EP0223785A1

EP0223785A1 - Restaurant control system

Info

Publication number: EP0223785A1
Application number: EP19860903093
Authority: EP
Inventors: Takeo Sugawara; Haruo Wakabayashi; Hidetoshi Sasaki
Original assignee: NCR Corp
Current assignee: NCR Voyix Corp
Priority date: 1985-05-31
Filing date: 1986-05-05
Publication date: 1987-06-03
Also published as: WO1986007175A1

Abstract

Un appareil de commande du fonctionnement d'un restaurant comprend un terminal de commande (10) par des clients, placé à chaque table, un terminal de cuisine (20), un terminal de paiement (30) et une unité de traitement (40). Pendant son utilisation, un client sélectionne un plat en actionnant une touche correspondante de commande du terminal de commande (10) placé sur sa table. Si le plat commandé est épuisé, le terminal de commande (10) enregistre ce fait et affiche ''épuisé''. Si le plat commandé n'est pas enregistré comme étant épuisé, un dispositif de vérification (44) faisant partie de l'unité de traitement (40) vérifie si une mémoire des stocks (50), qui enregistre les ingrédients disponibles, indique que des ingrédients suffisants pour préparer le plat commandé sont disponibles. Si non, un signal ''épuisé'' est transmis pour actionner l'affichage ''épuisé'' (64, 66) du terminal de commande (10). Si des ingrédients suffisants sont disponibles, les données concernant la commande sont transmises afin d'être affichées par le terminal de cuisine (20).A device for controlling the operation of a restaurant comprises a control terminal (10) by customers, placed at each table, a kitchen terminal (20), a payment terminal (30) and a processing unit (40) . During use, a customer selects a dish by pressing a corresponding control button on the control terminal (10) placed on his table. If the dish ordered is exhausted, the control terminal (10) records this fact and displays "exhausted". If the ordered dish is not registered as being exhausted, a checking device (44) forming part of the processing unit (40) checks whether an inventory memory (50), which records the available ingredients, indicates that sufficient ingredients to prepare the ordered dish are available. If not, an “exhausted” signal is transmitted to activate the “exhausted” display (64, 66) of the control terminal (10). If sufficient ingredients are available, the order data is transmitted to be displayed by the kitchen terminal (20).

Description

RESTAURANT CONTROL SYSTEM

Technical Field

This invention relates to restaurant control apparatus for controlling the operation of a restaurant, of the kind including a plurality of order terminals located at customer tables and adapted for operation by restaurant customers for selectively ordering any of a plurality of dishes, a kitchen terminal adapted to display dishes ordered at said order terminals, and processing means coupled to said order terminals and to said kitchen terminal.

Background Art

Japanese laid-open patent application No. 58- 154067, discloses, according to Patent Abstracts of Japan, Section P, volume 242, page 8, restaurant control apparatus of the kind specified.- In ihe known apparatus/ a customer seated at a table orders desired dishes by manually operating the order terminal. Data concerning the ordered dishes is stored, and also displayed on a CRT screen located in the kitchen. Furthermore, data concerning the order and the cost thereof is printed on a slip by a printer.

The known apparatus has the disadvantage that the customer's order is accepted even though the ordered dish is out of stock, so that the customer waits to be served the ordered dish until a waiter or cook is aware of the out-of-stock situation and so informs the customer, because he is convinced that the order is being filled and will be served to him in due time after preparation. Another disadvantage of the known apparatus is that a plurality of customers may order the same kinds of dishes simultaneously and only a certain number of the dishes can be prepared because of lack of ingredients necessary for preparing all the ordered dishes. Disclosure of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide restaurant control apparatus which operates in an efficient manner, whereby the aforementioned disadvantages are alleviated.

