KDS for Midsummer: plan kitchen screens and order flow

When many guests order at once, the kitchen needs to know what to prepare, which table it belongs to and how long it has waited. A Kitchen Display System, or KDS, brings that information onto a screen.

For a busy occasion such as Midsummer, the main benefit is a shared view of orders. That depends on configuration and established routines. A new screen cannot itself fix a shortage of workspace, staff or cooking capacity.

Map the flow before positioning screens

Start with the stations: perhaps cold kitchen, hot kitchen, bar and desserts. Decide which items each station receives and who coordinates the meal for the whole table.

Vendion KDS supports routing by menu item and kitchen station. Orders from connected channels can appear in the same kitchen workflow. Check the whole menu, including modifiers and combinations, so an extra sauce or dessert does not fall outside the intended process.

Position screens where staff can read and operate them while working. Test sightlines, text size and how people acknowledge orders during their actual tasks.

Define what times and colours mean

Timers and colour coding help staff identify older orders. Thresholds need to suit the menu. A colour signals that an order needs attention; it does not automatically decide what should cook first.

Define “ready” too. Has one station completed its part, is the whole table ready, or has the food left the pass? If staff use the same status differently, both service information and timing reports become misleading.

In Vendion, order status can appear in the POS and servers can be notified when food is marked ready. Staff need to update the status at the correct moment.

Rehearse changes during cooking

Run a practice service in which a guest changes a side after the order has been sent. Also try removing an item, adding another order to the same table and correcting an order marked ready by mistake.

Agree when verbal confirmation is needed. A change displayed on screen can still arrive after cooking has started. Allergy information in particular needs to follow the venue’s procedures and be confirmed by responsible staff.

Distinguish waiting from cooking

Measure from order registration to the status you have chosen. Examine individual long waits as well as the average. Record why they occurred: a late start, an overloaded station or waiting for the rest of the table’s food.

Ticket time is not necessarily active cooking time. Make that distinction clear when using the figures to change menus or staffing.

Prepare the backup procedure

Vendion requires internet access. Test connectivity where screens will stand and agree how to handle new orders and those already received if a screen or network fails. Staff should know who coordinates the response and contacts support.

See Vendion live and try your Midsummer workflow from order to pass before the holiday begins.