2026 Oct 4th
Foodservice definition of the five classic French base sauces, what each one is made of, the small sauces built from them, and the pans that keep a sauce station organized.
Mother sauces are the five classic French base sauces that most other sauces are built from: béchamel, velouté, espagnole, tomato, and hollandaise. Learn what liquid and thickener each uses, and you can finish dozens of small sauces from them and scale a whole sauce station.
Most menu sauces are small sauces finished from one of five mothers.
Béchamel (white), velouté (blond), and espagnole (brown) are roux-thickened.
Hollandaise is a warm emulsion of egg yolk and clarified butter with acid.
A tomato sauce base, often with aromatics. Some kitchens use a light roux.
Cheese, wine, herbs, mustard, or a stock reduction turn a mother into a small sauce.
Sauce pans, stock pots, and labelled hotel pans with lids for the build and the hold.
Mother sauces are the five classic French base sauces that most other sauces are built from. The system is credited to Escoffier and is used in culinary school and many professional kitchens.
Learn the five, what liquid and thickener each uses, and the line can derive dozens of “daughter” or small sauces from a handful of bases.
A small sauce is a mother sauce finished with added ingredients such as cheese, wine, herbs, mustard, or a stock reduction. One example from each:
Next time a menu lists mornay or béarnaise, you know which mother it came from.
A working sauce station may show:
See CFIA — Requirements for food businesses. Verify current local requirements for your licensed kitchen.
Browse ChickenPieces.com for foodservice and hospitality supplies. Chicken Pieces is a Calgary foodservice and hospitality supply company founded in 2018—not a poultry or meat distributor.
| Mother sauce | Liquid or base | Thickener | Example small sauce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Béchamel | Milk | White roux | Mornay |
| Velouté | Light stock | Blond roux | Sauce vin blanc |
| Espagnole | Brown stock, often with tomato | Brown roux | Demi-glace |
| Tomato | Tomato, often with aromatics | Tomato itself; some kitchens use a light roux | Marinara variants |
| Hollandaise | Egg yolk and clarified butter with acid | Warm emulsion | Béarnaise |
Three mothers are roux sauces, one is an emulsion, and tomato stands on its own. Know which family a ticket belongs to and the build is clear.
Stainless sauce pan for roux work and small-batch finishing.
Aluminum sauce pan for béchamel and velouté batches.
Larger tapered sauce pan for batch tomato sauce and espagnole.
Stock pot with lid for light and brown stocks.
Deep stock pot for banquet-scale stocks and sauces.
Full-size hotel pan for holding labelled bases on the steam table.
Deeper hotel pan for larger sauce holds.
Half-size insert pan for smaller bases and small sauces.
Solid lid to cover held sauces on the line.
Béchamel, velouté, espagnole, tomato, and hollandaise.
The five-sauce system is credited to Escoffier. It is the version taught in culinary school and used in many professional kitchens.
Béchamel is milk with a white roux. Velouté is light stock with a blond roux. Espagnole is brown stock with a brown roux, often with tomato. Tomato is a tomato sauce base, often with aromatics. Hollandaise is a warm emulsion of egg yolk and clarified butter with acid.
A small sauce is a mother sauce finished with added ingredients such as cheese, wine, herbs, mustard, or a stock reduction.
Mornay from béchamel, sauce vin blanc from velouté, demi-glace from espagnole, marinara variants from tomato, and béarnaise from hollandaise.
Béchamel uses a white roux, velouté a blond roux, and espagnole a brown roux. Some kitchens also use a light roux in tomato sauce. Hollandaise uses no roux because it is an emulsion.
No. Most menu sauces are small sauces derived from the five. One-off reductions and pan sauces can also stand alone.
Training on five bases lets cooks derive dozens of sauces, keeps texture and flavour consistent across shifts, and scales for banquet and à la carte service.
Label and date each base, then hold under the site’s written food-safety plan and local requirements. Hollandaise is time and temperature sensitive.
We calculate shipping on live carrier rates at checkout, not on flat or subsidized tiers. Every order is priced against real LTL, parcel, or pallet-freight quotes from our Calgary warehouse to your dock. That means you never absorb hidden shipping costs into product margins — what we charge is what the carrier charges us, plus a small handling pass-through. For bulk and pallet orders this typically runs 15–25% lower than competitors who bake shipping into their unit prices, because the rate is transparent and tied to the actual shipment weight and distance.
Canadian foodservice supplies for operators who need sauce pans, stock pots, and hotel pans for a full sauce station — not a poultry or meat distributor.
Based in Calgary, we understand regional operator needs and ship Canada-wide.
Source foodservice, disposables, gloves, janitorial, bar, and hospitality supplies from one supplier.
Access practical bulk pricing without a forced membership model.
Chicken Pieces uses foodservice-focused, Health Canada- and CFIA-aware language where relevant. It is a foodservice and hospitality supply company founded in 2018—not a poultry or meat distributor.
References: Health Canada - Food Chemical Contaminants CFIA - Food Safety for Industry.
