CHEF! September 16, 2026 CHEF! Day 4 Iteration 39

Cooks Stay in the Kitchen

Cooks no longer leave the kitchen to clean the bathroom. The busboy and servers do that.
A cook with nothing to cook now helps with the dishes. The dishwasher has first call: a cook only takes a washing round while no dishwasher is free, and hands it back if one frees up before the cook has picked up any plates.
With no dishwasher on staff, the cooks keep the plates washed between tickets. Cooking always comes first.
Later, when guests' mood matters, a cook with really nothing to do will also be able to visit tables for a mood boost. Nothing is built for that yet.
Over 10 games of 15 minutes each, a default game now serves about 62 guests and loses about 8%. Before it served 61 and lost 9%. Cooks spend about 11 seconds per game helping with dishes.
In the before shot (094), a cook heads through the dining room to clean the bathroom. In the after shot (095), a cook washes dishes while the dishwasher carries a rack.
The animated clip (111, recorded on v0.0.50) follows a ringed cook who, while the dishwasher is busy with an empty rack, fetches dirty dishes and washes them.