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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Service & Plating

Service

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ˈsɜːrvɪs/nounCore term

In culinary arts & cooking, service means: The period when a restaurant is open and the kitchen is cooking and sending out orders, such as lunch service or dinner service.

In Turkish: servis, servis saati

How it is used

Kitchen life is organised around service: prep before service, during service, after service. Chefs call "Service!" or "Service, please!" when plates on the pass are ready to be taken. A busy night is a heavy or hard service.

Example sentences

  1. All prep has to be finished thirty minutes before service.

  2. We did 180 covers at dinner service last night.

Common collocations

  • before service
  • during service
  • lunch service
  • dinner service
  • busy service
  • passThe counter between the kitchen and the dining room where finished plates are checked, often under heat lamps, before servers take them out.
  • mise en placeThe preparation and organisation of all ingredients and tools at a station before cooking or service begins. From French, meaning "putting in place".
  • coverOne guest's meal, used to count how many people a restaurant serves; also the place setting laid on the table for one guest.
  • front of houseThe parts of a restaurant that guests see, such as the dining room and bar, and the staff who work there: hosts, servers, bartenders and managers.

More terms: Service & Plating

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