"Back of house" (BOH) refers to all the operations of a restaurant that customers don't see directly — the kitchen, dish pit, walk-in, and prep areas. Traditionally not tipped, but the landscape has shifted with non-traditional tip pools.
BOH roles typically include:
- Line cooks
- Prep cooks
- Dishwashers
- Expediters ("expo")
- Chef de partie / sous chef / executive chef
- Pastry cooks
- BOH managers
Under the 2018 FLSA amendments and the 2021 DOL final rule, BOH employees can now legally participate in a "non-traditional" tip pool — but only if the employer doesn't take any tip credit. Every worker in the pool, including BOH, must receive full state/federal minimum wage as direct pay.
This has prompted some restaurants (particularly higher-end concepts) to switch to a service-charge model: the customer pays a built-in 18–22% service charge, the restaurant pays everyone full hourly wages, and the service charge is split FOH/BOH at the owner's discretion. Other restaurants maintain traditional FOH-only tip pools.