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided restaurant control apparatus of the kind specified, characterized in that said processing means includes first memory means adapted to store the stock amount of each ingredient of said dishes, second memory means adapted to store the unit amounts of the ingredients required for said dishes, and stock checking means adapted to subtract the amounts of ingredients required for an ordered dish from the respective stored stock amounts of the respective ingredients and to provide an out-of-stock signal to the relevant order terminal in the event that insufficient ingredients are in stock for preparing the ordered dish, said processing means being adapted to supply data representing the ordered dish to said kitchen terminal if sufficient ingredients therefor are in stock.

It will be appreciated that restaurant control apparatus according to the invention operates with a high degree of efficiency since a customer is informed without delay of any out-of-stock situation for ordered dishes.

In brief summary of a preferred embodiment of the invention, an order terminal or station is provided at each table for the purpose of enabling the customer to relay or to directly transmit the contents of the order, e.g., food and/or drink, to cook or chef in the kitchen. An indication of the table number or other table identification, from which the order is ordered or initiated and to which delivery of the order is to be made, is also provided in the control system and a calculation of the amount of the money to be paid for settlement or payment for the order is automatically performed.

The preferred embodiment is constructed to provide a display section or portion at the order terminal which is operably associated with the generation of an out-of-stock signal if the ordered dish, or any one of the ingredients of such dish, is not available at the time of the customer's order. The central processing unit includes a stock memory which stores the amount of each and every ingredient for all dishes, and also includes a stock check section which checks the amount of each stock of the corresponding ingredients, each time an order is given at the order terminal and received in the kitchen, for the purpose of updating the amount of each of the stocks or for outputting a signal to the order terminal indicative of an out-of-stock situation. The stock check section of the central processing unit reads out data relating to the ordered dish from the stock memory and the ingredient memory for the purpose of subtracting the amount of each ingredient necessary for preparing the ordered dish from each stock. The result of the subtraction is stored in the stock memory as an updated amount of stock in the case wherein a quantity of stock exists, or as an out-of- stock signal that is sent to the order terminal and to be displayed thereat on the out-of-stock display section in the case wherein any one of the necessary ingredients is not available to prepare the dish.

Thus, the present control system automatically checks the condition as to whether an ordered dish is available or whether it is out of stock when an order is placed by the customer. The control system immediately displays an out-of-stock situation if such exists so that the customer will know of such situation and need not wait an undue amount of time. In addition, since the control system is constructed so that the amount of each stock of ingredients is checked every time an order is given to determine whether or not the dish can be prepared, a simultaneous ordering of the same dish from a plurality of customers can be accepted in an ordered sequence within a time limit which can permit the preparation of dishes in a fair and accurate acceptance of the orders.

Brief Description of the Drawings

One embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view in schematic form of the customer order terminal;

Figs. 3A and 3B are plan views in schematic form of the kitchen terminal; and

Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C are diagrams illustrating the contents of the stock memory, ingredient memory, and the order memory provided in the memory section of the central processing unit.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Referring now to the drawing. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the present invention which basically comprises an order terminal 10 provided for each table in a restaurant or like eating place, a kitchen terminal 20 provided in the kitchen, a settlement terminal 30 positioned on a settlement counter, and a computer or like central processing unit 40 for controlling the above-named individual terminals.

The central processing unit 40 comprises an arithmetic and control section 42, a stock check section 44, a data entry section 48, and a memory section 46, the latter including a stock memory 50, an order memory 52, an ingredient memory 54, and a management data memory 56. Initial data concerning types and amounts of food and drink supplies are inputted through the data entry section 48 of the processing unit 40 before opening the restaurant for the days business. For example, the amount of each ingredient to be used for proposed dishes for that day is inputted into the stock memory 50, and the kinds and each amount of the ingredients required to prepare one dish is inputted into the ingredient memory 54 for each kind of dish in accordance with the menu for that day. In case the menu is not changed from the previous day, there is no need to input the kind and amount of each ingredient every day simply by inputting the same data one time; while, in the case wherein the menu is changed, e.g., with respect to day of the week or time of the year, it is necessary to change the contents stored in the ingredient memory 54 in accordance with the proposed menu. The amount of each ingredient proposed to be used for the menu for that day, the names of the employees, the restaurant opening time and like data are inputted into the management data memory 56 as initial data which is inputted in accordance with the desired objective before opening the restaurant, and business data required to compute management data such as sales of each kind of dish, sales in each period of a specified time and the like are stored in the management data memory 56 during the opening period.

