Learn English – put it up – put it out: what does it mean in this context

meaningmeaning-in-context

I don't really understand the meaning of "put it up" and "put it out" in this context. The context is work in a professional kitchen: a chef is explaining to a cook how to prepare a dish:

«I know that dish takes 5 minutes and it’s only been 2; don’t even put it up. I’d rather you take an extra minute [and] slow up service to get it right. But don’t put it out, because that 1 minute you save in putting it out is going to become 6 minutes behind because you’re going to have to redo the plate.»

Thank you!

Best Answer

Regard the shelf in the picture below:

enter image description here

That shelf is where chefs put food so that the waiting staff can take it out to the customers. Once the food is on that shelf, the waiting staff assume it is ready to be served.

When the speaker is talking about putting the food up, I believe they are talking about putting the dish 'up' on that shelf so that the waiting staff can take it out of the kitchen and into the restaurant. When the speaker talks about putting the food out they are talking about the chef sending the food into the restaurant to the customer.

Image reference: TVGuide.com accessed 04/04/2017

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