Chef Forum banner

No more dupes!!

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  zossolifer 
#1 ·
Hey chefs and cooks!
I just landed the job I've been chasin for a while now and its a huge but positive challenge in many ways.
First off, this restaurant gets some pretty high volume compared to anything I've ever been a part of as of yet, and for the first time, I'm working the station I've been after since the beginning, which is Sauté.
I'd always been used to getting my own tickets on whatever station I've worked, but at this restaurant, the only person getting tickets is our wheel guy or line expo or what have you.
I was wondering if anyone could share some advice, stories, or anything that might help me assimilate to this. The safety blanket of my own ticket rail has been lifted and I am depending on my own organizational skills and memory now. Any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
 
#2 ·
     One trick that comes to mind is to find a small symbolic item to represent each dish you are responsible for and use as a memory trigger. Or it could be the placement of a piece of equipment or small ware. 

     So in practice, the expeditor calls out two fish, one chicken and a veal. So quickly you take two ? and place them in predetermined spot, then for the chicken a piece of X, and a piece of H for the veal. As the orders increase, keep adding or removing the appropriate number of ?, X, and H. 

     You can also have your pans set in a certain way so you move it to the necessary location when an order is called out. As in the rear burner is for veal so if a pan is on the burner, a veal must be needed. 

If you have different plates for each dish, grab the plate as the order is called for and set it in it's plating location. If all plates are the same, find a harmless way to mark the plates as you go. So a plate with a sprig of parsley is fish, with bread crumb is chicken, etc. 

   Occasionally you can call out. "I need an All Day." and the expeditor can confirm what he/she is expecting you to have going. 

Naturally you can develop whatever method works for your particular situation. 

It's nice to think you will develop the memory on your own but having a back up of some kind is a nice bit of comfort during a busy rush. 

Hope that helps. 
 
#4 ·
I always try to grab the protein, or whatever, out of the refeer as soon as it is called and set it in a cake pan, or whatever, on my board (station) even if not starting it right away as a visual check list.
 
#5 ·
+1, I always grab a proteins and place them on the trays where I am seasoning them before frying/grilling. You can then place them on different parts of the tray acording to temperature they need to be cooked to( all the medium ones in tghe middle, rare in front and so on, just find a system that suits you and the place that you work at. You can ask for an "all day long" update now and again it should be alright as long as it is not too often. You need to focus and then as all this things eventually it will come naturally. Good luck brother
 
#7 ·
going to echo that one more time. As soon as it gets called the protein goes onto a sizzle platter on my board. This way it starts to temper even if I cant start it right away, and I know its on order. If you have an extra burner, keep a stack of hot pans on it, this will reduce cook times. If you don't have a burner try the oven on your stove, unless you use it during service.
 
#9 ·
Dont tell the expo they didn't call the order if you miss something, i.e. Take some responsibility for your food. Take a look at the chits if you can.

Nothing irks me like " I didn't hear that" or" you didn't call it", when some food is missing, if the orders are right there turn around and look at them, especially during the " rush" or if there are weeds approaching. Special orders and mods; gah.

Every line is different.....
 
#10 ·
Thanks for all the advice. I've read each post and they have all helped.
UPDATE
Several shifts down the road, I think I'm doing pretty alright. When the call outs start rolling, I repeat it out loud and immediately set my pans down on the burners Ive assigned for each menu item. If I don't have room then I grab the amount of pans I need and keep them somewhere on deck as a reminder. So again thanks and I'll keep doing my best
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top