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Using the kitchen screen

Add-on

The kitchen screen is standard in every plan. What the Multiple Kitchens add-on adds is the per-kitchen filter described below — without it, one screen shows everything. See What's included, and what's an add-on.

What this is for​

Working from a screen rather than a spike of printed tickets. Orders arrive live, statuses update for everyone at once, and nothing gets lost under a hot lamp.

Open it from KOT in the sidebar.

What a cook sees​

Tickets, newest work first. Each shows:

  • The order number and KOT number.
  • The table or order type.
  • The items and quantities.
  • Special instructions against the dish they belong to.
  • Its current status.

Tickets arrive on their own. Nobody has to refresh.

Working a ticket​

ActionWhen
Start CookingYou've picked it up and started.
Mark as ReadyIt's on the pass.
UndoYou marked something too early.

Marking ready is what tells the floor to come and collect. It's the single most useful habit to build — a dish sitting ready and unannounced is the most common way food goes out cold.

Item-level status​

With Enable Item Level Status switched on under Settings › KOT, each dish carries its own status rather than the whole ticket moving at once.

Worth it when:

  • Courses leave at different times.
  • Several sections work the same ticket.
  • You want to see which item is holding a table up.

Unnecessary in a small kitchen sending complete tables together — it's more taps for no extra information.

Filtering by kitchen​

With multiple kitchens, the screen filters to one:

  • Select Kitchen shows only that station's tickets — a screen at the grill showing grill work.
  • All Kitchen KOT shows everything, which is the view for a head chef or an expeditor watching the whole pass.

A screen per station, each filtered to its own kitchen, is the setup this is designed for.

Finding and filtering​

Search runs across items, waiters and tables — useful when the floor asks about one table specifically.

Tickets can also be filtered by date range and order status, which is mostly for looking back rather than during service.

Cancelling from the screen​

Cancel KOT stops a whole ticket; Cancel KOT Item stops one dish. Both require a reason, both are recorded, and neither can be undone. See Refunds and cancellations.

Setting up a screen​

  1. Put a monitor or tablet where the section works — readable from where they stand, out of the splash zone.
  2. Sign in on it.
  3. Open KOT and select that station's kitchen.
  4. Set the device never to sleep.

Practical notes from real kitchens:

  • Mount it high and angled down. Hands are wet, surfaces are full.
  • Bigger than you think. It gets read from two metres away, sideways, in steam.
  • Keep the paper printer for a while. Run both until the team trusts the screen. Losing tickets during the changeover is a bad night.
  • Have a fallback. If the screen dies mid-service, you want a printer that still works. See Receipts and printers.

Good to know​

  • The screen and any printers work together — you don't have to choose. Some kitchens keep a printed copy for the pass and work the screen for status.
  • Status changes are shared instantly. A cook marking ready changes what the waiter's tablet says.
  • The screen needs a connection. If it drops, printed tickets keep the kitchen running — see When the internet drops.
  • Manage KOT is the permission. See What each role can do.

Next​

Kitchens are covered. Next add-on: how Stock & Recipes works.