Do they just have everything precooked and sitting under heat lamps?
1) THIS IS A PITIFUL PRACTICE NOW DONE AT SEVERAL WDW EATERIES ! (per our WDW chef friend)
2) They "par cook" many of the meals and meats.
. . . par cooking means to "partially" cook
. . . it can be cooking to partially done, then put in a pan or under a lamp
. . . when ordered, they either re-heat or cook a tad longer
3) We own interests in restaurants and would NEVER allow this.
4) Let's look at one terrible/ugly/pitiful example:
. . . a steak is par cooked to medium rare
. . . meat is put into a flat storage container/pan or under a lamp
. . . where it sits and dries out
. . . someone orders a medium steak
. . . they put the meat on the grill for 2-3 minutes more
. . . then they serve quickly
. . . result: dry meat, but with a lot of sauce to disguise
. . . and, you see a lot of meat at WDW now with sauces
5) How can you tell par cooked steak, look at the requirements
. . . steak ordered "medium" (assume 1" thick Ribeye steak)
. . . cook over high heat or grill 6-8 minutes
. . . turn steak and cook for 5-6 minutes
. . . internal temp to reach 135º-140º
. . . let sit 5-7 minutes prior to serving
. . . total "kitchen time" 15-19 minutes, minimum
. . . New York cut and Sirloin steaks need addition 2-4 min per side
. . .
if steak arrives before 17-20 min, it was par cooked
. . . period
6) A good steak house would never par cook.
7) Neither would an eatery do the same for other foods or veggies.
NOTE: We were at one of the self-proclaimed premier Orlando steak houses for Mother's Day. We each ordered a steak, and it was on the table less than 15-minutes after we ordered, and we were 1/2-way through or salad. I called the manager immediately, and questioned him strongly. He admitted the par cooking. We were given new steaks, a comp'd meal that day, plus certificates for $100 for our next visit.
