With technology being employed in more areas of a business than ever before, Steve Luicuex, sales director at Epos Ready, looks at how kitchen display systems can transform the way orders are processed
Having the ability to work in unison with kitchen printers – or eradicate the need for them – a kitchen display system receives all orders straight to a screen in the kitchen. This not only speeds up the time between a customer ordering their meal and receiving it, but also takes the strain off busy waiting staff who can get straight on with serving the next table.
As updates are made to software all the time, the features and benefits of the kit available are improving too. ICRTouch for example has just upgraded its TouchKitchen software, which is available from Epos Ready.
Describing TouchKitchen v3 as smarter, simpler and faster than ever before, Steve says it gives staff complete control over every order from the moment it arrives. What’s more, no third-party integrations are required and it can pick up orders whether they are placed via tills, self-service kiosks, apps or online, bringing them all into one place.
Hits the kitchen
Once an order hits the kitchen, it is displayed in full detail, consolidated to save screen space, or held to be prepared at a later stage. No more orders going missing!
Unique timers can then be tailored to either count down or up and a colour-coded traffic light system employed to highlight how long each order has taken.
A particularly useful feature of a kitchen display system is the ability to link screens together and group different food items, for example, fish, burgers, and pizza, so staff only see what is relevant to their section. “This allows kitchen staff to know what is on each order and how many portions of each item to prepare. A great way to control wastage and mistakes in busy environments,” says Steve.
Once food is ready, a one-button press clears the order away and this can be easily communicated to the master kitchen screen, so customer orders are easily completed together. “It’s one of the many new improvements of the TouchKitchen v3 software,” continues Steve.
Further advancements with the software, explains Steve, include the ability to categorise orders based on allergy or dietary requirements and again make full use of the colour coding system. A crucial aspect of any food operation as you look to meet the needs of your customers.
“Equally for kitchens struggling in size or concerns about touch screens close to hot and humid equipment, an easily accessible bump bar can be added,” says Steve. “All tailored to a shop’s specification and providing an alternative option for screens that might be out of reach.”
Epos Ready 0115 882 8852/07976 739501 www.eposready.co.uk
