If you’ve ever watched an episode of The Bear or even the reality show Hell’s Kitchen, you’ve probably heard language like “Yes, Chef,” “Hands,” and “All day.” While these phrases may go in one ear and out the other while watching, the lingo that chefs and staff use in the kitchen is essential to running a perfect operation. Think about how long it takes to say “Start cooking the pork chops” when you can say “Fire pork chops” instead.
In order to get a lesson on kitchen lingo from some true professionals, we turn to Chef Ed Smith of Palm Palm and Ritual House, Chef Dave Racicot from The Commoner, and Chefs Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo at F&F Pizzeria (opening soon in Mt. Lebanon).
Chefs Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo
So, Why Use Kitchen Lingo?
The attraction of this of slang goes beyond efficiency, but it does start there. Chef Ed Smith points out that these verbal shortcuts “Ensure clear, fast communication. Promote safety. Build team cohesion. Support consistency and accuracy. Sustain momentum under pressure. And overall, keep a busy kitchen running like a well-oiled machine.”
Not only is knowledge of this inventive idiom useful in the individual kitchens that these chefs work in, it stretches globally and connects food professionals everywhere.
“This lexicon has become standard because it relates to matters that are pretty much a constant part of kitchen life,” explain Chefs Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo. “Restaurants are also very diverse places, so having a kind of universal language that everyone either knows or can quickly master is vital.”
Chef Ed Smith (right)
What Does ‘All Day’ and Other Kitchen Lingo Mean?
So you might be wondering, what do all these phrases mean? In shows like The Bear with high drama and intense moments, it can be hard to catch what the characters are saying to one another. But, thankfully, all of their sayings are brought in from the real world so our chefs can lend us an extra hand.
“All day” and “86” are both important. They relate to knowing the amount of something that you have. “‘All day’ simply means how many of an item you have. This can either be dishes on hand, on the board, or on fire (cooking). ’86,’ on the other hand means that you are out of that item.” says Chef Dave Racicot.
Consider you have five orders for ravioli that just came into the kitchen but you already have five ravioli cooking. The sentence would correlate to, “10 ravioli all day.”
Chefs Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo also note that the term “86” isn’t just for food items either. The two explain, “It can, in rare but important instances, refer to a person that is no longer welcome on your premises. For instance, ‘We unfortunately had to 86 them for being so rude.’”
Two other common phrases you may hear are “Hands” and “Fire.” These are handy ones for chefs especially. “‘Hands’ is a call for someone to help run food or take a plate. You’ll usually hear it on the expo line to get dishes out fast,” says Chef Ed Smith. “‘Fire’ is easy, it just tells the staff to start cooking the dish.”
Selections from Palm Palm
Beyond “Yes, Chef”
But it’s not just the chefs and inner kitchen staff that use this language, it’s the servers and hosts too. For instance, “Corner/behind” is to alert other staff as a courtesy that you are coming around a corner or behind them. A lot of servers will also use “walking” to let the kitchen know they are taking a dish out to a table.
While these are just some of the universal kitchen lingo, many kitchens also create their own lingo to use within their space.
“There is one term that is unique to us,” says Chefs Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo. “We refer to our Carroll Gardens block in Brooklyn, which houses three restaurants, several offices in the apartments above them, a popular garden for events, and numerous kitchens as ‘campus.’ So we’ll say, ‘I’m thinking of swinging by campus to say hello on my day off.’”
“We use ‘OUI’ for most of our communications,” explains Chef Dave Racicot. “For us, it’s either a response that you heard a command or posed as a question.”
Even Chef Ed Smith at Ritual House and Palm Palm uses a Pittsburgh-inspired phrase. “‘Kennywood sweep’ is one of our personal ones,” says Chef Ed Smith. “This calls for a line sweep to spot clean the floor.”
Pizza from F&F Pizzeria
Behind the Scenes
All of the language above comes together to support creating the magic that ends up on your plate. So anytime you’re watching a cooking show or even sitting down to a restaurant meal, consider the words, time, and effort that go into the output.
“Every dish is timed down to the second, and one small delay can throw off the whole rhythm,” says Chef Ed Smith. “It’s not just cooking—it’s choreography under pressure. No one person makes your meal. From prep cooks to dishwashers, the final plate reflects the effort of many hands moving in sync. Even the best-run kitchens drop the ball occasionally. Grace goes a long way, especially when we’re doing everything we can to make it right. In short, behind the scenes is a world of passion, pressure, and precision. When it all comes together, it’s magic—but it’s never as effortless as it looks.”
Story by Kylie Thomas
Featured Image by Jonathan Borba
Photos Courtesy of Laura Petrilla, Palm Palm, and F&F Pizzeria
Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition.
