How do you run a line check before service?
A line check is a short walk down the line before service, to make sure every station is stocked, labeled, and ready. Walk it in the same order every day, one station at a time, and write down what is short.
What is a line check?
The line is the row of stations where the cooks work: grill, saute, fry, cold, and so on. A line check is a short walk down that row right before service. You look at each station and ask one question. Is it ready?
It is not a big inspection. It is a quick look by someone who knows what ready looks like. The goal is to find a missing thing at four o’clock, not when the first ticket prints.
Who does the line check?
Pick one person and make it their job. It is often the chef or the sous chef. A senior cook can do it too.
Why one person? Because when everyone is responsible, no one is. The checker also learns what normal looks like for each station, and that makes the check faster and better each week.
Each cook also checks their own station first. The line check is the second look, not the first. Two sets of eyes catch more than one.
Pick Carlos in the pretend kitchen and say “86 the salmon.” Try the demo
In what order should you go?
Pick one order and keep it. Start at one end of the line and walk to the other. Same direction, same stations, same questions. Habit makes it fast.
At each station, check these things in order.
- Is the food there? Look at each pan and container. Is there enough for the first rush?
- Is it labeled? Every container should say what it is, who made it, and when to use it by. If you are not sure about the rules, check your local health department for the rules in your area.
- Does it look right? Look and smell. Does the food look fresh? Does the sauce look the way it should?
- Are the tools ready? Tongs, spoons, towels, and clean pans. Is anything missing or dirty?
- Is the station clean? The board is wiped. The floor is clear. The trash is not full.
- Is anything low? Ask the cook: what will you run out of first?
Taste a few things, too. Pick two or three sauces or soups a day and taste them. Do not taste everything. Rotate, so over a week you taste most things.
What do you do with what you find?
Write it down. A line check that lives in your head will be forgotten by the first ticket.
Use a short list with three columns: what, which station, and who fixes it. Fix small things on the spot. Hand bigger things to the cook or the chef. If something is out, tell the floor at once. See what 86 means in a kitchen for how to call it.
Close the loop. When the thing is fixed, cross it off. If it is still open at the start of service, the chef decides: swap it, change the menu, or 86 the dish.
When should the line check happen?
Leave enough time to fix what you find. A check that ends five minutes before the doors open leaves no room. Plan for a gap.
Do it at the same time every day, so it is a habit and not a surprise. Many kitchens do it right before line-up, so the chef can share the news with the whole team. Pick what fits your day.
If you open for lunch and dinner, check before both. The line looks different after a lunch rush, and dinner needs its own look.
How do you trust a cook who says "we are low"?
The line check often turns up a cook who says, “We’re low on romaine.” That is useful. It also might be wrong. A cook may be looking at one container while there is more in the walk-in.
The chef does not need to count every time. But the chef should know when the cook’s word and the count do not match. A simple rule works: the cook calls it, and the chef double checks when the numbers look odd.
That keeps trust in both directions. The cook is not doubted, and the chef is not surprised.
How does Heard help with the double check?
When a cook says low, Heard checks the count first. If the count says there is plenty, it leaves the item alone and asks the chef before it changes anything. The question waits on the chef’s Checks screen. An 86 still goes through. If the count says there is plenty, the chef gets asked too. Read more on the chef double checks page.
The chef can turn the checks off in Settings. Try the demo, pick Carlos, and say “86 the salmon.” Then pick Chef Maya and open Checks.
Quick questions
What is a line check?
It is a short walk down the line before service to make sure each station is stocked, labeled, and ready.
Who should do the line check?
One person whose job it is, often the chef or sous chef. Each cook also checks their own station first.
What do you do if you find something missing?
Write it down, fix small things on the spot, and tell the floor if something is out.