In the provided analogy for an API, what role does the waiter fulfill?

Handling the complex transaction between the customer and the kitchen.

The analogy uses a restaurant setting to illustrate the fundamental function of an Application Programming Interface. In this model, the customer represents one software application needing information or service, and the kitchen represents the other system or database holding the required data. The waiter serves as the API itself. The waiter takes the specific request from the customer, manages the internal complexities of fulfilling that request within the kitchen (the backend system), and then returns the final result to the customer. Crucially, the customer does not need to know the internal operational specifics of the kitchen; the waiter mediates the entire transaction securely and efficiently.