Menu Item Routing and Fire Time Worksheet
A fill-in sheet that records which station cooks each menu item, its measured fire-to-pass time, and how long it can hold, so the expo can stagger fires on a mixed ticket.
Reviewed for 2026, updated September 8, 2026.
An expediter who knows that the ribeye takes twice as long as the seared fish can fire them so both land together. An expediter who is guessing will hold one plate under the lamp while the other finishes. The difference is not talent, it is having the numbers written down. This worksheet captures, for every item on your menu, the station that owns it, the fire-to-pass time you actually measured, the longest a finished plate can sit before quality drops, and the modifiers that change the math. The example rows use common dishes as placeholders; replace them with your own menu.
Fill it in during a real rush, not on a Tuesday afternoon. Time at least three tickets per item and write down the middle value, because the fastest run is never the one that shows up at 7:45 on a Saturday. The last column is the fire offset: take the longest item on a typical mixed ticket and subtract this item's time, and that is how many minutes after the first fire call this item should start. Once the sheet is filled in, the Large Party Fire Time Planner at /tools/large-party-fire-planner/ can turn the longest and shortest times into a wave plan for big tables, and the station column feeds the share numbers in the Kitchen Station Load Calculator at /tools/station-load-calculator/.
| Menu item | Station that cooks it | Fire-to-pass minutes | Hold window in minutes | Modifiers that change the time | Fire offset on a mixed ticket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ribeye, medium | Grill | Your figure | Your figure | Well done and rare each get their own time | Usually 0, since this tends to be the longest |
| Seared salmon | Saute | Your figure | Your figure | Cooked through takes longer than medium | Longest item minus this item |
| Mushroom risotto | Saute | Your figure | Your figure | Depends on how far the base is par-cooked | Longest item minus this item |
| Half roast chicken | Oven | Your figure | Your figure | Oven space is the limit, not the clock | Longest item minus this item |
| Burger, medium | Grill | Your figure | Your figure | Temperature, extra patty, gluten free bun | Longest item minus this item |
| French fries, side | Fry | Your figure | Your figure | Extra crispy; shares baskets with apps | Longest item minus this item |
| Caesar salad | Cold side | Your figure | Your figure | Add chicken means a grill hand-off | Longest item minus this item |
| Fried calamari, app | Fry | Your figure | Your figure | Competes with fries for fryer time | Fired on order, before entrees |
| Pasta with red sauce | Saute | Your figure | Your figure | Gluten free pasta cooks on its own timing | Longest item minus this item |
| Warm dessert plate | Pastry or cold side | Your figure | Your figure | Anything baked to order needs oven time | Fired when the table is cleared |
https://platepassr.com/templates/menu-item-routing-and-fire-time-worksheet/Use it in your business, share it with your team, or link to it from your own site.
Also from PlatePassr
- Pre-Service Expo Pass Checklist: 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.
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