The Hot and Cold Standard
Five steps that keep hot food hot and cold food cold from the pass to the room. Most temperature complaints begin in the minutes between the pass and the door.
- Who
- In-room dining runners, with the chef at the pass
- When
- Every hot or cold dish that leaves the kitchen for a room
- You need
- Hot box or heated trolley, metal covers, ice tray, probe thermometer
- Measured by
- Hot box at heat before service opens
- Trolley laid before the dish is called
- Leaves the pass within 2 minutes
5 steps
01
Heat the box
Switch the hot box on 30 minutes before each service and check it with the probe; our target is 70°C inside. Plates for hot dishes wait in the plate warmer, plates for cold dishes in the fridge.
Say this
“Hot box 2 · 72°C · 18:30 · checked by Aisha”
Common mistake Switching the hot box on when the first order comes in. It reaches heat just as the dinner rush ends.
02
Lay the trolley first
Lay the trolley before the food is ready: cloth, cutlery, glasses, condiments, napkins and bill folder. When the chef calls the dish, the only things left are to cover it and go.
Say this
“412 is laid and waiting at the pass, chef. Ready when you are.”
Common mistake Folding napkins while the plates wait under the lamp. Two minutes of laying costs the dish its heat.
03
Separate hot and cold
Hot dishes go under a metal cover into the hot box. Salads, desserts and cold drinks go on the top shelf, away from it. Ice cream and sorbet go on last, in a chilled bowl set on ice.
Say this
“Fillet and fries in the box, Caesar on top, sorbet on ice, last on.”
Common mistake Standing the salad next to the hot box for the trip. It arrives warm and limp beside fries that are only lukewarm.
04
Go straight up
Leave the pass within 2 minutes of the chef calling the order and take the service lift straight to the floor. Do not wait for a second order or stop at the station on the way.
Say this
“Going up to 412 now. Back in ten for 505.”
Common mistake Waiting a few minutes for a second order so you can take both. The first guest pays for the saving in cold food.
05
Replace, never reheat
If a guest says a dish is cold, offer a fresh one from the kitchen with a clock time; never bring back a reheated plate. Tell the chef which dish it was and how long it travelled.
Say this
“I’m sorry, Mr Okafor. A fresh one will be with you at 21:05. May I take this one away?”
Common mistake Warming the plate at the floor station and bringing it back. The guest can tell, and the fries cannot recover.
What Travels Where
Each dish has one right place on the trolley and one sign that it arrived as the chef sent it. Check the sign when the cover comes off.
Read one row a day at the pre-service briefing. In the first week the chef lifts one cover at the pass each service and asks the runner where that dish travels. The supervisor adds rows for your own menu.
The Standards Library.
No. 63 · In-Room Dining
The Late-Night Order Standard
Five steps for in-room dining between 23:00 and 06:00. The guest ordering at 02:00 is often jet-lagged, working or unwell, and wants something simple, quickly.
No. 64 · In-Room Dining
The Children’s Order Standard
Five steps for in-room orders that include a child’s meal. Parents judge it on two things: how soon the plate arrives, and how safe the tray is once it is down.