The order terminal 10 includes an input section 12, a display section 16, and a control section 14. When a customer orders a desired dish or consumable item through the input section 12 of the order terminal 10, the order data including the contents of the order and the number of the customer's table are sent to the central processing unit 40 through the control section 14. Upon receipt of such order data in the central processing unit 40, the stock check section 44 checks the amount of each stock of the necessary ingredients based on the order data sent from the order terminal 10 and a determination is made whether or not the ordered dish can be prepared. The amount of each of the stocks is checked in such a manner that the kinds and amounts of each ingredient required to prepare one ordered dish are read out from the ingredient memory 54, and then the amount of each stock of the ingredients necessary for preparing the ordered dish is read out from the stock memory 50 to compare the amount of each kind of the ingredients required to prepare the ordered dish with the amount of each stock or corresponding kinds of ingredients, respectively.

In the case wherein the amount of any kind of stock of the necessary ingredients is less than the amount of the same kind of the ingredient required to prepare the ordered dish, it is seen that the ordered dish cannot be prepared and hence an out-of-stock signal is outputted from the stock check section 44. The out-of-stock signal is sent to the order terminal 10 through the arithmetic and control section 42 to display the information that the ordered dish is out- of-stock on the display section 16 of the order terminal 10 for viewing by the customer. In the case wherein the amount of each stock of the necessary ingredients exceeds the amount of each kind of ingredient required to prepare the ordered dish, each required amount is subtracted from the amount of each corresponding kind of the stocks, the result of such subtraction is written back in the stock memory 50 and the order data is stored in the order memory 52. The order data from the tables are stored in the order memory 52 in the ordered sequence by unit of each table number in which the orders are finally accepted. When the order is accepted, the order data is sent from the central processing unit 40 to the kitchen terminal 20 in the kitchen and the contents of the order are displayed on the display section 24 of the terminal 20 together with the table number in the ordered sequence for each table. A chef prepares the dishes displayed on the display section 24 in the ordered sequence and erases the display of the prepared dish on the display section 24 upon completion of the preparation of the dish, by means of and under the operation of the input section 26. When the dish is prepared and the input section 26 is operated, a distribution chit or receipt carrying the number of the table from which the dish was ordered, the name of the dish, the unit price, and the total price is printed on the chit or receipt and issued . from the printer 28. A waiter serves the dish to the table according to the number* which is printed on the chit or receipt. All of the dishes ordered by a customer are sent to such table by repeating the process from the acceptance of the order to the distribution of the dishes.

After the meal, the customer checks and confirms the total amount of money (the amount of money to be paid for the meal) which amount is displayed on the display section 16 of the order * terminal 10 and then presses a settlement key on the input section 12 of the order terminal 10. When the customer presses the settlement key on the order terminal 10, the central processing unit 40 confirms whether or not any order is left to be served and clears the order terminal on which the settlement key was pressed, if and when the order is completed. In such case, the structure provides that a settlement chit or receipt is issued from the printer 28 of the kitchen terminal 20 or from the printer 36 of the settlement terminal 30. The settlement data is sent from the central processing unit 40 to the settlement terminal 30, and the data corresponding to the table of interest which corresponding data was stored in the order memory 52 of the central processing unit 40 is then erased.

The customer makes sure of the amount of money to be settled, presses the settlement key on the order terminal 10 and then goes to the settlement counter to present the distribution chit or settlement chit or receipt to a checker. When the checker inputs the table number printed on the distribution chit or receipt through the input section 38 of the settlement terminal 30, data or information which includes or identifies all of the dishes ordered from the table concerned, the unit price of each kind of the ordered dishes, and the total amount of money owed for all the dishes is sent from the central processing unit 40 and displayed on the display section 34 of the settlement terminal 30. The checker operates the input section 38 of the settlement terminal 30 in accordance with the payment by the customer, wherein the data corresponding to the table of interest stored in the order memory 52 of the central processing unit 40 is erased and- a sales receipt is issued from the printer 36.

