A system and appertaining methods are provided that makes it possible to order pizza and other products using an instant messaging or other signaling mechanisms such as cell-phones and two-way pagers, using a tokenized representation of the order elements. Signaling mechanisms provide context sensitive help to facilitate the use of the tokens, and a system then processes the order to the end point system for immediate preparation and/or delivery of the products. Communications may be implemented by a system in which a non-secure channel is used to poll a central server to determine if there is any data available, and the actual data transmission, if available, is provided over a secure channel.