Last Updated on May 17, 2023 by Shari Mason
Kitchens are one hell of a busy area, especially in a public restaurant. Good thing, kitchen codes help each staff communicate comprehensively despite the rush and hassle.
One of the most used kitchen codes is “All Day.”
You may have heard of it a couple of times when you dine at an open kitchen restaurant and wonder, “what does All Day mean in a kitchen?”.
We cracked the code for you, so read on.
All-Day Definition in a Kitchen
“All Day” is a chef slang used in restaurants to tell the total number of same orders needed to prepare. [1]
As the tickets are coming in, the chef will shout the orders needed, followed by “all day,”—means “total orders at present.”
For example, if there are four orders of salad on one ticket and five on another, they’ve got nine orders of salad all day or nine orders of salad at the current ticket rail.
Read: How Does A Ghost Kitchen Work?
Origin of “All Day”
There is no etymology of “All Day,” but it is believed that some older kitchen slang may have been used by cooks and kitchen staff as early as the 1880s.
Restaurants in that decade started to boom, and a wider variety of food was introduced to people in the city.
“I think pressure’s healthy, and very few can handle it.”
– Gordon Ramsay, Multi-Michelin Awarded British Chef
As language progressed through the decades, slang words evolved, adapted, and developed.
Some older kitchen slangs were tongue-twisting, but they’re all key to back-in-the-house communication.
Read: How To Be A Line Cook With No Experience?
Is All Day a Kitchen Slang?
Yes, ‘All Day’ is kitchen slang used in a busy restaurant with many tickets or orders. Chefs primarily use it after sorting all the tickets on a rail to make quick commands.
The restaurant staff only uses kitchen slang. They are codes that help communicate quickly with each team on a hectic day.
Find out if Gordon Ramsay is still a Michelin-star chef here.
How To Use It In A Sentence
- “We’ve got two salmon at table two, three at table five, and one at table six. Therefore, we have six orders of salmon all day.”
- “Three parmesan eggplant all day, two antipasto salads all day, three lemony tuna all day.”
- “I need four mac and cheese all day!”
- “Yes, chef. There are four chicken cacciatore all day, three garlic pasta all day, and two ribeye steak all day.”
Synonyms for All Day In A Kitchen
The synonyms of “all day” in the kitchen are total, overall, combined, complete, entire, whole, sum, or gross orders. All Day means the total number of the same orders in a ticket rail.
“All Day” in the kitchen doesn’t mean you’re spending the whole day in the kitchen. It means the total number of one particular order in the ticket rail.
It is the simplified term of the combined orders of the same menu at the moment.
Read: How To Be A Line Cook With No Experience?
FAQs
In what situation should you use “all day”?
You should use “all day” if you’ve got multiple orders of the same menu item from different tickets in the current rail.
It is to simplify the command so the cooks will not be confused about the number of orders. All day is the most used chef slang in the kitchen.
Is there an incorrect way to use “all day”?
Yes, there is an incorrect way of using “all day” in the kitchen. Adding “all day” at the end of every ordered dish is forbidden as it may confuse cooks.
Like, “Two salads at table 2 all day and three salads at table 4 all day.”
Final Words
Generally, “All Day” is part of the diner lingo or kitchen slang used to communicate freely and comprehensively inside the kitchen of every restaurant.
All Day slang combines the same orders in a ticket rail to simplify the commands and speed up the preparation.
Kitchens in most restaurants are always hectic, and using chef’s slang like “all day” is the key to kitchen communication.
Reference:
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