Although in Fig. 1, the amount of each stock of ingredients necessary for preparing an ordered dish is checked to see whether or not this is out of stock each and every time an order is given, the system may also be constructed such that once a dish is found to be out of stock, a kind of the dish is registered in the order terminal 10 or the central processing unit 40 as an out-of-stock dish and the contents of such dish thus registered are checked first when an order is given. The system also may be constructed such that when the stocks of contents or ingredients go below either a predetermined level or amount, an alarm is raised to call attention to any of such situations so that restocking of supplies can be accomplished.

Further, in Fig. 1, the data entry section 48 is provided on the central processing unit 40 such that the data in the stock memory 50 can be updated directly from the central processing unit 40 without preventing the normal operation from being interrupted when some ingredients are additionally called for or are provided to the stocks during the opening time. However, the system may also be constructed such that any one of the input sections 12, 26 or 38 of the individual terminals 10, 20 or 30, respectively, functions in the same manner as the data entry section 48 instead of the normal operation of such section of the central processing unit 40.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and utilizing the structure and function .as illustrated in Fig. 1, an eating house control system used in a business known as a sushi shop will be described.

Figs. 2 to 4C show individual sections of the eating house control system used^' in the sushi shop and include names of dishes and ingredients prepared and served therein. In the following explanation, it is assumed that the arrangement is constructed such that upon checking the stock supply, it is found that a certain dish is out-of-stock, a kind of dish is registered in the order terminal 10 as such out-of- stock dish, and the dish which is freshly ordered after the registration of such out-of-stock is first checked by the order terminal 10 to see whether or not a kind of the ordered dish is registered as one of the out-of-stock dishes. Then the stocks are checked to see whether or not the dish can be prepared if the kind of the ordered dish is not registered, and with regard to the settlement, the settlement data is sent to the settlement terminal 30 by pressing the settlement key on the order terminal 10. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the order terminal 10, in which 60 denotes a menu keyboard section, 63 is an amount display section, 65 refers to a function keyboard section, 72 is a ten key keyboard section, and 74 denotes a number confirmation key section. Each of the key sections utilizes a touch plate, along with display lamps 61 and 62 being provided on respective keys of the menu keyboard section 60 and display lamps 64 being provided on respective function keys, as 66, 67, 68, and 70, of the function keyboard section 65.

When a customer sits down at a table and touches the order key 70 on the function keyboard section 65 after observing that the amount display section 63 displays "0", the display lamp 64 on the order key 70 turns on to indicate that the order terminal 10 is ready for receiving orders. When the customer then selects a key for his desired dish from among the keys on the menu keyboard section 60 and touches the selected key with a finger for ordering the dish, the order is checked to see whether or not a kind of the ordered dish is registered as one being out-of-stock. Now, it is assumed that the customer orders a tuna, at a time when the tuna is out-of- stock, but is not yet registered as being out-of- stock. The display lamp 61 on the tuna key will initially be turned on and the display lamp 64 on the out-of-stock display section 66 on the function keyboard section 65 will not initially be turned on in such a situation. When the display lamp 61 is turned on which indicates that an order is acceptable at the first check of the supply of such dish, the customer inputs the number of plates or servings through the ten key section 72 and then touches the number confirmation key 74. The number of plates or servings ordered is displayed on the amount display section 63, so that the customer can confirm by looking at the display whether or not the correct number of plates is ordered.

