Back of House
Back of house, commonly called BOH, covers every area of your restaurant that operates behind the scenes and out of the customer's view. This includes the main cooking line, prep stations, the walk-in cooler and freezer, dry storage, dishwashing area, and any office space where you handle scheduling, ordering, and paperwork.
Why it matters for your restaurant
The back of house is the engine that powers everything your guests experience in the dining room. If your BOH is disorganized, cramped, or poorly managed, the effects ripple outward in the form of slow ticket times, inconsistent food quality, and stressed-out staff who are more likely to make mistakes or quit.
A well-run back of house, on the other hand, keeps food flowing smoothly and consistently. It means your walk-in is organized so cooks can find what they need in seconds, your prep schedule is planned so stations are stocked before service begins, and your dishwashing area keeps up with the pace so the kitchen never runs out of clean pans during a rush.
How it works in practice
Consider a restaurant that does 200 covers on a busy Saturday. The kitchen might fire 400 or more individual plates over the course of five hours. For that to happen without breakdowns, the back of house needs to function like a well-oiled machine. Prep cooks arrive hours before service to handle mise en place. The line is set up with every sauce, garnish, and protein within arm's reach. The expo stands at the pass, calling out orders and making sure plates go out correctly.
Behind all of that, the dishwasher is cycling through loads every few minutes, a porter is restocking the line from the walk-in, and a manager is keeping an eye on ticket times to catch any slowdowns early. If the walk-in is a mess and a cook spends two minutes hunting for a container of diced peppers, that delay backs up every ticket behind it.
Connecting the dots
Your back of house directly shapes the quality, speed, and consistency of every plate that leaves the kitchen. Investing in good layout design, proper storage systems, and clear communication protocols between BOH and FOH staff keeps your operation running efficiently. When the back of house runs well, your guests may never think about it, and that is exactly the point.