That quiet server comment about prep lists made me rethink my whole system

Last Saturday during the dinner rush I overheard our new server tell the expo that my prep list looked like a maze. She said it took her 3 minutes just to find where the chives were labeled. I've been running the same laminated sheet for 8 years since I worked at a spot in Portland. It made sense to me because I wrote it, but nobody else could read it. I spent Sunday rewriting it with bigger sections and color coded stickers for each station. We tested it tonight and the backup guy found the shallots in about 10 seconds. Has anyone else had a front of house person catch a kitchen system that was broken the whole time?

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ray_mitchell20d ago

So what happens when the new server is wrong and your old system was actually fine? Eight years of muscle memory is worth something, and now you've got color coded stickers that will peel off in a hot dish pit within two weeks. I've seen guys chase every bit of feedback from the front of house and end up with a prep list that's pretty to look at but slower for the people actually cooking. The server isn't the one breaking down the walk-in at midnight, she just walks by your station a few times a shift. Three minutes to find chives sounds like a her problem more than a you problem, since a cook would just ask instead of standing there reading. Maybe the fix wasn't the list, maybe it was just telling her where stuff is.

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