In case the customer wishes to order other kinds of dishes, by means of repeating the above- described operations such as selecting another desired dish, inputting the number of plates and then confirming the number thereof, a plurality of kinds of desired dishes can be ordered. When the customer again touches the order key 70 after the selection of the desired dishes and the input and confirmation of the number of plates, the total amount to be paid for the ordered dishes is displayed on the amount display section 63 and the contents of the order are sent to the central processing unit 40 for input therein as the ordered data. However, even if it is confirmed by the order terminal 10 that the kind of the ordered dish is not registered as an out-of-stock dish, there is a possibility that the ordered dish can not be prepared at this time due to the lack of stock of the ingredients for such dish, so that the central processing unit 40 again checks to see whether or not the ordered dish can be prepared based upon the amount of each stock of the ingredients required for the ordered dish, that is, whether or not the dish is out of stock.

Referring now to Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C, such figures respectively show one example of the contents of the stock memory 50, the ingredient memory 54, and the order memory 52 of the memory section 46 in the central processing unit 40. The stock memory 50, the ingredient memory 54, and the order memory 52 along with the management data memory 56 may be comprised of RAM or of register type devices.

The amount of each of the ingredients provided for on a particular day is inputted into the stock memory 50, shown in Fig. 4A, as the initial data for that day and is updated by subtracting the amount of each kind of ingredient used therefrom every time an order is taken after opening the shop. The kind and amount of each ingredient required to prepare one dish are registered for each dish into the ingredient memory 54, shown in Fig. 4B, and each amount of the used ingredients, which amount is calculated by depending on the data stored in the ingredient memory 54, is subtracted from each amount of the corresponding stock in the stock memory 50 each and . every time an order is taken.

In a specific case, it is assumed that three tunas and one chirashi (which is a kind of dish) are ordered from table No. 5. First, the data on tuna, such as tuna 12 g (12 grams of tuna), is read out from the ingredient memory 54 and is trebled in order to compute the amount required to prepare three tuna dishes. Next, the amount of stock of tuna, 1500 g '(1500 grams), is read out from the stock memory 50, and 36 g (36 grams) for three tunas is subtracted therefrom. In this case, the amount of stock exceeds the amount required to prepare the dish ordered and hence the three tuna dishes can be prepared, so that the result of subtraction 1500 g - 36 g or 1464 g is written back into the stock memory address No. 0 in the stock memory 50. Then, the kinds and each amount of the ingredients required to prepare the chirashi are read out from ingredient memory address No. 4 in the ingredient memory 5^*4. Various kinds of ingredients are required to prepare the chirashi, so that the amount of each kind of the stocks is checked in the same manner as in the case of the tuna with respect to each kind of the required ingredients, respectively, and the memories are refigured and updated to ascertain if the chirashi can be prepared.

In the case wherein any of the ordered dishes cannot be prepared due to the lack of any kind of one or more stocks of ingredients, the out-of-stock signal is outputted from the stock check section 44 (Fig. 1) and sent to the order terminal 10. In the order terminal 10, the display lamp 61 (Fig. 2) on the key corresponding to the out-of-stock dish on the menu keyboard 60 is turned off or flickers and the display lamp 64 on the out-of-stock display section 66 on the function keyboard section 65 is turned on to notify the customer that the ordered dish is out of stock, and further that the kind of ordered dish is registered as an out-of-stock dish on registering means (not shown) in the order terminal 10.

