A Glossary of Restaurant Lingo, Slang & Terms
March 19, 2012 by: Heather Turner
Welcome to a complete glossary of restaurant terms and slang compile by Heather Turner of Forfeng Designs.
Click these links to jump to a letter to look up a term:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W
And don’t forget to add your own terms to the comment section below!
* All Day – the total amount. If table 12 orders two orders of salmon and table 19 orders four orders of salmon, that’s “six salmon, all day.”
* Back of the house – the back end of the restaurant, the kitchen and storage areas, where the chefs, cooks, prep people and dishwashers primarily work.
* Bev Nap – the little square paper napkin which a beverages rests on.
* Brigade System – the kitchen organization system instituted by Auguste Escoffier. Each position has a station and a set of well defined responsibilities.
* Bubble Dancer – A disrespectful name for one of the most valuable and unrecognized of kitchen staff – the dishwasher.
* Buried – See “In the weeds”. Way behind. Overwhelmed.
* Cambro – A large plastic pan used for storage of perishables and non-perishables. The term Cambro derives from the company that makes these containers. Also referred to as a Lexan (from a competing company).
* Campers – customers that hang out at a table all night long and even turning off all the lights doesn’t get rid of them at closing time.
* Can’t cook his/her way out of a paper bag – someone who can’t cook well, usually applied to describe someone thats a terrible cook/chef but thinks that he or she is the greatest. The origin of this phrase is used for many different things. A good expanation of some is found at: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=28317
* Chef de Partie – Station chefs. In the brigade system, these are the line cook positions, such as saucier, grillardin, etc.
* Commis – An apprentice. A cook who works under the Chef de Partie to learn the station and responsibilities.
* Comp – To give something away free. Usually done by owners or managers to get brownie points from important customers. Also used to smooth over problems. i.e. “Table 12’s chicken was raw!” “Comp the whole table desserts and coffee!”
* Cover – A customer, i.e.”It was a slow night, We only did 20 covers tonight.”
* Credits – an amount that is due back to a restaurant from the vendor for a mispicked, damaged or out of date product. See mispicked.
* Cremate it or Kill it – To almost burn something or be very overcooked. i.e ” Table 5 wants his burger cremated” extra extra well done.
* Cryovaced – generally used with meat products, but many dried goods are packed this way to retain freshness. Cryovacing is a process used to remove any excess oxygen from a bag and than the bag is heat sealed to make it airtight. When receiving meat products that have been cryovaced, keep a look out for products that are discolored and brownlooking, this means the airtight seal has been broken and you should send the product back.
* Deuce – a table with only two seating spaces. For example, “Seat this deuce at Table 12″ See Top.
* Double – Two shifts in a row. “I’m exhausted, I just pulled a double.”
* Double/Triple Sat – when more than one table is seated in a particular station at the same time.
* Dupe – The ticket/information that gets submitted to the kitchen so the cooks can cook orders of food.
* Drop the Cheque – taking a guest’s bill to their table for payment.
* Drop – Start cooking the accompanied item. “The mussels are almost done, better drop the calamari.”
* Drop Food/Order – the moment at which the kitchen begins to prepare a guest’s food or the moment a server delivers an order to the customers. “I just dropped the drinks on table 4.”
* Dying/Dead – food that is nearly or totally unservable, either due to temperature, appearance, the waitstaff talking to look to pick up from the hot line or wrong ingredients. For example, ‘My shrimps dying in the window because I don’t have veg (accompanying vegetables) to go with it!” Also called beyond in the weeds.
* Early Bird – Generally elderly people or tourists who want everything included for very little money. The $12.95 all you can eat buffet.
* Early Bird Special – A cheap meal that is generally available for a limited amount of time when the restaurant opens for service.
* Eighty-six, 86 – “We’re out of Sam’s! (Sam Adams) 86 it!” or the kitchen is out of the item ordered. To remove an item from an order or from the menu because the kitchen or bar is out.
* Expeditor, Expo – Person in charge of organizing food from the kitchen and sending it to the dining room; a mediator of the line.
* Fire, Fire it – order given by the head of the line to the other cooks to begin preparation of certain orders, such as “Fire those shepherds pies!”
* Foodie – (depending on context) the bane of cooks and chefs everywhere, a Wanna-Be professional cook/chef. There is nothing more irritating then going to a dinner party or meeting at a restaurant with a group of people and there is always at least one “Foodie” attending who proceeds to tell you all about how he/she made the most fabulous chicken dish. etc etc. until you just want to strangle them ZZZ……………
* Food cost – What a menu item costs to prepare. The cost of a chicken entrée with meat, sauce, vegetables and starch is your food cost. Most restaurants run between a 30-40% food cost, this does not include the cost of overhead that needs to get added in before you start making a profit.
