It’s Spelled S-T-E-E-Z-E, Part II

Hey guys, same steeze as before...more kitchen "vehnack," I.e. terminology for you to wrap your heads around...

On-Back: On-Back is usually the second course part of a ticket. Some people say different things, but when I call tickets, I prefer to say, "on-back." For example, "Order-Fire: Two Special App; One Caesar Salad; One Cheese Plate and One Chilled Soup, no Crispy Shallots. On-Back: Two Roast Chicken, One Fish; One Pork; Two Side Rice; One Side Bean and One Side Potato." This is also an example of a non-donkey ticket, because it isn't order-fire, there aren't any weird substitutions and no one at the table has taken it upon themselves to do something strange (read, donkey), like order a Cheese Plate with the Mains or a Side of Potatoes with their starters.

Fire: Fire is the call given when it comes time to start preparing the second courses on a specific ticket. Usually, a waitress will come to the pass and say, "Fire mains on 12, please," although in larger restaurants waitresses will usually input the fire request into the computer and a ticket will come out of the machine.
This isn't always hard-and-fast; however, as sometimes the chef or Expediter will take it upon themselves to fire a ticket. This is usually done if a fair amount of time has gone by and the server has not fired a ticket. It also happens if there are a lot of tickets hanging and none of them are fired. This preemptive firing of a table can ensure servers don't fire tickets piecemeal; i.e. Firing one table in their section and then another a minute later and then another two minutes later.

Fire the Board: There are times when you may have a lot, or just a few, tickets hanging and either the servers fire all of those tickets or again, the chef or Expediter decides to fire those tickets. Calling out to the kitchen that, "the board is fired!" or to, "fire the board," alerts all kitchen personnel that it's time to get live, because all the dormant tickets hanging, now have dishes that need to prepared and sent out. Depending on how many tickets are fired and how many tickets come out of the machine during this time; this time period can also be known as, "a crush."

Dig Out: When you Dig Out, it means that you've had a whole bunch of tickets fired within a short amount of time and you're trying your best to come up on (i.e. compose, plate & send out) all the dishes in a short amount of time. For example, I had to Dig Out on Wednesday night, when I was fired on: 2 Special Desserts; 2 Apple Pies; 1 Mousse; 2 Spinach Salads; 3 Kale Salads; 1 Head Cheese; 1 Side Potato; 1 Special Soup; 1 Special Salad and 1 Market Salad...plus worrying about garnishing and sending out every main course that came past me. Suffice it to say, it's a whole fuckin' lot and even the best of us get behind. And when we get behind, we have to dig out. Long-story-short, you're digging yourself out of the hole you're in.

Hard: If something is working Hard or coming Hard, it means that particular thing is close to being plated. Either, it's a salad about to come out of the bowl, or a chicken about to come out of the hot oven. This call is usually given on a big table as a way to let your line-mates know what's going on, or that they may need to hurry up.

Come On: I will often ask, or be told, “I'm coming on table X.” This means that, that particular table will be coming out soon and I need to have the dishes I'm responsible for, on that ticket, ready to go. Incidentally, this can make for many jokes, as cooks are want to do; such as asking, “Are you coming on those balls for 12?”
“Yeah, coming hard!”
“Oh man, you're fucking gross!”

True Story: A True Story is an answer in the affirmative, so if my chef asks me, “are you done with the blank sauce for the fish, so we can run it?” or, “we’re Eighty-Sixed on the Special, right?” I can answer in the affirmative, by saying, "that's a true story."
Incidentally, this also works for everyday interactions with people; as I have often times found myself answering a question, such as: "you're not really an asshole, you just hold others to the same high standard you hold yourself, right?" The answer to that question...? That's a true story.

What's on My Mind This Week?

Thinking about my end-of-the-night-sandwiches, and how I can explain to you guys what happens when we've got leftovers and my mind runs amok.
Also, a bit curious about the new "restaurant/club" that's opening up in the old Nell's spot (Plumm, for you youngsters), because I kinda feel like restaurants and clubs go together about as well as a bag full of cats!