Pre-Service Expo Pass Checklist
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A printable checklist the expediter runs before every dinner service so the routing, the line, and the pass are ready before the first ticket prints, closing with two follow-up items that carry the routine through the first wave and the post-service wrap-up.

[ ] Pull the reservation book and write down every party of eight or more with its time, so you know roughly when each big fire will land.
[ ] Read the 86 list and tonight's specials with the chef, then confirm both are keyed into the POS before the first server clocks in.
[ ] Send one test ticket with an item from every station and confirm each item shows only on the screen or printer that actually cooks it.
[ ] Check that every menu item added or changed in the last week has a routing rule; an unrouted item usually lands on the pass alone and gets missed.
[ ] Confirm allergy and modifier flags print in a visible spot on the station copy of the ticket, not only on the expo copy.
[ ] Walk the line and ask each station how much it can hold at once, for example steaks on the grill or baskets in the fryer, so your fire calls respect the real limit.
[ ] Agree out loud on who calls the fires tonight, who covers the pass during a break, and who steps in if the expo has to jump on a station.
[ ] Set the ticket timer thresholds on the KDS, or restate the paper rule, so every cook knows what counts as a late ticket tonight.
[ ] Stock the pass: warmed plates, clean towels and wipes, garnish, finishing sauces, ticket spike or bump bar, tasting spoons, and a pen that works.
[ ] Review the callouts you will use with any new cook, including order in, fire, all day, hands, heard, and what to say when a station is buried.
[ ] Confirm that every plate will leave with a table and seat number, and that runners know where the hand-off spot is.
[ ] Run a five-minute pre-shift with the floor: large parties, courses to be fired separately, guests who ordered ahead, and any timing requests.
[ ] Look at last night's late tickets and pick one thing to change tonight rather than a list of five.
[ ] Decide where takeout and delivery tickets sit on the line and when they fire relative to dine-in, before the first one prints mid-rush.
[ ] Confirm there is a reprint or recall path for a ticket a station never saw, and that every cook knows how to ask for it without leaving the station.
[ ] Fire a real ticket during the pre-rush lull and time it from send to window to make sure hot food is reaching the pass within your own standard.
[ ] Make sure the expo has water within reach and no side task, like running food or restocking, that will pull them off the pass at peak.
[ ] Follow-up during the first wave: watch which station's items are last to the window twice in a row, and adjust your calls before the rail stacks.
[ ] Follow-up after service: write down the peak hour's late ticket count and the station behind most of it, then bring that number to tomorrow's pre-shift.