* Front of the house – the front end of the restaurant, the dining room and bar where the customers are served and wait staff, bartenders, bussers and dining room managers primarily work.
* Garde-Manger – pantry chef/station. The postion responsible for cold food preparation, including salads, cold appetizers and plating desserts.
* Hockey Puck – A well done hamburger.
* In the Weeds – Can have meanings for both the front and back of the house. The kitchen being in the weeds can mean having only one 2 ft by 3 ft grill and having 40 people order medium well steaks in the space of five minutes. In the front of the house, it could mean one server just had two parties of 15 seated at the same time and they all want separate checks.
* Jeopardy/Wheel of Fortune Crowd – Early bird diners. Need to be home early or looking for cheap meals that include everything.
* Kill it – To make something very overcooked; see Cremate it.
* Mispick – An item that is ordered from a vendor that has a label on it that does not match the product it contains.
* No Call/No Show – Employee who does not show up and does not call or a Reservation that does not show up and does not call.
* Nuke it – to Microwave.
* On a Rail or On the Fly – Something needed quickly, like yesterday. “I need table 2’s salads on a rail!” Or, “Give me a well done tender…on the fly.”
* Overhead – The added in factors when you are costing out menu products to make sure you are making a profit. Overhead may include electricity costs, paper and chemical products, employee salaries and any additional costs that may be relevant in serving an item.
* Paddy Well – A term used very frequently in Irish Pubs and Restaurants, which means to cook it until there is no possibility of life remaining. The next level above Cremate it.
* Party – A group of people at a table.
* Pittsburgh Rare – Burnt outside, rare inside.
* Pump it out – Getting food out quickly.
* Push- “Sell” it. Put it in the window or “We only have two orders of sole left, push it.”
* Redneck – The non-tipping public, not related to a rural type person, meaning a cheapskate. See stiffs.
* Rollup – Silverware rolled into a napkin, usually linen but can be paper.
* Sacked – fired, usually employees are considered sacked after a major screw up, like serving a banquet of 200 people the $100.00 bottles of Dom Perignon champagne instead of the $12.95 bottles that they were supposed to get.
* Saucier – Sauté Chef/station. The chef de partie responsible for all the sautéed items and their sauces.
* Server – the preferred term for waiter or waitress, for example, “Could you find my server, please, I need a refill on my Pepsi.”
* Shelf life – The amount of time in storage that a product can maintain quality, freshness and edibility.
* Sidework – Work performed by front of the house staff (e.g., refilling salt and pepper shakers, polishing silverware).
* Shoe – a slacker cook/chef. Someone who doesn’t cook well. The only origin for this word that I know of was told to me by a European Chef I worked for. The term Shoe came from the fact that in Europe most Chefs in the Northern regions wore wooden clogs in the kitchen. A bad or clumsy chef/cook used to stumble alot and was made fun of by the other cooks and chefs.
* Shoe Chef – (The Sous Chef) see Shoe, sometimes accompanied by the phrase “The Shoe Chef at (my restaurant) can’t cook his/her way out of a paper bag.”
* Shorting – an unscrupulous method used by some vendors to charge a restaurant for more product than they actually receive.
* Sizzle Platter – Heavy grade metal oval plate that is used to reheat or cook something in a high temperature oven.
* Skate – Leaving without doing sidework.
* Slammed – Busy. See “In The Weeds”. Perhaps not as out of control as “in the weeds”.
* Sommelier – Wine Steward or wine waiter.
* Sous Chef – Generally the second in command in a kitchen; there can be an Executive Sous Chef, generally found in a larger kitchen with a lot of staff. The Sous Chef runs the kitchen when it’s the Chef’s day off or he/she is not available.
* Starch – starch can be potatoes, rice, grain or pasta, the other accompaniment besides the “Veg” to an plated meal.
* Station – the set number of tables waited on by a particular server.
* Stiffed – a customer has left the restaurant without tipping the server.
* Stiffs – non-tipping customers, see redneck.
* Still Moving or Still Mooing – Ultra rare, “they want the tender (tenderloin) still Mooing.”
* Stretch It – To make four orders of hollandaise sauce last through an entire shift by “stretching it” with whatever is available and edible.
