Eli5 how on earth to restaurants get the orders out for each table at the same time despite the dishes taking different amounts of time to cook?

Question

Like, so many different tables, they can’t do each table at a time, so confusing

In: 327

Answer 1

I’ve worked in a few different restaurants, and the most effective way I’ve seen is to have a position on your line called an expo, short for expediter. They will see the ticket first, then divide it up so each dish will come out at roughly the same time. The expo usually has knowledge of all the stations. For example, a ticket comes through with a steak, a lasagna, and a fettuccine alfredo. Expo will hand the steak part of the ticket to the grill. When expo sees it is about 3 mins away from being done, hands the fett alfredo to saute since that takes about 3 mins. When the steak has about a minute left, window position gets the lasagna (its already cooked, cheese on top just needs to be melted in the melter). Finally it is the expos job to final check the dish, and get it ready to be served (clean sauce dribbles, add garnish, etc.). While heat lamps and guess work will work at a cheaper restaurant, a nicer one will usually have someone like mentioned above.