MICROS

MICROS is the quintessential gadget in a commercial kichen. It is the central link, the common denomintaor that allows everyone on the team to 'talk to each other'. The key functions it deploys are (1) taking orders from the floor staff and immediately transmit to all units, from 'soup to nuts' as the expression goes and diners are labelled as Seat 1, Seat 2 etc Seat 0 means sharing a plate like side dishes of veggies (2) highlighting preferences like no garlic, no cream, light on spices (3) monitoring the duration between courses like calling in a second or main course. Throughout service the slips, or dockets rather, will simultaneously emerge from 6 different locations around the kitchen ie cold larder, hot appetizers, grill, seafood, veggies & pastas, desserts. There is even one in the basement prep room  in case anyone missed anything. The Micros may be extremely low-tech but it is the first equipment any one who aspires a cooking career must learn to use.

The Micros modus operandi reminds me of a symphony orchestra, as follows ....

* Donovan is the Conductor at the Pass, the Micros becomes his baton
* Head Chef is the Concert Master who has 6 pairs of eyes, one on each Section
* Section Leaders are like Principal players in strings, woodwinds, percussions etc
* Dockets are music scores, highlighting how each performance is to be played
* Diners are the audience who, of course, judges with their palate vs the auditory function

The Micrso is sacrosant and I get a distinct feeling the entire crew, from Donovan down (especially him as a matter of fact) is totally obssessed with it, probably from years of conditioning. Everytime it 'speaks', like a telex or ticker tape machine from yester years, those around it would jump, would eagerly grab the docket, and would instinctively act on the commands. A very Pavlovian behavior indeed, I was in awe just watching the process, it is meserizing!