* Table Turn – number of times a table has had the full revolution of service from being seated to getting the check and then reset for the next group of customers.
* Tare – the weight of a container that the product from a vendor is delivered in. This weight should legally be deducted from the actual weight of the product. See shorting.
* Tender – a tenderloin.
* The Man, the Boogie Man – Health Inspector. “Wash your hands, The Man is here!” “Better mop the walk-in, the Boogie Man’s coming in 10 minutes.”
* Top – the number in a dining party. For example, an eight top is a dining party of eight. A three top is a party of three.
* Toss – An unscrupulous method used by some vendors to make a box look like its full of product.
* Totes – plastic containers that are usually used to deliver fish. They are frequently rectangular but sometimes square or round. Totes are horded by kitchen staff because once washed and sanitized, they make excellent airtight storage containers for just about anything.
* Tourne – Vegetables that are cut to resemble a small, slightly tapered cork, but instead of being smooth they are cut to have seven equally large facets. Generally root vegetables, potatoes, carrots, but sometimes zucchini or other soft vegetables are used. Traditionally, they are boiled, steamed or roasted.
* Turn & Burn – Turn a table quickly (usually because there is a long waiting list for tables). see Table Turn
* Tron – Old 80’s slang for a waiter or waitress.
* Two second rule – The amount of time between when a piece of food hits the floor and when it’s picked up and placed in a sauté pan or on a plate, generally accompanied by a guilty look to see if anyone else saw it.
* Upsell – To suggest a higher priced item. “I’d like a glass of merlot, please.” suggesting Iron Horse at $6.00 a glass as opposed to the house vino at $4.00 a glass.
* Veg – The vegetable accompaniment to a plated meal.
* VIP – A very important customer, perhaps well known and deserving of extra special treatment. Food critics fall into this category. Generally accompanied by many Comps.
* Waitron – Coined in late ’80’s to avoid using “sexist” terms “Waiter/Waitress”. Was replaced in the ’90’s by Server.
* Walk-in – A refrigerated room for cold storage of perishable items.
* Walked – A customer has left without paying the bill or a employee get fed up and just left in the middle of their shift.
* Window – A shelf, usually heated and connected to the kitchen, upon which the food is placed after preparation and awaiting delivery to the table.
* Well drinks – “Well” drinks are made from the inexpensive house liquors on hand. i.e. If you ask for a unspecified gin and tonic you will get whatever gin they serve as opposed to a Tanqueray and tonic.
Add your restaurant slang terms in the comments below!
Thanks to Heather Turner, Chief Log-roller at Forfeng Designs, a company who specializes in the hospitality industry, also blogs about the foodservice and lodging industries, for contributing these terms!
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Other ones from my days:
Dobie – The ubiquitous yellow mesh sponge in every kitchen. Can scrape any sort of dried food particle off of any dishes.
Hokey (noun or verb) – The non electric vacuum used to clean up after children who smash every cracker on the floor. In more casual restaurants, hostesses hokey during dead periods as part of their sidework.
Bleeder – When a ketchup bottle has been sitting in a hot kitchen undisturbed for too long, and the contents ferment. When you open it, the gases cause the ketchup to splatter upward, all over you.
Those are some good additions Erin… Thanks!
Wow, it is a whole different language! I worked in the front of the house as a hostess and I was familiar with many of these but this is a pretty comprehensive list! Now I will be more aware when dining out for some of the new ones though.
Nice list. Here’s some additions.
How about steam table (or prep station) pans being called by the fraction of a full hotel pan that they are, as in “Can you grab me a 6 pan”, or “There’s a 9 pan of it over here.” Or even specifying deep or shallow: “I have half a deep 6 of sauce left”
“I needed it yesterday,” or “last week” when you need something in a hurry.
Verbalize: to tell customers about an option that’s not printed on the menu. “I’ll verbalize the special until we’re out.”
Kitchen equipment and appliance slang: spider, china cap, rondo, robot coupe, reach-in, lowboy.
SOS–sauce on the side
Hold–to leave something off
Sub–to substitute one menu choice for another
Use first–inventory that needs to be used next so it won’t go bad. “The use-first eggs are in the walk-in”
Thanks for making some great additions to the list Seth!
some of this is redundant, but some of it is different. this is a version of the same idea i posted recently to a waiting tables livejournal community. notably, it includes foreign-language slang such as people often wish they knew when they get a job in a restaurant, but does NOT contain standard foreign-language words that can be looked up in a dictionary, such as standard french culinary terms.
