues at the top of the band. The hourly figure runs above the permanent equivalent, with the consensus premium at 33% to 50% (Chef Network; Select Recruitment), because agency work carries no guaranteed hours.
That is the short version, kept short on purpose. The full salary tables by role and region, plus the employer on-costs that sit on top of any salary, are in our 2026 UK chef salary guide. If you are a venue checking what agencies charge for CDP cover rather than what the chef is paid, that is a different number with different components, set out in the UK chef hire rate benchmark 2026.
The career path: commis to CDP to sous
A chef de partie typically has three to five years of kitchen experience, most of it at commis level first. The routes in are catering college (Level 2 or 3 Professional Cookery), a chef apprenticeship, or starting as a commis and learning on the job. There is no licence or mandatory qualification for the rank itself; kitchens promote on whether you can hold a section through a full service.
From CDP, a strong chef is usually two to three years from stepping up to sous. What gets you there is rarely raw cooking skill alone. It is running a clean section without being chased, training the commis attached to your station, keeping the paperwork straight, and showing you can read the whole line rather than just your corner of it.
The role also travels well across sectors. Hotel and restaurant kitchens are the classic home, but contract catering sites, care homes, schools, and event kitchens all run CDP-level cooks, often with better hours. A section chef who has only ever worked dinner service can add B&I lunch contracts and double their available shift pattern.
Looking for CDP work, or trying to fill a section?
If you are a chef, agency section work is one way to build range fast: different kitchens, different menus, paid monthly through PAYE with weekly Earned Wage Access. Our chef de partie jobs page sets out what the shifts look like and what they pay, and you can register as a chef in a few minutes; most candidates are approved within 48 hours of sending their documents.
If you run a kitchen and the question behind your search was “what exactly am I booking when I book a CDP”, the chef de partie hire page covers rates, response times, and how to brief an agency so the chef who arrives matches the section you are short on.
Frequently asked questions
What does a chef de partie do?
A chef de partie runs one section of a professional kitchen. They prep the station before service, cook and plate every dish from that section during service, supervise any commis or demi chef attached to it, and keep the food safety and allergen records for their station. The section might be sauce, fish, grill, pastry, or larder.
Is chef de partie a high position?
It is mid-level. The CDP is the first rank in the kitchen brigade trusted to run a station alone, above commis and demi chef but below sous chef and head chef. On large hotel brigades a senior CDP, often on the sauce section, is a respected post and the usual final step before promotion to sous chef.
What is the lowest chef rank?
Commis chef is the lowest cooking rank in the brigade: a trainee who works under instruction and rotates through sections to learn each station. Kitchen porters sit below the commis on the rota, handling pot wash and cleaning, but the role is support staff rather than a chef rank. Most chefs de partie started as commis.
What is a chef de partie’s salary?
Permanent CDP adverts in 2026 cluster between £28,000 and £32,000, with a median around £29,000 outside London and roughly £33,000 in the capital (Indeed; Glassdoor; Ch3f.co.uk). Agency CDPs are typically paid £15 to £20 an hour through PAYE, assignment-dependent, with no guaranteed hours. Full tables are in our UK chef salary guide.
What is a demi chef de partie?
A demi chef de partie is a junior section chef, the half-step between commis and CDP. They assist a chef de partie on one station, cover it on the CDP’s days off, and are learning to run it full time. Large hotel brigades use the rank widely; smaller kitchens promote straight from commis to CDP instead.
Is a chef de partie the same as a line cook?
Close, but not identical. Line cook is the American term and station chef the English one; all describe a chef responsible for one section of the line. A UK chef de partie usually carries more autonomy than an entry-level US line cook: they write their own prep lists, manage section ordering, and supervise junior chefs.
How long does it take to become a chef de partie?
A chef de partie typically has three to five years of kitchen experience, usually starting at commis level after catering college or an apprenticeship. There is no mandatory qualification for the rank itself. Kitchens promote when a chef can hold a full section through service unsupervised, so the timeline depends on the kitchens you train in.