In a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

an order wheel is a piece of equipment used to track customer orders ("tickets"). It is used to facilitate a process whereby a new order ("ticket") is clipped onto a wheel which is then turned

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

from the server or "waitress" side of the restaurant around to the

kitchen A kitchen is a room (architecture), room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a Kitchen stove, stove, a sink ...

or "cook" side. Orders are made in sequence and turned further back around to the server as completed. In the 1940s, sociologist

William Foote Whyte William Foote Whyte (June 27, 1914 – July 16, 2000) was an American sociology, sociologist chiefly known for his ethnography, ethnographic study in urban sociology, ''Street Corner Society''. A proponent of participant observation, he lived f ...

recommended the equipment as a way to improve communication and reduce conflict between wait and kitchen staff. This process has continued into the electronic age where the mechanical

wheel A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machin ...

is no longer a physical device, but an order is still sent to the kitchen and then returned to the server once completed via a sequential process of first in - first out. When certain orders take longer to

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

, (i.e.

well done Doneness is a gauge of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is based on its color, juiciness, and internal temperature. The gradations are most often used in reference to beef (especially steaks and roasts) but are also applicable to other types ...

steak) the ticket can be pulled from the wheel and re-inserted when completed. The term "working the wheel" is a reference to the

responsible for coordinating what to start cooking first and timing all food finishing at the same time.

References

{{reflist Restaurant terminology Wheels