Line Check
A line check is the chef's station-by-station inspection of the kitchen before service. It covers tasting sauces, checking holding temperatures, counting prep and backups, and confirming each station has what the night's menu requires. Shortages found on the line check become the eighty-six list announced at pre-shift.
A line check is a scheduled inspection rather than a walk-through, and the good ones run off a written sheet so nothing depends on what the chef happens to notice. Temperatures get logged, a low prep count gets flagged while there is still time to make more, and a sauce that broke overnight gets found by the person tasting it instead of by a guest.
Everything it turns up is information the floor needs before doors: what is short, what is off the menu, what will take longer than usual tonight. A line check that never reaches the dining room has done half its job.
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