covers

Definition

Restaurant industry speak for the number of customers served, because saying 'we did 200 people tonight' sounds vaguely sinister. Each diner equals one cover, regardless of how much they actually order.

Example Usage

We pushed 350 covers on Valentine's Day and the kitchen still hasn't recovered.

Origin

From the French 'couvert,' referring to the place setting for each diner

Fun Fact

High-end restaurants often track average revenue per cover as a key performance metric, not just total covers.

Source: Restaurant operations terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

couverture

The fancy chocolate that pastry chefs use for coating and enrobing confections, containing extra cocoa butter for that glossy, snappy finish. It's what separates professional bonbons from your melted chocolate chips, requiring proper tempering and a significant hit to your wallet. Regular chocolate melts into a sad puddle; couverture transforms into edible art.

🍳 Food / Culinary

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mousseline

A light, airy preparation made by folding whipped cream into a flavored base, creating ethereal textures that practically float off the spoon. The fancy cousin of mousse that's even more delicate and pretentious.

🍳 Food / Culinary

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dock off

Punching down risen dough to release gas and redistribute yeast, preparing it for shaping. The aggressive-sounding step where you literally assault your bread dough.

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kaiseki

A multi-course Japanese haute cuisine experience where tiny, meticulously arranged portions arrive in ceremonial succession, each one more artfully plated than your entire Instagram feed. This culinary art form values presentation, seasonality, and balance so intensely that you'll spend more time photographing than eating. Expect to leave either spiritually fulfilled or stopping at a convenience store on the way home.

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Plating

The art of arranging food on a plate to make it look beautiful before someone destroys it in thirty seconds with a fork. It's interior design for dinner, and chefs will spend more time on plating than most people spend on their actual living rooms.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

dial it in

To perfect a dish's preparation, timing, or seasoning through repeated adjustment and tasting until it's flawless. The culinary equivalent of tuning a guitar, but with more salt.

🍳 Food / Culinary

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