For the next vocabulary lesson I've decided to clarify two concepts less likely to be used at home, but still good knowledge to have. Today we're talking about "running the line" (or "running the expo") and the verb phrase "sell it".
To "run the line" or "expo", which itself is an abbreviation and changing of the verb "expedite" to a noun, is to organize the food that is being put into the "window" into the specific orders and tables. The window is the structure that accumulates food and separates the cooking area and the line cooks from the area where the food is taken to tables.
Being an expo can be extraordinarily hard work. Sometimes you'll need a few extra hands, and during those times you'll definitely need a posse of well-trained food-runners to make sure the entrees don't get cold waiting. "Running the line" is the phrase I'll use from time to time to explain the background of why something is known as this or that, as sometimes the view from someone running the line is from where certain things derive their names.
The next term is another verb phrase and is also less likely to be used in the home, but in future anecdotes it will help to understand it. It is "sell it". When a line cook instructs the runner of the line that the food is finally done working hard, and can start being sent to the table, they shout, "Sell it!" Selling it means that even if the entree is still in the pan, it is close enough to being done that you can start sending the other entrees out to the table.
Like "working hard" is a promise, "sell it" is another promise, but just past working hard, into the realm of "now I really mean it, this is done, you can start sending it out".
Since home cooking meals don't really have the same time crunch that you get in the restaurant, selling it is a little out of place, as is running the line, since obviously the purpose and setups are different.
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