In the case wherein the ordered dish can be prepared, the order data for each table are stored in the order memory 52 in the sequence in which the data is ordered, which action completes the acceptance of the order. Fig. 4C shows the state or condition of the completion of the order acceptance, that is, the state wherein three tunas and one chirashi are ordered from table No. 5, then one yellowtail, three octopuses and two tunas are ordered from table No. 2, and then one prawn and one octopus are additionally ordered from table No. 5. As is apparent from Fig. 4C, the orders are stored in the ordered sequence as units from each table and the sequence of orders is accurately stored even when an additional order is placed. In the Fig. 4C drawing, the column indicated as the additional address is left in blank in the usual case but when an additional order is placed from the same table, the starting address of the order memory 52 from which the additional order is stored provides that such additional order is stored in the order memory 52 to make it easy to look up all the orders from the table concerned at the time of settlement. In Fig. 4C, a numeral 5, indicative of the memory address 5 which is the starting address for storing the additional order from table No. 5, is stored in the additional address column for the order memory addresses 0 and 1. It is seen that in such Figs. 4A to 4C, the names of dishes and certain ingredients thereof are recited as specific names for the convenience of description. However, it is also possible to construct such memory contents that a series of numbers are used for each ingredient or dish and these numbers are stored in the respective memories instead of the names of the dishes and ingredients. Further, it is seen that mutual addresses can be utilized in interrelated or corresponding manner wherein the ingredient memory addresses in the stock memory 50 are stored as the names of ingredients in the ingredient memory 54. The interrelation of the addresses in the above manner facilitates reference to data stored.

When an order is accepted by storing the order data in the order memory 52, the order data is sent from the central processing unit 40 to the kitchen terminal 20. The order data thus sent to the kitchen terminal 20 are displayed on the display section 24 of the kitchen terminal 20 in the ordered sequence for each table^ The state or condition of the order data will be described with reference to Figs. 3A and 3B.

Fig. 3A is a plan view in diagrammatic form of the display section 24 and the input section 26 of the kitchen terminal 20 (Fig. 1) which is provided with a transparent touch plate as the input section 26 for viewing data on a CRT screen (not shown), and illustrates the state or condition that three tunas and one chirashi are ordered from table No. 5, and one prawn and one octopus are additionally ordered from table No. 5, all as in the manner of the state as shown in Fig. 4C. In the drawing, 76 is a display portion denoting the table number and 78 denotes an order content display portion. Each of these portions has a display function and an input function represented by means of the touch plate. The numeral under the dish name in the order content portion 78 designates the number of orders of each dish. A function keyboard portion and ten key portion, as at 80, is provided at the kitchen terminal 26 to perform various functions in accordanςe with the restaurant operation.

As an example of this portion of the operation, if the chef or cook touches the portion indicative of three orders of tuna on the order content display portion 78 and then touches the portion indicating table 05 of the table number display portion 76 after finishing the preparation of three tunas in the orders from table No. 5, a distribution chit or check including the table number 05, the name of the tuna dish, the number of orders as 3, and the subtotal of the order is printed by the printer 28 (see Fig. 1) of the kitchen terminal 20. Upon -issuance of the chit or check from the printer 28, the display of three tunas is deleted from the uppermost display of the order content display portion 78 simultaneously therewith and the arrangement of the display is changed, as shown in Fig. 3B. Further, the display lamp 61 on the tuna portion of the menu keyboard section 60 (Fig. 2) of the order terminal 10 is turned off and the neighboring display lamp 62 is lighted in blue, by which the customer can see that the dish which he has ordered has been prepared. Then, the waiter carries the prepared three tunas and the distribution chit to table No. 5, which number is printed on the distribution chit, and the customer can eat the meal.

When the customer touches the settlement key 68 on the function keyboard section 65 (Fig. 2) of the order terminal 10 after all the ordered dishes are delivered to his table and he finishes eating, the data is checked by the central processing unit 40 to see whether or not any dish is left to be carried to such customer, and to check that all the settlement data such as the order content for that table are read out from the order memory 52 of the central processing unit 40 when no order is left or when all orders are carried out. The data thus read out from the unit 40 are then sent to the settlement terminal 30 and stored in a buffer (not shown) in such settlement terminal in the unit for each table. In this connection, since the total amount of the orders is always displayed on the amount display section 63 (Fig. 2) of the order terminal 10, the customer makes sure of the amount of money to be paid by seeing the display on such amount display section 63 and then brings the distribution chit or receipt with him to the settlement counter for payment.

