As defined by
Mr. Webster below, it is congruent with the kind of
chef this particular person is. The
Potager takes care of making the
soup or
potage as the french would say it.
Everything from the brown stock or white stock to the most elaborate of soups is made by the Potager. Save for cold soups which is the area of expertise of the Garde Mange.
Soups are typically in the first two, if not the first course of a multi course meal and it is the job of the potager to make something that will whet the appetite of the customer and will go well with the rest of the other items in the meal.
It might sound simple enough for some, but the making and inventing of new soups is an art and though enjoyable is not as easy as opening a tin of Campbell's. Brown stock alone is already quite a job to make as it takes more than 7 steps, and at least 12 hours of slow simmering.