Everything is prepared ahead of time except the protein, and in many cases that is already cooked via sous vide and just needs to be seared, presented and served. read more
So when the order comes in, the cook goes into assembly mode and jams out the food. Once the dish has been picked up several times, and if the cook is experienced enough, it all becomes automatic. You learn how to add bits here and there to pick up a second dish without completely starting over. read more
Now, I'm pretty sure that you can't cook ribs in 10 minutes. And you certainly cannot bake a baked potato in 10 minutes. The restaurant at this time is generally not very busy, so I'll grant them to entire 10 minutes to prepare it. read more
They also usually do not work alone. There are several stations in a restaurant kitchen and people are working fryers, ovens, salads, desserts, grill, etc. So the meal is really all prepared at once. Some things we novices can learn is to organize a little bit. Cook simple food. Organize your kitchen and your shopping. read more