Is there a word for a queue or buffer of orders in a restaurant?

Question

In many restaurants, and I suppose other businesses as well, orders are taken from customers and put into a location from which a pool of servers can pick one up and service the order.

Is there are word other than "queue" for this waiting area of orders? "Queue" seems to indicate first-in first-out behavior. "Buffer" and "priority queue" sound too technical. And any word indicating a particular implementation of the holding area (anything involving a carousel or magnets) would be too specific.

I'm wondering whether in the service business there is a good term that describes the holding area for orders waiting for an arbitrary worker to pick them up and service them.

The word would be used in a clunky sentence like: "In a restaurant, waiters take the order and put it into a ______, then when a chef becomes available, the chef picks up one of the orders and starts cooking."

Answer 1

Consider, check (or ticket) holder

Google Image

Also, check (or ticket) spindle and slide check/ticket rack

Perhaps a can of Lone Star sits on the stainless steel prep table next to the spindle full of order tickets.

Rare Magazine

Answer 2

Try docket

Or

Or agenda

You may hear or see it being used in fast food joints or restaurants.

Answer 3

What about "backlog"?

Not 100% sure if this is what you're looking for, as it describes the queue itself rather than a "thing to place orders in".

Answer 4

I hesitate to suggest this word as it highly associated with the medical milieu, but triage covers an important aspect of such an area, namely that items are inspected and possibly re-ordered. For example, a chocolate soufflé might need 30 minutes in the oven, so takes priority over preparing spaghetti for the same order.

triage 1.1 The process of determining the most important people or things from amongst a large number that require attention

Answer 5

I think you are looking for the word "Stack". That's first-in-first-out.