86: verb. to be out of, or to deliberately put a stop on / get rid of. “We are 86 the special.” “The spinach tastes funky, so chef is 86-ing it.” “He was caught drinking; he’s been 86′d.”
a la mosca: adjective. Idiomatic Spanish. literally “of the fly.” On emergency status, immediately.
all day: adjective. in total. Used to note the total quantity of an item on multiple tickets. “fire two filets medium rare, one salmon. fire one filet medium rare, one filet medium. three medium rare all day!”
big-top: noun. Table of a lot, so many you lost count. Variant on the terms “two-top” “three-top,” etc. Like a “bajillion,” an unspecified large number.
campers: noun. customers that remain sitting at a table for no apparent reason, having completely finished eating and drinking,
Chef: Honorific. The respectful form of address, equivalent to “Sir,” for the person of greatest final authority on duty at the moment. The Expo may only be referred to as “Chef” in absentia of the actual Chef de Cuisine. Sarcastically, anyone who presumes to give orders. “Chef says this is how we’re doing it today.” “Yes, Chef!”
clopen: noun. two shifts with less than eight hours between them, specifically, a close followed by an open.
comida: idiomatic Spanish. Literally “food.” Specifically implies pre-shift staff meal. “They made chicken for comida again.”
comp: noun, verb. to give something away, to take off the check at a financial loss. short for “complimentary.” NOT the same as a void. Usually combined with a reason for the giveaway, eg, “Comp no like,” “comp b-day,” “comp spill.”
cover: noun. a guest as a statistic, used for end-of night head counts. “I did 50 covers tonight.”
deuce: noun. table of two.
double (or triple): two shifts in a row on the same day. a triple is only possible in restaurants that are open through three meal periods, such as breakfast, lunch and dinner, or that have a “late night” or “graveyard” shift, such as 24-hr diners and nightclubs.
dragging: verb. taking a long time, very backlogged. can refer to a course, a drink, a person, or an entire production station. “the bar is dragging.” “my entrees are dragging.” “my busser is dragging.” “dessert station is dragging.” dragging is usually the result of being weeded.
drop: verb. to present a customer with. “drop the check.” “entrees have been dropped.”
dying: adjective. for food or drink to lose quality due to sitting around waiting to be picked up, such as ice melting into a drink and causing it to be watered down, or food drying up for sitting under the heat lamps for too long. “are their apps clear? their entrees are dying.”
expediter, expo: noun. the person who coordinates all orders in the kitchen. on a staff too small to have a full-time expo, a chef de cuisine, sous chef, or head food runner may fill the role. sarcastically, refers to a person who stands around giving orders rather than actually working during a task that does not require an expo, such as making drinks or moving tables.
filler: noun. a menu item, usually savory, that can be produced on the fly to “fill the gap” when a course is dragging. Often a cold pantry item (pre-rolled maki, guacamole, spring rolls), soup (if kept on warmers rather than made-to-order) or the amuse-bouche.
fire: verb. begin to cook. “fire course three on table seventy four!”
line: noun. the workspace of the entree cooks, so named because of how it is usually shaped. in a large enough operation, other food stations may also form a line. “hot app line,” “cold app line,” “dessert line.”
no call / no show: noun. a person who does not show up as expected and does not give notice, also the act of doing so. almost universal grounds for dismissal if the no call / no show was an employee.
on the fly: emergency status. immediately. taking priority over all other things.
resos: noun. abbreviation for “reservation.” Can refer to either a literal reservation, eg “I made the resos for 7:30″ or people who have made reservations, eg “we have 350 resos on the books tonight.”
run: verb. to bring something to a table. “run this food.” “run my drinks.”
sarapiar: verb. Spanglish. To set up, as in, a table. “sarapiar la mesa.”
skate: verb. to run out on something. an employee can skate without completing sidework, a customer can skate without paying.
stiff: verb. to leave without tipping, but after paying. a specific insult to the server. “i got stiffed.”
turn: verb. to replace a finished party with a new party. “We have a lot of people waiting, you need to turn your tables.” noun. a round of guests. “It’s slow, I’ve only had like one turn tonight.”
two- three- or any number – top: noun. table with the specified number of people. “Your two-top is looking for you.”
upsell: verb. to convince a guest to choose a higher-quality option that costs more, eg a drink with top-shelf liquor instead of well.
