A sauté station is the part of a kitchen set up to cook food quickly in a pan and finish dishes to order. The cook keeps prepared ingredients, pans, utensils, and sauce components organized so each serving can move smoothly from cooking to plating.
How to set up a sauté station
- Prepare before heating: read the full recipe, cut ingredients evenly, and portion what you need. Review knife construction and care before prep.
- Keep tools within reach: have a suitable sauté pan, spoon or spatula, tongs, a clean plate, and a food thermometer ready.
- Separate raw and ready-to-eat food: use clean utensils and keep raw chicken and its juices away from finished ingredients.
- Organize the sequence: keep ingredients in the order you will use them, while refrigerating perishable items until needed.
Practicing at home
You do not need a restaurant line to practice. Start with one burner, one pan, and one serving. Prepare your ingredients first, then focus on controlling heat and finishing the sauce. The exercise below retains the classroom preparation quantities and gives a separate method for one serving; the full ingredient list is not meant to go into one pan at once.
Food-safety note: cook chicken to 165°F (74°C), checked with a food thermometer. For home preparation, refrigerate cooked pasta and other perishables promptly in shallow containers, within two hours (one hour above 90°F). “Hold for service” does not mean leaving food on the counter indefinitely. See USDA food-safety guidance.
Chicken, mushroom and pasta station exercise
In this lesson, cooks can be introduced to “line cooking”; practicing fundamental mise en place, knife and sauté skills. Mise en Place:- Bring a 6-8 quart stock pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Cook 1-pound of dry pasta just short of al dente. Remove the pasta, drain and toss with olive oil. Spread on a sheet pan and allow to cool. Hold for service.
- On a half-sheet pan using appropriate (heat and break-resistant and of proper size) prepare the following additional ingredients and hold them for service:
- coarse salt
- pepper mill or freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 pound of butter cut into 16 tablespoon-sized pieces
- 8 ounces of olive oil blend
- 2 chicken breasts, split in half lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch strips
- 1 cup of shallots, minced
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
- 1 cup of garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
- 10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 10 ounces cremini mushrooms trimmed and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 2 tablespoons thyme, leaves only, minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 lemon halves covered and tied with cheesecloth
- 2 tablespoons parsley, leaves only, minced
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- Preheat an 8 to 10-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat and season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Add about 1 teaspoon of oil to the pan and sauté 3 to 4 ounces of chicken until just cooked through (the chicken will be added back to the sauce later to finish cooking). Remove the chicken and reserve.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of oil over medium heat to the sauté pan and heat until foaming; add approximately 1 tablespoon of shallots and 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Add 1 teaspoon of garlic and a pinch of chile flakes and cook another 30 seconds.
- Increase heat to medium-high; add 1/4 of the shiitakes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
- Add 1/4 of the cremini mushrooms and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in a pinch of thyme and cook 30 seconds.
- Remove the mushrooms and reserve.
- Deglaze the pan with 1 tablespoon wine and cook to au sec or until the wine is almost dry.
- Add 2-3 ounces of stock.
- Reduce the stock to sauce consistency.
- Add the reserved chicken (and any juices).
- Add 1 ounce of cream.
- Add salt and pepper as needed. Adjust thick consistency with the addition of a little pasta cooking water. Adjust a thin consistency by reducing the sauce.
- Finish with lemon juice, parsley and parmesan cheese.
Related cooking skills
Learn how to cook pasta, compare pan frying, and explore sucs and fond to understand the browned flavor used in pan sauces.
Continue your pan-cooking practice
Start with a complete free dish, then explore the protected cooking lessons for more practice.
Cook the full free Chicken Piccata recipe
Explore Sautéing & Frying lessons. Protected lessons and complete member recipes require membership.