1. Restaurant Lingo

2. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
Campers
Buried
In the Weeds
Comp
Covers
Cremated
Double
Dupe
Drop
VIP
‘The Man”
Still Mooing
Hockey Puck
Mispick
No Show
Nuke It
On the Fly
Party
Push
Rollup
Side work
Slammed
Starch
Station
Window
Drop food 86
Expo
Fire
Turn & Burn
Table Turn
Tare
Walk-in
Behind
2-top
Distribute Handout: “What Do These Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?” Explain that the restaurant industry has what appears to be everyday terms, but in the restaurant, these terms hold a completely different meaning.

3. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
*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. *Buried – Way behind, Overwhelmed * In the Weeds – 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

4. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
* 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.”
* 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

5. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
Double – Two shifts in a row.  “I’m exhausted, I just pulled a double.
* Dupe – The ticket/information that gets submitted to the kitchen so the cooks can cook orders of food.
* 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.”

6. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
Eighty-six, 86 – “We’re out of Halibut, 86 it!” 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!”

7. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
* Turn & Burn – Turn a table quickly (usually because there is a long waiting list for tables). see Table Turn * 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.

8. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
*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.

9. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
*2-Top – the number in a dining party is two. For example, an eight top is a dining party of eight. A three top is a party of three. *Behind- Term used to indicate proximity to another worker in order to prevent a collision or accident. Other terms: “Coming through”, “Hot Food”, “Door!”

10. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
* 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. * 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.

11. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
* Still Moving or Still Mooing – Ultra rare, “they want the tender (tenderloin) still Mooing.”
* Hockey Puck – A well done hamburger

12. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
* 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

13. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
* 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.” * Party – A group of people at a table * Push- “Sell” it. Put it in the window or “We only have two orders of sole left, push it.”

14. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
* Rollup – Silverware rolled into a napkin, usually linen but can be paper.
Sidework – Work performed by front of the house staff  (e.g., refilling salt and pepper shakers, polishing silverware).
* Station – the set number of tables waited on by a particular server

15. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
* Starch – starch can be potatoes, rice, grain or pasta, the other accompaniment besides the “Veg” to an plated meal. *Slammed – Busy. Perhaps not as out of control as “in the weeds”

16. What do these Terms Mean in the Restaurant Industry?
*SOS–sauce on the side *Hold–to leave something off *Sub–to substitute one menu choice for another