VIP pass: noun. a signature or “reserve” hor d’oeurve or amuse-bouche not found elsewhere on the menu that is standing ready to send to VIP tables.
verbal: verb. to list off menu modifications that are not printed. “We’re 86 the Gewurtz, menus haven’t been changed because we expect it back in house on Friday, so verbal it.”
verbal tipper: noun. a very enthusiastic guest who will praise you to the skies in lieu of tipping you actual money.
void: verb. to take off the check with no financial loss to the restaurant. NOT the same as a comp. “It was a double-ring, stopped the extra at the bar, void no waste.”
walk-in, walk-ins: noun. customers who showed up without a reservation.
walkout: noun. to leave without paying, not after paying and without tip. “i had a walkout.”
well: the polite word for the cheapest liquor of a certain type. opposite of top-shelf. “Well vodka neat? That’s disgusting!”
window: noun. the shelf or platform between the workspace of the cooks and everyone else. Sometimes an actual window between two rooms, sometimes just a long shelf with heat lamps over it. Where the cooks place the food for pickup.
weeded, in the weeds: to be backlogged, overwhelmed, behind in your duties. “I am in the weeds.” “hot app line is weeded.”
A few we used to use in NYC that I don’t see above:
Blue Hairs – similar to Wheel of Fortune crowd – elderly who show up at 4pm for the early bird special and then insist on splitting the entrees.
Wave the Bottle Over It – ordering an extremely dry martini aka vodka on the rocks.
Don’t Cry Over It – Don’t add any salt while cooking.
Set Up – a set of cutlery and napkins, sometimes glassware, as in “I need 2 extra setups for table 4.”
Up – meaning up in the window, ready to go to table as in “Two salads up!”
Down – server just put food on a table as in “Two salads down!”
On the Back Forty – working an undesirable station in the dining room.
Dear awibs,
awibs says: “June 13, 2010 at 3:53 am, some of this is redundant, but some of it is different. this is a version of the same idea i posted recently to a waiting tables livejournal community”
Interesting list you have considering this was written originally in November of 2009
http://chefforfeng.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/glossary-of-restaurant-lingo-and-terms/
On the Judge Jeanine Pirro show today a young woman said all the register computers went down one day and the manager said to “work out of the bag”. What does that mean?
See my prior quesiton. To clarify: the young woman worked at a bowling alley snack bar. The judge seemed to know what she was talking about when the woman said her manager told her to “work out of the bag” when the registers went down. What does “work out of the bag” mean? The woman refused to do it.
“out of the bag” refers to the cash bag or change bag. It requires the server or attendant to make change by hand/mentally. It’s a real pain in the kiester when the POS goes down.
POS is the hardware and software used by the store to send orders to the kitchen, cash out guests, etc. “Point of Sale”
I also didn’t see “Sell” in the glossary. It’s a verb usually used by the expo when requesting items to complete a table.
“Sell me a stuffed tender mid rare for 231.”
“Am I really waiting on one ****ing baker to sell this 6 top?”
Thanks for solving that one for us!
some funny ones i come across at work :
Chateau Lapompe:way to call tap water among staffmembers “2 chateau lapompe on table 7″usually accompiened by a fair dose of sarcasme:P
House/table/regular/plain/normal water:way to call tap water among customers as if it was too cheap just to call it tap water…
Dans le jus: from french with litterally means “in the juice” when you re waaaaay overwhelmed.
A few more that were left off the list
Apps- appetizers, as in are my apps up yet?
Blue Hairs – refers to elderly people
Baker- baked potato, wheres my baker for this table?
Starter- same as app, appetizer
Wait station – area for waitstaff to keep silver, coffee, water, etc adjacent to or in dining room
Black and Blue- charred on the outside very rare inside “I want that steak black and blue”
Crumb crushers- children
Flat Top- griddle
I worked at IHOP for years as a cook. We did have our own language.
Here’s some slang I remember.
Eggs on a plate were called by the “wheelman” to the fry station. For instance:
A “21 oe” is 2 eggs on one plate over easy. So 31 wrecked is 3 on i scrambled. Ham and eggs poached on toast? “Adam and Eve on a raft and sink ‘em”! (My favorite)
If a waitress had to come back for the rest of an order she would “drag it”.
There’s many more that I just can’t remember.
Those are some of the best ones I’ve seen, thanks Cassius!
WHAT DOES “I’LL HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE IN A DIRTY CUP” STAND FOR?
Graveyard – when you have a bunch of food dying in the window due to servers not picking it up. “it’s a graveyard up here!! Will someone pick this up”
Down – if I need to get in a cabinet or drawer under you I’d say down and the person would move out of the way.
