Getting moved to expo, the expediter who runs the pass and calls tickets to the kitchen, is a promotion that lives or dies on acronym recall. You are reading “fillet MR, SOS, 86 the salmon, burgers six all day” at speed and turning it into clear calls, with no time to look anything up. The fastest way to be ready is to drill the abbreviations and the “all day” math until they are automatic. Photograph the abbreviation sheet and a few sample tickets, let an app like MenuFlashcards turn them into flashcards and quizzes, and test yourself. It is in early access on iPhone.
This builds on a kitchen ticket shorthand learning tool and expo and food-runner garnish study, under the broader plan in how to memorize a restaurant menu fast.
Why expo is all about acronym recall
The expediter role is built on instant translation. The expo, sometimes called the wheelman, stands at the pass to call tickets, check plating, and keep the kitchen and dining room in sync. During a rush there is no pause to decode shorthand, so the abbreviations have to be recall, not recognition. Hesitate on one and the whole pass backs up behind you, which is why drilling them cold is the real prep.
Learn the core abbreviations cold
Start with the common ones. A restaurant terms glossary covers most of these, and they recur across kitchens:
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MR / MW | Medium rare / medium well |
| SOS | Sauce on the side |
| 86 | Out of, or remove from the menu |
| NC | No cheese |
| OTS | On the side |
| Sub / mod | Substitution / modification |
| Fire | Start cooking this course now |
Quiz yourself from the abbreviation to the meaning and back, because tickets and verbal calls both come at you fast.
Master the “all day” math
The one that trips up new expos is “all day,” which means the running total of an item across all open tickets. As one glossary explains it, if one table orders two cheeseburgers and another orders four, you call “cheeseburgers, six all day” so the line cooks one number, not two tickets. Drill this as a small math reflex: add the same item across tickets and call the total. Getting “all day” right is what keeps the line efficient during a rush.
Test recall, not re-reading
Reading the abbreviation sheet over and over builds recognition, not the instant recall the pass demands. A review of retrieval practice in the U.S. National Library of Medicine found that testing yourself strengthens memory far more than rereading. Cover the meaning, say it out loud, then check, until each call is reflex.
Photograph the abbreviation sheet and sample tickets
The practical win is skipping the data entry. Instead of retyping the shorthand into a flashcard app, photograph your restaurant’s abbreviation sheet and a few real tickets, and get an organized deck in minutes. Practicing on your own kitchen’s actual tickets matters, because shorthand varies by house, and the deck updates in seconds when something changes.
Drill modifiers and doneness too
Many calls carry a doneness or a modifier, so fold those in. MR and MW translate to temperatures, SOS and NC are modifiers, and allergy flags ride on the ticket too. Add cards that pair the shorthand with what it means on the plate, so when you read “burger MW, NC, allergy” you call it cleanly and the kitchen executes without a second pass.
Short, spaced sessions beat one cram
Do not try to learn the whole shorthand in one sitting. Research on the spacing effect shows the same practice split across several short sessions sticks far better than one long block. Three ten-minute quizzes across a day, one on abbreviations, one on “all day” math, one on modifiers, beat an hour of staring at a sheet.
Comparison: MenuFlashcards, Quizlet, Anki, paper
| Option | Best for | Main strength | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| MenuFlashcards | Drilling ticket shorthand and calls | A photo becomes a full deck from your real tickets | Early access, iPhone first |
| Quizlet | General study sets | Familiar, free, several modes | You type every term by hand |
| Anki | Long-term spaced repetition | Powerful scheduling, free | Slow setup, manual entry |
| Paper cards | A short list with time | No app needed | Hours of writing, no quizzing |
Quizlet and Anki are good tools, just not built to turn a photo of your abbreviation sheet and tickets into a quizable deck before service, which is the job here.
A first-week plan
- Photograph the abbreviation sheet and a few real tickets, and build the deck.
- Drill the core abbreviations both ways until automatic.
- Practice the “all day” math on sample tickets.
- Add modifiers, doneness, and allergy flags.
- Quiz in short spaced sessions, said out loud.
Key takeaways
- For surviving expo, MenuFlashcards is the strongest pick because it turns your real abbreviation sheet and tickets into a quizable deck from a photo.
- Drill the shorthand as recall, not recognition, and master the “all day” running-total math.
- Practice on your own kitchen’s tickets, and test in short spaced sessions.
- Honest limit: it is a personal study app in early access, not kitchen-management software. Join the list and start with the free deck when it opens.
