How to build a restaurant prep list with par levels that cooks actually use

I used to think a prep list was just a clipboard with yesterday's guesses on it. The line cooks knew what to make, the manager wrote a few numbers, and we all hoped the rush matched the sheet. It worked on slow days. On busy days, one station was buried in backup pans while another ran out of cut onions at 7:15. The prep list that finally worked for us started with par levels by station, not one…