Top: also refers to how many customers a table can seat. “I can’t believe you sat a double at my 6 top instead of the bar”
On tether: refers to customers/parties who are waiting to be seated, esp. those given a pager “Turn that table now, we’ve got 8 on tether”
Screamer: a crying infant or unruly child in the dining room — usually in conjunction with a expedite plea “Screamer on 5 – Rail It Yesterday!”, sometimes an obnoxious/complaining adult
Ghost: a member of a party who hasn’t arrived yet “Hold table 7, we got a ghost”
Kiss: roughly “a little” — kiss the fire (ultra-rare, or lightly warmed), kiss the sea (barely salted)
A Precious: a very finicky, difficult or demanding diner; someone who sends everything back or expects a comp
Donkey: lowest person in the kitchen, particularly a cook, who ends up doing the all the scut work for the other cooks on the line — the beast of burden
Hands – when chef or expo wants someone to run food out to a table. Drop everything and go to chef or expo when hands is called
Pipe Stock: Water for the tap used in-stead of Stock.
Camel – a customer that drinks a lot of water, requiring the busboy to constantly fill their glasses.
The term for using a product against what’s come in later is “FIFO”. First in, First out”. Being a MS/CS in the military taught me more about food safety then honing my culinary skills but seeing the kitchens of most restaurants/hotels left a somewhat sickening lump in my throat.
My job on the ship was to feed the crew a nutritious meal and not make them sick. Imagine a whole ship incapacipated by food poisening. Most restaurants I’ve seen could care less about sanitation even in the most upscale hotel kitchens I’ve toured for my culinary degree.. Sad.
Not to say that I’ve only focused on health. Far be it. I’ve worked for (five) Navy Admiral’s providing catering events for up to 1,000 diginitary’s and VIPs plus several dinner parties and continental receptions.
I think I’m resigned to being in the Procurment/Distribution area as most “cooks” have shown they are NASTY! Please prove me wrong………….
Hi Mel,
I can only imagine how important food safety must be on a large military vessel! FIFO is a good term because, as you said, it doesn’t get practiced nearly as often as it should in normal food service.
“hot behind” someone’s coming behind you with hot pans, dishes, etc. so move out of the way.
“on your back” don’t move backwards or turn around because you’ll bump into the person behind you that just said “on your back”
If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean!
I cant believe noone said : HEARD – self-explanatory,yes. But said and required as a comeback when posed as a question. Used super frequently,at least where im at
CORNER / COMIN OUT / BEHIND – again kinda obvious and used super frequent but when u r carrying stuff around lots of moving people carrying stuff u need traffic signals SIR – I wonder if this is a regional thing cuz not alll the restaurants ive ever worked at do this , but alot of people call each other sir alot , presumably started because manners are so important when all these people are really busy and need alot of things from each other please comment
Full hands in, full hands out.
If you kill it, refill it.
Quat, quat strips, sani bucket
rack – used in dish machine
tray jack
ramekin
sugar caddy, white on right
togo
rover – the kitchen person who keeps all the stations full on busy nights.
Pop / rush – a bunch of guests arrive at the same time.
pos – computer
chit sheet, ticket. Did you get your drink? Yes? stab your ticket then.
book – wait staff order/money holder.
pocket ticket – an order you forget to put in.
Bar key – bottle opener
drop – to give manager big bills mid shift.
Bump it – to remove an order from cook screen once it is made.
Window – shelf between cook line and expo.
Marry – to combine two or more containers.
Slack / slack out – defrost
salamander – broiler
day dots
store and pour – bar containers w/ long necks
mat shot – a shot of all the liquid collected in the bar mats at the end of the night!
Dry well – when the water in the hot well dries up and smells awful.
Dishers – different sized scoops.
chloro – bleach
This was fun! There are so many random words that only service industry know! I love it! Great post!!
Nice! Some of these might be well-known…I was just thinking of some that haven’t been mentioned yet, or different versions of some.
Cut – when a server has been cut off from taking tables to do side work and finish the shift.
Runner, tray runner, two hands (two plates) – someone to take food to a table. “I need a tray runner table 2!” “Two hands table 71!”
Fire – for us, fire is used mainly for fajitas, to let the cooks know to go ahead and set it up on the hot skillet and make it sizzle so it can go to the table. If we want them to start cooking something, we tell them to drop it.
High-tops – taller tables, ours are with stools for seats.
Reggae – haven’t seen this one, maybe it’s just us…reggae means regular setup for anything. “I need a side house salad reggae on the fly!”
