During service the pass is the kitchen's command center. One person, the expediter (or the chef), reads the tickets and calls the orders; the stations answer and cook.
Key idea
How a ticket moves: the order comes in and the expediter calls it ("Ordering: two salmon, one steak medium-rare"); stations answer "heard" (or "yes, chef"). When it's time, the expediter fires the course ("Fire table 12"), and every station times its part to finish together. Plates come to the pass, the expediter checks each one (temperature, look, the right dish), wipes rims, and sends them with servers.
- "Ordering" means "get ready"; "fire" means "start cooking now".
- "All day" gives the total of one item on all open tickets: "four salmon all day".
- "Walking in" or "hands" calls a server to carry plates.
- Nothing leaves the pass unchecked.
Why it works
Different dishes take different times: a steak needs 12 minutes, a salad one. The expediter fires each part so it all lands at the pass at the same moment, and the table gets everything hot and fresh together.
Worked example: All day
Open tickets: table 3 has 2 salmon; table 7 has 1 salmon; table 9 has 3 salmon. How many salmon all day?
- $2 + 1 + 3 = 6$.
Answer: Six salmon all day.
Common mistake
Starting a dish when the ticket arrives rather than when it's fired.
Practice at home
- Cook a three-dish dinner with one person calling the orders and firing each dish. Practice answering "heard" and calling "behind" and "hot".