Oh I like that system, expatgirl! that's cooperation at its best there.
Pre-prep is absolutely the "secret". A real time saver. I'm an advocate of big batch and one a month cooking. I always add other items but I have a stash accumulated in the freezer for those days when I'm weary and just do not want to cook from scratch. Saves on the impulse take out orders too. 
Our soup kitchen also had huge mixers, ovens, pots, etc. I learned a lot by working there---Sister Elena would place people where their skills were best utilized--I was in salads as I could chop large amounts in a short period of time (got that talent from watching all those cooking shows-ha!) and others were better at serving. The men did the washing and carrying heavy pans and the baking. It was a lot of fun and most of the people who came to our kitchen were quite nice and very appreciative (sadly we had many young children and mamas). We did have two police officers on hand to maintain order---they were 2 of the nicest guys around but tolerated no nonsense. It felt good helping out.
Wow, I didn't realize how much food could be made really fast. I'd always wondered about it though.