RACE CONDITION: Pasta finished six minutes before the sauce

[19:30:00] spawn boil-water (pid 210)
[19:30:00] spawn make-sauce (pid 211)
[19:39:40] boil-water: pasta added
[19:48:12] pasta: al dente. waiting on make-sauce...
[19:51:00] pasta: no longer al dente
[19:54:20] make-sauce: done
warning: join returned late. result: soft pasta, correct sauce.

Impact

Pasta overcooked by about four minutes. Sauce excellent. Diners noticed only one of these.

Root cause

Both jobs started at the same time with no synchronization. The sauce needed 24 minutes. Water plus pasta needed 18.

Resolution

Pasta tossed into the finished sauce with a splash of pasta water and served.

Action items

• Start the sauce first. Drop the pasta when the sauce is about ten minutes from done.
• Pull pasta a minute before the package time and finish it in the sauce with a splash of pasta water.
• If the pasta finishes early anyway, drain it, toss it with a little oil, and hold it. Do not leave it in the water.

# This is a blameless postmortem. The kitchen is a system. Systems fail. Cooks learn.