KITCHEN ORDER TICKET (KOT)

 KITCHEN ORDER TICKET (KOT)

KOT is a written document which is given to the kitchen in exchange of any dish or any item picked up from the kitchen. KOT is prepared by food service personnel to intimate the food order of the guest to the kitchen staff. It helps in serving the right order to the right person. The KOT consists of details such as table number, covers, name of the waiter, date, time, items ordered, and its quantity. Usually, all the KOTs are serially numbered for control purpose. The food check may be duplicate or triplicate depending on the size and style of the organization.

 

A KOT is written as follows:

The order is written along the lines and not up or down.

Indication is given between the courses.

If a few lines are left in KOT, that space is struck off.

Quantity of each dish is written in words rather than the numbers….

 

Importance:

Establishes appropriate co-ordination between the kitchen &service personnel.

Helps to avoid chaos or confusion at the food pick up counter.

It establishes accountability.

Facilitates proper control system.

Helps to raise a bill for settlement

A post analyses will give an exact idea about the high selling and non-selling dishes on a menu card.

 

Types of KOT (Bill Control System)

1) TRIPLICATE CHECKING METHOD:

This system is traditional and time tested and very efficient and still is vogue. As the name implies, the food check has 3 copies. Each copy has same serial number on them, and be off different color for easy identification and demarcation. Once the order is recorded on the KOT, the first copy goes to the kitchen or the dispense bar on the basis of which the order is prepared. Once the waiter picks up the order, the KOT copy is dropped in to the control box, which is always kept locked. Control box is maintained by the food and beverage control department to prevent any kind of fraud and malpractice.

 

The second copy is given to the cashier, and based on that the bill is prepared, which has 2 copies. The first copy of the bill goes to guest and another copy is retained by the cashier the cashier attached the 2nd copy of KOT to the 2nd copy of the bill and submits it along with sales summary to the food and beverage controls at the end of the day.

 

The 3rd copy of KOT remains with the waiter in the KOT book for reference and checking up the order during service. It may be called for auditing at any time by the control department.

 

 

Flowchart of Triplicate Checking Method

 

2) DUPLICATE CHECKING METHOD:

This kind of checking method is used in small hotels, Cafés, and popular restaurants. As the name implies the KOT book has 2 copies. The first copy is sent to the kitchen on the basis of which the order is prepared. When the waiter picks up the order, the first copy is dropped in to the control box for auditing by the control department.

 

The waiter retains the second copy as a means of reference during the service. When guest requests for the billing, the waiter or cashier sum up all the rates on the 2nd copy of KOT and presents the same to the guest as the bill.

 

In a few organizations, the copy has four to five perforated slips. The waiter writes down the food order course wise on different perforated slips. As and when each course is required that particular slip is torn off and given at the hot plate. Every slip has a waiter number, table number, serial number and date. When the food is ready, the Aboyer keeps the particular slip along with the food to avoid confusion.

 

3) SINGLE ORDER SHEET:

This system is used in cafés, quick turn over restaurants, departmental stores, and taken away establishments; usually the menu is very limited with little or no choice. Many organizations following this system may have order sheet printed with the menu, after taking the order from the guests, the waiter writes it on KOT and calls for the order verbally over the hot plate. When the guest requests for the bill the waiter prices the order sheet and hand over to them as a bill. While leaving the restaurants, the guest submits the bill to the cashier and pays the amount. The cashier retains the bill for control purpose.

 

4) SERVICE WITH ORDER:

This system of ordering is used in fast food joints, taken away, cafeterias, etc. Here the menu offered in the establishment is displayed in wall mounted boards. The guests choose what they want to eat and then order that. The person at the cash counter make the bill collects the cash, stamp the “bill received” and hand it over to the guest. The guest goes to respective food counter and collects the dishes against the bill. After delivering the order the person at the food counter stamps the bill “delivered” and hand it over to the guest.

 

Traditional methods are complicated but still used today

In the traditional method, there used to be three copies of a Kitchen Order Ticket. One ticket went to the Kitchen based on which orders were prepared, after which this ticket got stored for audit purposes and records. The cashier got the second copy of the KOT to generate the customer and restaurant copy of the bill. The third copy was retained by servers. For easier recognition and less confusion, many restaurants used different colors for different types of KOTs that were generated.

Eventually, these would get thrown into the trash after all details on the Kitchen Order Tickets got recorded on the main system.

Cut to 2019 – Digital Kitchen Order Ticket

Given that most restaurants today are going digital, paper Kitchen Order Tickets are slowly becoming a thing of the past. With the introduction of modern Point of Sale systems, order management has improved greatly.

Why your restaurant needs Digital / Automated KOTs?

Using a Kitchen Display System at your restaurant kitchen helps in getting rid of paper KOTs and digitalizes your Kitchen Order Ticket system. 

1. Better time conservation

The time which was earlier spent in bringing each order to the kitchen is now saved with automated KOT systems. All the incoming orders are managed centrally on the POS system, from anywhere in the restaurant. Orders are then neatly organized on the screen specifying the time of orders. The kitchen staff can better prioritize incoming orders. 

2. Increased efficiency with aligned processes

Now that individual staff’s responsibilities are clearly defined, preparation and execution of orders become systematic. There’s clear communication between the restaurant staff. The order status can be followed by the entire team and once the order is prepared, chefs inform the waiters about the same. Each employee is able to focus on their functions better. There is no scope of confusion or repetition, making the processes neatly aligned.  

3. No more messed up orders

Digitalizing the process reduces the chances of manual errors. With digital KOTs, the front and back of the house are in complete sync.  The meals are not prepared in a hurry. And servers know the orders of tables assigned to them.

4. Minimum waste produced

All kitchen order tickets, online or otherwise are shown on the KDS screens. As a result, no extra dishes are cooked. Servers no longer have to manually note down orders. Instead, they can conveniently take down the orders on handheld POS devices. Imagine the number of trees you can save once you stop using paper KOTs.

5. Higher sales and lower expenses

Now that the flow of orders is smooth and streamlined, orders are completed quickly. Your restaurant’s sales will naturally increase if more tables are served. Apart from this, unnecessary costs like buying paper for writing down and printing Kitchen Order Tickets get reduced largely. Labor costs also go down with an electronic KOT system.