In the fast-paced environment of a professional dining room, communication has to be lightning-fast. To an outsider, restaurant jargon can sound like a secret code, but these terms are actually the gears that keep a business profitable. Two of the most essential terms you’ll hear are covers and tops. While they are often used in … Read more
A sous chef in a professional restaurant or hotel kitchen is the second in command of the kitchen staff, under the Chef de Cuisine, executive chef, or head chef. The French word sous, in this term, means under, while chef means “chief.” The sous chef or “under-chief” is responsible for much of what happens in the … Read more
When a particular item cooked in a restaurant kitchen is not fit to serve it may be said to have “died.” For example, a fried item like calamari is meant to be crispy on the outside and not soggy. If it waits too long after being cooked, it will become limp and soggy instead of … Read more
You may have noticed that waiters often squat down when first approaching your table at a restaurant and greet you while in this squatted position. Why do they do this? There are some practical reasons for this behavior, but the main reason is purely psychological. There are good reasons to squat, as long as it’s … Read more
Restaurants are fairly familiar and routine experiences for most of us. If you’ve been to a few, you will feel fairly comfortable with the procedure, as it were, for dining in a restaurant. You are seated by a host, or you choose your own seat. A server approaches your table, introduces themselves, and asks you … Read more
Many diners at Asian restaurants believe that it is proper to rub your chopsticks together before eating. They even believe this is part of Asian tradition whether Chinese, Japanese, or other Asian culture. If asked why they do this, they will explain either that it is customary or that it is necessary to remove splinters … Read more