When the Ticket Machine Won’t Stop | How Chefs Stay Calm in Chaos

🎙️ EP156 – 700 covers. Tickets spilling to the floor. Grill in freefall. This episode is about the nights everything falls apart, and why that’s where real cooks are made.


🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

00:00 🎧 Intro — 700 covers and a brutal service night
01:01 🔥 Friday-Night Meltdown — When the pass loses the plot (how to reset)
01:13 🧾 Ticket Tsunami — Paper to the floor; reading & batching fast
01:57 🐻 The Bear IRL — What the show nails (and what it doesn’t)
02:31 🥩 Grill Triage — “Fire everything” vs. perfect sear & rest
03:29 😱 Ticket PTSD — Hearing the machine in your sleep
03:54 🧘 Detach to Survive — Mind control under pressure
05:06 🧠 Prioritize & Execute — Jocko’s playbook on the line
05:57 🏗️ Kitchen as System — Debriefs, leadership & getting your grip back
08:15 ⚖️ Batch Smart, Not Blind — Push volume without jamming the pass
10:01 🧮 Mental Mapping — Six tables in your head without dying
13:55 📣 Expo Done Right — FOH-led pass calls and flow
15:07 🍜 Din Tai Fung — Systems, speed & consistency at scale
17:40 📋 Small Menus, Big Impact — Fewer dishes, harder hits
19:25 🔥 Wok Logic — A-la-minute skills from Chinese/Japanese kitchens
21:37 🇵🇪 Chifa Legends — Javier Wong: ceviche + wok, two perfect things


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🔥 Enjoy!