FOOD AND BEVERAGE IN THE INDUSTRY

Front-of-house roles

Front-of-house roles refer to customer-facing tasks, such as:

Waitstaff

In full-service restaurants, these staff members help with taking orders, bringing guests food and drink, and meeting other needs guests have.

Waitstaff work as a link between guests and the kitchen or other staff members in full-service restaurants.

Bartenders

Bartenders prepare and serve drinks, and often have to be flexible to meet unusual drinks requests.

Talented cocktail mixologists can be in high demand within the food and beverage service industry.

Hosts

Hosts are often the first point of contact for guests in a venue.

They are the people who will help seat customers in restaurants, and they will often be responsible for taking reservations and arranging seating plans.

Private events coordinator

For venues that offer private events such as hosting parties or catering weddings, there will usually be a private events coordinator who helps organize and run these events.

Back-of-house roles

Back-of-house roles for F&B services involve the preparation of food or drinks and the organization of the business.

Kitchen staff

There is a wide range of kitchen staff at any establishment that serves food.

Larger establishments will have more levels of staff, whereas smaller venues will usually combine responsibilities into fewer job roles. Some of the roles of kitchen staff include:

• Kitchen manager

• Executive chef or head chef

• Station chefs and union chefs

• Kitchen porters

• Dishwashers

Food and Beverage Managers

Food and beverage managers are one of the highest roles in a professional food venue.

They have control over all the processes and staff under them.

Their tasks might include hiring and managing staff, overseeing inventories, making changes in direction, menu appraisal, and more.

In luxury management, this will also include making special arrangements for VIP customers.

This is an aspirational role for anyone who wants to work inside F&B services and loves leadership and guiding how the food services of an establishment work.

The skills and qualifications required for food and beverage service

If you’re looking for a hospitality career in the food service industry, particularly in management, there are a lot of skills and qualifications you can work towards that will help you.

Essential skills

Some of the key skills that you will need for management in F&B service include:

• Organizational skills

• Time management

• Attention to detail

• Team working skills.

Desirable qualifications

There are many paths you can take to work in the food service industry or the industry of dining, depending on the area you want to work in.

For example, this could include getting cooking qualifications if you wish to work in a kitchen as a chef.

If you’re looking for a career in the management of a food business, you could look at hotel management schools and professional degrees.

These will help you learn needed skills and advance in the field, using resources such as a master’s in luxury management for high-end restaurants and hotels.