Chapter 10 : Expediter

THE CHRONICLER OF THE KITCHEN                                           March 2009

Mike Campbell

LINE DANCING: THE EXPEDITER

DO YOU WANT ME TO STICK A BROOM UP MY ASS AND SWEEP THE FLOOR WHILE I’M AT IT?

A harried line cook screamed this rather pointed question to an expediter during one particularly busy dinner service. The expediter was asking for food and more food and more food and then screamed that it was taking too long. He seemed oblivious to what was going on in front of him; everything was coming out of one station.

Trying to describe the insanity of the line during a busy service is a daunting task. I have already thrice been diverted, “The Line”, “Cook vs. Servers”, and “Skills”, trying to lay the groundwork so those not in the industry can get a feel for what goes on.

You spent two to three hours running around getting ready, now its time for the show to begin. You take a deep breath, say a little prayer that you stay focused and don’t do anything stupid.

NOW YOU ARE READY TO GO, or should be.

Some establishments will control the restaurant seating by time slots. They understand if the customer wants a quality experience, you can’t seat the entire room at the same time.  However, this is not the case everywhere and this is where the fun on the line begins.

The expediter, who is responsible for getting the food out of the kitchen in an orderly fashion, will call each order as it is printed. He starts by getting the cooks attention, saying something like; “ordering”, walking in”, or “order”.  Some expediters will call every single thing on the order, some will call just the main item, and some will only call the table number. The cooks then call back that they heard the order.

When a cook gets an “order” he starts to cook, when he gets a “fire” the dish is finished and put in the window.

 If you’re lucky, everyone on the line has a copy of the order to read. Otherwise, you either share tickets or listen and remember. When sharing tickets, the person with the ticket will now tell his counter-part the order.

Next, the order is “fired” and the cooks talk with each other so all the food arrives in the window at the same time. Not so bad, if you finish one dish and start another. But this is NASCAR not a foot race so rev up those engines!

Don’t forget, servers like to order several tables at once.

Ordering; chicken, filet, and salmon. Ordering; Caesar, cobb, followed by salmon and duck. Ordering; two soups, chicken, and filet. Ordering; one burger and French fries. These are called with no break in between. The cooks are expected to respond to the expediter, read and hang the tickets, and start cooking.

But before you get the food started for those orders, more orders are coming in. So you have to stop what you are doing just to tell the expediter you heard the new order, and since most expediters are management, you can’t tell what you really think.

Wait, tables 1,2, and 3 are all entrees’ but table 4 is an appetizer. Appetizers should go out first, but you haven’t even started 1,2, or 3.

You get the first courses finished, cook the entrees’ and slide them out of the way. Table 1 is fired, you ask another cook, how long on 1? I’m ready, put it up. Orders keep coming and food keeps going out, no problem, but it’s not busy yet.

Seasoned line cooks, respond to the sound of the printer. Heads turn as it clatters. If the sound lasts more than twenty seconds, we groan, it’s a big order. One eight top is worse than two four tops.

Ordering, table 20,21,22,23,24,25. Fire table 15,16, and 17. Table 20 wants peas not carrots. Table 24 wants rice not mashed. Why is 15 not in the window? I need it now!

Sauté, how long on 16? Two minutes, good, I’ll meet you in the window! Ordering; table 26, and 27. Fire 18,19.20, and 21.

The printer is like that battery-powered bunny on the TV commercials. It just keeps on going and going and going. 

You exist in a Zen Moment: you are working in the past, present, and future all at the same time. There are past plates that are waiting to be fired, the present dish is being plated, and the future plates are cooking.

And then it gets really busy.

You may have two to three feet of space on which tickets are hung. This area is covered, the printer hasn’t stopped in two minutes and there is two foot of paper hanging out of the printer with orders that you haven’t even seen yet.