Refire – usually used to ring in something that needs to be remade and quick. Or used if ringing in a pocket check and you need to let the kitchen know that it’s needed fast. “I need that refire burger now!”
Ring-up – something that needs to be put in the computer so the restaurant can account for it, usually something small like a side of sour cream or extra cheese. “I need a ring-up for that side of bbq”
Pre-bus – constantly taking empty plates or cups off of a table as they are eating so it doesn’t get cluttered.
Spot-sweep – quickly sweeping up anything easily seen on the floor. Not a detailed sweep.
Tit-up on a raft=two eggs over easy and bacon
How fun!
A couple of additions, It has been a WHILE since I worked in this industry, but I visit many restaurants Many of them ‘regularly’
First is the funniest….
-Crop Dusting- Intentionally passing gas, while walking past a table at the front of house, so as to discourage a customers’ patronage
-Regular- a person or person that visits the joint several times a week or month (may even prefer a specific seat), knows employees by name, many times managers will even stop by for a sit. MAY receive preferential treatment, or, the complete opposite…see redneck, perhaps related to, or expects…other times, an owners greatest asset. See ‘Kitty, cat, big dog’
-Stiff- somebody that didnt pay their check or tip their server.
-Cat, kitty, or ‘big dog’- In reference to ‘fat cat’, a customer that traditionally OVER tips, never sends anything back, and is more there for the ’social’ aspect of perhaps flirting with the 20 years junior server. This works BOTH SEXES. These customers typically are not concerned that they put you in the weeds
-Rug Rat- small child that is going to make a MESS of the table
-Curtain Crawler- a slightly older child, that runs amok around the joint irritating and annoying other customers. ALWAYS accompanied by the:
-Daycare provider- A customer that ALLOWS the curtain crawler to run amok, could even be a parent, completely aloof that their little kid just crawled under your table in an attempt to obtain a previously dropped crayon, or sugar packet, or a discarded crouton.
-Scammer- A customer that eats most of their plate, then requests ‘the manager’, to complain about the food, the service, etc. in an attempt to obtain a ‘comp’. See ‘Screamer’
-Dish Pig- the poor, unfortunate soul that washes and sterilizes dishes and cookware.
-Deep Six- Requesting the dish pig to double wash in extra hot water, perhaps two or three times, a cooking or eating utensil that went dry on the line, or sat in a dish tub too long, and has the crusties, or, worst of all, went into the walk-in and was forgotten. The manager has to put that to:…
-Sod- That pan of chili sat in the walk in for so long, it went to sod, as in ‘grew hair’, molded, and not only the product in it, but the container must be discarded.
-Spoilage- food product that must be discarded due to excessive time on the line, in the walk in, temperature or ‘misfire’.
-Funkified- The smell of ones shoes, when worn multiple shifts in this industry, that becomes so severe that one can not wear them in a ‘non-restaurant’ environment without fear that you are not the only person that can smell them. May ALSO apply to any part of a ‘uniform’ item that is not regularly cleaned or cleanable.
-Misfire (shooting blanks)- an item of food that the cook/chef usually admittedly discards, having incorrectly applied temperature or timing…must apply to ’spoilage’.
-Afterburner-Somewhat dual meaning. The most elastic part of a custard or any egg mixture that ’strings out’ while whipping and remains in the bowl, OR, the more popular, the little morsels that ‘fell off’ the most premium food items. That super crunch french fry that stuck in the basket for 3 rounds.
-Clam dip- A person in authority, that is attempting to, or successfully IS, sleeping with an employee on the basis that they will fire them if they dont. UGH
-Princess/Prince- the female or male that is subject of the ‘clam dip’, that obtains best shifts based on clam dip
-Short- When the amount of money taken in at the close of drawer by ticket, does not match the money in ones till. Often times a result of being in the weeds, and neglecting to run a card, or over-pouring at the bar
-Shift Drink- The comp expected from the manager when one is ‘off shift’, and usually relegated to some unseen portion of the room.
-Family Meal- Occurs ‘after close’, When ManagementOwners Chefs/cooks, bartenders, servers, dish pigs, bussers, illegals, everybody involved, maybe switches rolls, but all bets are off for who goes where and does what. Free for all, followed by much conversation, usually awesome food, perhaps a hook up or two, and MUCH bitching and conversation about this industry that some of us take as a job, many of us ADORE
Ones that I would like to know: I cant remember, or deserve names:
-That ONE trash can, that stays out of sight, hopefully outside, but there is another on the line usually less severe, that all of the ’spoilage’ goes into. Dish Pig usually will not even touch. This is the rottenest of the rotten, the fly breeder, the absolute worst, where one thinks they may need some sort of decontamination treatment or perhaps a chemo session if even come within 5 feet of. That deserves a name
-The rat bastard server that knows they are 6 back in an ‘all day’, and pulls your plate out of the window and drops it, plays dumb that they thought their ticket was up. He/She deserves a title
-The server or other employee that turns into a ‘regular’, creeepy!
