As a home cook I often have trouble getting the various parts of a meal ready at the same time. For example the other nite I made boiled new potatoes tossed in butter & rosemary, asparagus, pork tenderloin, served with a Bearnaise sauce over the asparagus and pork. The potatoes held warm in the pot after draining, that was easy. And the pork was resting covered with foil. I simmered the asparagus as I reduced the vinegar & wine for the Bearnaise, which I was making using an immersion blender. My problem was that when the asparagus was done the reduction was not, so I used tongs to grab the asparagus and put it an a toaster oven at 150F to hold warm while I finished the sauce, cut medallions of pork, and tossed the potatoes. The pork had cooled a bit more than I liked by the time I served it, and the asparagus seemed like it continued to cook and was a bit mushy.
So a 2-part question. In a professional restaurant, how do they get the parts of a meal to come together at the same time? I'm impressed that they can do it, especially considering they're not making just one plate but each diner typically orders a different meal! Second, do you have advice/tips for the home cook on how to order things so that the parts of a meal are ready at around the same time?