"86"ing and other kitchen jargon

Reactions from a scene in “Office Space”:

“Ha. He’s going to fabricate the fish on his desk!”

“He’s going to do what?”

“She meant he’s going to gut the fish on his desk?

“Oh”

Like any field, cooking has it’s own terminology. And when you get a bunch of chefs together you may not think they were talking about food.

If you ever want to pass for a professional cook, or just confuse your friends, here are some of the terms that are used in a professional kitchen:


86 the (insert dish name here):
to take off the many because there are no more left

In the hole:
a table has ordered a dish that is being served either second, third, or so on

In the weeds:
when you get lots of orders and you are falling behind in your cooking

Fire:
to make; start cooking

Hold the fire:
don’t make until chef tells you to fire dish

On the fly:
dish is to made first and quickly

Pick up:
now you will be making the dishes that were in “the hole”

In the window:
food is placed on a shelf under the heat lamps and ready to be taken out

Expo:
short for “expediter”, this person shouts the orders to each cooking station and is responsible for all food being sent
out to customers

If you ever find yourself in a professional kitchen, you’ll be sure to hear these terms. Use them in the kitchen and the cooks will be impressed…use them at home and no one will have any idea what you’re talking about!

enjoy and be curious!