You may be working sauté with six burners, they are all being used, and you have four more set to go. One problem is, you don’t know what else is waiting. Another is, sauté pans are hot, where are you going to put the pans with cooked food until they are fired? And where do you put the dirty empty pans?

Ordering table 40,41,and 42. Fire 33 and 34.

Are these plates hot? Don’t tell me you are putting hot food on a cold plate!

Now you run out of plates and the dish crew acts like they can’t hear you screaming for more.

The line cooks start asking the expo for an “all day”. This is a request for all the items that he should be cooking. They will also ask, “ what’s in the fire”?

 Now, the broiler man runs out of sizzle pans, and the pot washer can’t hear his request for more.

The clean plates arrive and sauté needs clean pans. But the pot washer can’t deliver them because he is busy responding to the urgent pleas for sizzle pans.

Ordering table 50, 51. Fire 45.

This is what restaurant people call “being in the weeds”. You have so much to do; you don’t know what to do. You keep on working, the orders keep coming, and the expo keeps asking for more. Where is your plate? Everything else for this table is ready!

When things go wrong, a manager will scold the cooks for not talking to each other. But the expediter never stops talking and gets angry when the cooks don’t respond to him. The cooks could be conferring about a table when a new order comes in and the expo will start talking, he is only a few feet away, but expects the other to stop because he is talking.

BANG!! What was that? It was the unmistakable sound of dinner plates hitting the floor. A food runner has dropped a tray. Every cook looks up and hopes it was somebody else’s dish. If you were “in the zone” you are now out. Those dishes have to made again right now!

At this point, the general manager stands in the kitchen to see what is going on. He is not going to help, just watch.

I need a medium well filet, “on the fly”. So much for your flow, someone needs that steak as soon as possible! So stop the presses, shift gears and curse. Of course, they couldn’t need a rare filet; they need mid-well which takes twice as long to cook.

Ordering table 55, 56, 57. Fire 50.

When things are going crazy, the expediter will say, just listen to my voice; you don’t have to read the tickets. So, you respond to his voice commands. Meanwhile, there are several feet of paper hanging out of the printer. And then he asks what is going on with the tickets?

CRASH!! What was that? It was the unmistakable sound of glass hitting the floor. A busser has dropped a tray. The cooks stop for just a split second, they don’t have to fix it, so they go back to work.

At the end of the rush, there is always an extra plate and the epxo asks you what table it is for. What table? You are the one who said to listen to you and ignore the tickets. And now you are asking me about the ticket? Remember, the expediter is a manager and you can’t say what you want and still keep your job.

One expediter habit, I never understood, is pressuring the cook to get the food in the window. Give it to me now, I need that plate!  He has all the plates stacked and covered, but there is no one to deliver the food. I have to jump through hoops to get something done just so it can sit in the window. Or he will badger you to hurry up and give him the plate, then tell you it’s not right.

Ordering table 60,61, Fire, 57,58,59.

This can go on for hours; the only good thing is time flies. The mental stress can stymie you. Do not ask yourself how can I do this all at once. Just do it! Finish one thing and move on to the next. And don’t forget, you do not have time to go to the bathroom.

Fire 88, 89, 90,91,92! Everything is in the fire!

Towards the end of the night, these words are good news. Even though, it means you have a lot to do right away, it also means things are coming to a close. One last push and the worst is over. You might hear the expediter say “fire the board” or “clear the board”. A few minutes later he may say:” the board is clear” or “stainless”. This means there are no more tickets hanging; all you can see is the stainless steel of the window.

You are sweating, tired, and in dire need of emptying your bladder. But you can’t go home yet. YOU HAVE TO CLEAN UP!

And don’t forget, there is always one table that is seated just minutes before you are scheduled to close!

What remains from your nights prep must be wrapped, dated, labeled and put away. Then you get to wash down you station, peel off your sweaty undergarments, and walk into the cold night air.

I owe, I owe, its off to work I go,

into THE CAULDRON!

Is tuisce deoch na sceal