A four-top orders starters and mains. The starters should go out together; the mains should follow when the table is ready, not while they are still eating. Course pacing is how a kitchen decides when each course fires.
Three ways to fire the next course
1. On the bump. The next course fires when the expo bumps the previous one, plus an optional gap. This follows the real pace of the table: a slow starter delays the mains. It is how many kitchen displays pace courses.
2. On a timer. Each course fires a set time after the order, like a banquet running to a schedule. It is predictable, but it ignores what is actually happening at the table.
3. Hybrid. Fire the next course at whichever comes later, the bump or the timer, never sooner than a minimum gap. This stops a too-fast starter from rushing the mains, and stops a slow starter from silently pushing everything back.
Courses still need item pacing
Firing a course is only half the job. The moment the mains fire, a grilled steak, a pan-roasted fish and a risotto have different cook times. If they all start at once, the course arrives in pieces just like an unpaced order.
So inside every course, each item should start at its own time, counted back from when the course is due, so all of its dishes finish together.
How PrepFlow paces courses
PrepFlow supports all three course modes (bump, time and hybrid). Held courses show on the expo only, so stations are not distracted by food they cannot start yet. When a course fires, PrepFlow back-schedules its items so they land together, and it re-plans from the actual bump, not the planned one, so a slow table never leaves the next course waiting under the lamp.
Questions
What is the difference between course pacing and item pacing?
Course pacing decides when a course fires. Item pacing decides when each item inside that course starts, so the course's dishes finish together. You need both for a multi-course table to run smoothly.
Can the expo fire a course early?
In PrepFlow, only if you allow it. An early fire is recorded as an override and the rest of the plan re-paces around it.