A method for operating at least one cooking appliance having a cooking chamber which has a plurality of cooking chamber areas, an input device, a display device and a memory device, in which • a plurality of cooking programmes for the cooking appliance can be retrieved from said memory device, including a time characteristic for carrying out each cooking programme which, in addition to the duration of the order of events of said cooking programme, which is given by the cooking time, is also determined by a preparation time for preparing said order of events of said cooking programme and/or a follow-up time for following-up said carrying out of said cooking programme, wherein a representation of one of each stored cooking programme can be displayed on said display device, the respective relevant time is also displayed for each displayed representative, a virtual coupon is chosen as a representation of each cooking programme, which coupon can be arranged along a timeline on said display device, with the result that said time necessary for carrying out said cooking programme is visualized by the extension of the representative along the timeline, each coupon is built up from a part-coupon for representing the cooking time and at least one further part-coupon for representing the preparation and/or follow-up time, said timeline is displayed on said display device as part of a virtual coupon board, said virtual coupon board comprises a coordinates system which is defined by a time axis reproducing said timeline and at least one position axis characterizing said cooking chamber areas and in which said coupons can be arranged such that, when there is a plurality of cooking programmes to be carried out, the time when and where each food to be cooked is or can be loaded into and unloaded from a cooking chamber and which measure is or can be actioned for this at what point in time, before said loading and/or subsequent to said unloading, is displayed using the positions of the corresponding coupons on said coupon board, and • at least one first parameter which is characteristic of the load state at time tI of said cooking chamber is determined in order to display a maximum capacity of meals, each meal comprising at least one food to be cooked, which can be cooked in said cooking chamber in a period from tI to tII, at least one second parameter, which is characteristic of every different type of meals to be cooked, is selected and/or entered, and depending on said first and second parameters there is displayed how many of said meals can be cooked by time tII in said cooking chamber when fully loaded, wherein a determination takes place as to whether each cooking chamber is free or occupied, in order to determine said first parameter, for occupied cooking chamber areas it is also determined how long it is still occupied, said occupancy of a cooking chamber area with at least one food to be cooked of a meal, after the allocation of said food to be cooked to said cooking chamber area, is determined by at least said cooking time of said food to be cooked, by taking into account a preparation time of said food to be cooked and/or a follow-up time of said food to be cooked, and thus at least one second parameter of said meal is determined from said cooking time, said preparation time and/or said follow-up time. • a plurality of cooking programmes for the cooking appliance can be retrieved from said memory device, including a time characteristic for carrying out each cooking programme which, in addition to the duration of the order of events of said cooking programme, which is given by the cooking time, is also determined by a preparation time for preparing said order of events of said cooking programme and/or a follow-up time for following-up said carrying out of said cooking programme, wherein a representation of one of each stored cooking programme can be displayed on said display device, the respective relevant time is also displayed for each displayed representative, a virtual coupon is chosen as a representation of each cooking programme, which coupon can be arranged along a timeline on said display device, with the result that said time necessary for carrying out said cooking programme is visualized by the extension of the representative along the timeline, each coupon is built up from a part-coupon for representing the cooking time and at least one further part-coupon for representing the preparation and/or follow-up time, said timeline is displayed on said display device as part of a virtual coupon board, said virtual coupon board comprises a coordinates system which is defined by a time axis reproducing said timeline and at least one position axis characterizing said cooking chamber areas and in which said coupons can be arranged such that, when there is a plurality of cooking programmes to be carried out, the time when and where each food to be cooked is or can be loaded into and unloaded from a cooking chamber and which measure is or can be actioned for this at what point in time, before said loading and/or subsequent to said unloading, is displayed using the positions of the corresponding coupons on said coupon board, and • at least one first parameter which is characteristic of the load state at time tI of said cooking chamber is determined in order to display a maximum capacity of meals, each meal comprising at least one food to be cooked, which can be cooked in said cooking chamber in a period from tI to tII,