At the settlement counter, when the checker inputs the table number that is printed on the distribution chit, the data such as the details of the customer's order and the total amount of the order, which were stored when the settlement key was pressed by the customer, are both read out from the buffer of the settlement terminal 30 and are displayed on the display section 34 (Fig. 1) of the settlement terminal 30. The system can be constructed such that in case the settlement includes an additional order after the settlement key on the order terminal*10 is pressed by the customer, the display indicative of the settlement as including an additional order is made on the display section of the settlement counter. Further, the system may be constructed such that in case the customer forgets to press the settlement key, the settlement can be made through the settlement terminal 30 or through the kitchen terminal 20 and the order terminal 10 is cleared.

Then, the checker operates the input section 38 of settlement terminal 30 (Fig. 1) in response to payment by the customer, after which the data on the table of interest stored in the order memory 52 of the central processing unit 40 are cleared and a receipt is issued from the printer 36 and handed to the customer to complete the transaction.

It is thus seen that herein shown and described is an eating house or restaurant control system that automatically checks whether or not the dish ordered is out of stock when an order is placed and immediately displays the out-of-stock state, if such condition exists, so that a customer need not wait for a lengthy amount of time. In addition, since the central system is constructed so that the amount of each stock of ingredients is checked every time an order is given to determine whether or not the dish can be prepared, the simultaneous ordering of the same dish from a plurality of customers can be accepted in the ordered sequence within a time limit which permits the preparation thereof, and a fair and accurate acceptance of the orders is possible. The apparatus and system of the present invention enables the accomplishment of the objects and advantages mentioned above, and while a preferred embodiment has been disclosed herein, variations thereof may occur to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1CLAIMS :

1. Restaurant control apparatus for controlling the operation of a restaurant, including a plurality of order terminals (10) located at customer tables and adapted for operation by restaurant custom¬ ers for selectively ordering any of a plurality of dishes, a kitchen terminal (20) adapted to display dishes ordered at said order terminals (10) , and processing means (40) coupled to said order terminals (10) and to said kitchen terminal (20), characterized in that said processing means (40) includes first memory means (50) adapted to store the stock amount of each ingredient of said dishes, second memory means (54) adapted to store the unit amounts of the ingredi¬ ents required for said dishes, and stock checking means (44) adapted to subtract the amounts of ingredi¬ ents required for an ordered dish from the respective stored stock amounts of th'e'respective ingredients" and to provide an out-of-stock signal to the relevant order terminal (10) in the event that insufficient ingredients are in stock for preparing the ordered dish, said processing means (40) being adapted to supply data representing the ordered dish to said kitchen terminal (20) if sufficient ingredients there¬ for are in stock.

2. Restaurant control apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that each order terminal (10) includes display means (64, 66) responsive to said out-of-stock signal to indicate that a selected dish is out of stock.

3. Restaurant control apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that each order terminal (10) includes registering means adapted to register that dishes are out-of-stock, said display means (64, 66) being operable in response to the ordering by a customer of a dish registered as out-of stock.

4. Restaurant control apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by further display means (61) adapted to be operated in response to the ordering by a customer of a dish which is not registered as out of stock, said further display means (61) being respon¬ sive to said out-of-stock signal to indicate that a selected dish is determined by said processing means (40) to be out of stock.

5. _ Restaurant control apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that each order terminal (10) includes a dish selection keyboard section (60), a numerical keyboard section (72) and a function keyboard section (65), said display means (61) being included in said dish selection keyboard section (60) .

6. Restaurant control apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said processing means (40) includes third memory means (52) adapted to store the items ordered by each customer.

7. Restaurant control apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that said processing means (40) includes fourth memory means (56) adapted to store management data.

8. Restaurant control means according to claim 1, characterized by a settlement terminal (30) coupled to said processing means (40) , and adapted, in response to a settlement request signal from an order terminal (10) , to receive from said processing means (40) data relating to the dishes constituting an order entered in that order terminal (10) .

9. Restaurant control system according to claim 8, characterized in that said kitchen terminal (20) and said settlement terminal (30) each include an input section (26, 38), a control section (22, 32), a display section (24, 34) and a printer (28, 36) .