-Customers or co-workers that spend WAY too much time in the restroom. ‘Nuff said
-I would call this ‘Scalper’, but any employee that gives extra servings, overly large portions, doubles in the place of singles, etc.on a regular basis, in hopes of a larger tip…May also be subject of, or an instigator of, a clam dip and gets away with it
Thanks for this random page. I have enjoyed a laugh or two.
-Steve
An asst manager from houston who would work expo on the servers side would call out,”I need a one-handed runner”. Meaning a server walking by the window could run food even if one of their hands were full because it was such a small carry…
“make me a hero” used by expediters to notify to the cooks that all they need to sell this ticket is one last item. so if all they needed to complete the order was a med rare steak the expediter might yell out,” filet med rare makes me a hero”
” I need a re-plate”.
“split 3-ways”-when a table orders one entree and gets it split on three plates…really.
“papas”- spanish for potatoes. used instead of “mashed potatoes”. I need a side of “papas.”
“push 88″- I’m sure this one is specific to my restaurant but other restaurants probably have their own version of the same. In a restaurant with an “open, exhibition kitchen” where the kitchen is exposed to the dining room and cooks can see all the customers, and a beautiful lady walks by, a fellow cook might yell out,” PUSH 88″ and this is to call attention to the front to make sure all the kitchen gets a fair chance to see.
WOW – a HUGE addition to the list – thanks Steve!
I like Push 88 – never heard that one before!
Working a “dv” shift; declining volume, when it gets slow the person gets cut.
“Monday’s”- a table of undesirable customers ( everybody hates Monday ’s, back to work day)
A “top chef”- a customer that thinks they are a chef because they watch a lot of the food network.
“daddy” or “mommy” – the restaurant owner that you like ( daddy needs a filet medrare on the fly)
That’s all I can think of right now, had a long shift! Can’t remember the term we used when you had to substitute something because of a mistake, was it system 7?
Does anyone know what a 131 is? I don’t!!! LOL!!
Tax it….Tax it refers to taking and eating a small piece of food from a customers order, when it is in the window, before being delivered to the customer.
Ex. Clam strips for tbl 14 are up. Hang on, before you run that, I’m gonna tax it.
Well (noun)- Containers filled with ice used in drinks doubling to cool the drinks used for the guns through heat transferring metal
Gun (noun)- A spray nozzle connected with a hose supplying coke, diet coke, tonic, soda, ginger ale etc..
Burn the Well (Verb)- To pour hot water into the well melting the ice in order to clean it. Usually done after accidentally breaking a glass over it.
Tickets (noun) the receipt of someones order
The Rail (noun) A metal rail in the Kitchen on the service line to slip in tickets that are or will be cooked to give the full kitchen view of the order. Always place in order of tickets received from left to right. ( To Rail- to move a new ticket the furthest left on the rail thus increasing its priority)
Turning/Flipping Tickets (Verb)- To turn the latest tickets on the rail around to the blank side so as to stay organized and worry about current orders intending to turn them back when caught up to the order influx.
Modifier (noun) A person or an order with a special request to change/remove/or add an item to a dish contrary to how it is sold on the menu.
Auto-Grad (Noun)- Automatic Gratuity added to tickets of parties of eight or more that are required to be only one check for the ease of the restaurant of always 18%. Can be removed if the server feels his table would be willing to tip more. (mostly used on large parties of foreigners).
We use a term, and yes, it is gauche, ‘Canadian’ for tables that, at sight, one can tell will either stiff or drop two dollars.
Servers, I need not say more.
what is gooseneck and what is tray-jack?
Thanks for your help
I’m from the northern regions, and the term ‘Canadian’ is well-known indeed. Here’s another:
Phase (verb): to be be sent home before the end of a scheduled shift, as in “It was slow last night, so Sheila phased me at eight”.
@ patty, a gooseneck is a type of ramekin that loosely resembles a goose and is about the size of two smaller ramekins.
Here’s one i haven’t seen listed above:
Torch: noun: blow torch used for creme brulee’s and other finishing touches on desserts to caramelize sugars