backofhouse

Back of house (BOH) refers to the parts of a restaurant, hotel, or food service operation that are not visible to guests. It includes the kitchen, prep areas, dishwashing, storage rooms, receiving and loading docks, staff facilities, and sometimes offices and maintenance spaces. BOH operates in parallel with the front of house (FOH), which is the guest-facing side of the business, and the two must coordinate closely.

Typical BOH spaces and roles include hot and cold kitchens, pastry, garde-manger, sous-chefs, line cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers, receiving clerks, storerooms, walk-in coolers and freezers, dry storage, maintenance and janitorial areas, and staff lounges. Support staff may include inventory control, procurement, and facility maintenance.

Core responsibilities in the BOH involve food safety, quality control, and sanitation. BOH implements HACCP principles, maintains proper temperatures, date labeling, stock rotation (FIFO), and pest control. It also manages inventory, menu costing, labor scheduling, and equipment maintenance, while ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.

Operations and workflow in BOH emphasize mise en place, order receiving, portioning, cooking, plating, and plating protection. The BOH coordinates with FOH for timely service, uses kitchen display systems or inventory software, and tracks waste and yields to optimize costs.

Trends and challenges include labor shortages, evolving food safety standards, energy efficiency, sustainability, and automation. Open-concept layouts blur BOH-FOH boundaries, prompting stronger communication and clear safety protocols. Leadership typically includes a head chef or executive chef, kitchen managers, and station supervisors.