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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Service & Plating

On the fly

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

phraseCommon term

In culinary arts & cooking, on the fly means: In kitchen slang, needing to be prepared immediately, often outside the normal order sequence.

In Turkish: çok acil olarak

How it is used

Common for urgent additions or replacements; informal language for staff communication.

Example sentences

  1. I need one vegetable side on the fly for table eight.

    The call marks an item that needs exceptional urgency.

  2. They made the replacement sauce on the fly.

    The phrase describes rapid work outside normal preparation timing.

Common collocations

  • need it on the fly
  • prepare on the fly
  • fireIn a kitchen, to start cooking a dish or a course for a table, called out by the chef at the pass when the timing is right.
  • serviceThe period when a restaurant is open and the kitchen is cooking and sending out orders, such as lunch service or dinner service.

More terms: Service & Plating

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