Final answer:
In a restaurant setting, desserts are generally prepared last to ensure freshness and quality, served after appetizers, main courses, and other dishes.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of order assembly in restaurants or food service, desserts are typically prepared last. This is because they are served at the end of a meal, after appetizers, main courses, and any other courses have been enjoyed by the guests. Desserts are often prepared fresh to ensure the highest quality and may involve final touches such as the addition of garnishes, which makes it sensible to prepare them after the other dishes have been dealt with. The reasoning behind this is that desserts, especially those that require intricate presentation or last-minute preparation (such as garnishing), are best made closer to the time of serving to maintain freshness and quality. This allows the kitchen to focus on preparing appetizers, main courses, and other components of the meal before completing it with the dessert.