Also called Kitchen order ticket, Docket
A KOT is the instruction sent to the kitchen when an order is placed — historically a printed docket, now usually a ticket on a kitchen display. It carries the items, modifiers and course order the kitchen needs to cook.
The KOT is the handover point between front of house and the kitchen. Anything not on it does not get made, which is why modifiers being structured data rather than free-text notes matters so much.
In a POS, the KOT is generated automatically when an order is sent, so the kitchen sees it without anyone re-entering it. That single step removes the most common source of wrong orders.
Related terms
MinimalPOS handles orders, kitchen, billing and reporting in one flow.