Food Service Manager Job Description

When you go to a restaurant or attend a function in a banquet, you must have seen a man who overlooks all the arrangements, who ensures that all the customers and invitees have a good experience and are satisfied with the food service. This man is none other than a food service manager. His main duties include - overlooking the operations, ensuring that the food is of topmost quality and that it is served in the best possible manner to the customers.

A food service manager may be employed at a restaurant, fast food, a cafeteria of a school/hospital or in a hotel. Irrespective of where he is employed, he needs to perform certain tasks, such as training the service staff, managing the inventory, ...

... inspecting the service areas and the food, hiring new staff, scheduling the duties and work timings of the service staff, ordering for new inventory, amongst many others.

Maintaining smooth operations is the chief objective behind performing all these tasks. In addition to these jobs, a food service manager may be required to perform some more duties, depending upon the kind of establishment he is working for. For instance, in a fast food joint, he may be expected to act as a cashier or a cleaning staff, whenever needed.

For carrying on his duties, a food service manager should be a good planner and organizer. He should also be quick in decision-making and should know how to handle pressure situations. Handling customer complaints, taking care of any last-minute lack of inventory or shortage of service staff - all these fall under the job description.

Here is a list of some of the other jobs performed by a service manager:

• Testing the quality of food.
• Ensuring that food and beverages ordered from outside are of the quality as prescribed in the "company standards".
• Scheduling the staff work timings and duties.

• Monitoring budgets, payrolls and other financial transactions.
• Reviewing service operations from time to time and then devising ways to enhance their quality.
• Maintaining inventory records.
• Hiring, training and evaluating employees.
• Ordering equipment, foods and beverages, as needed, from time to time.

• Taking care of all the wear and tear in equipment, pest control and undertaking waste management.
• Overlooking the creation of new menus or food recipes, to enhance the product value.
• Taking reservations for dining

To enter this profession, a candidate should have a two-year or a four-year degree in hospitality management. However, for a managerial position in a small restaurant, experience in the field counts much more than education.

A food service manager should be trained in various subjects, such as food preparations, policies and procedures with regards to nutrition and sanitation, company's policies (for which he is working), food safety laws, maintenance of records and reports, and computer usage.

To be successful, he should possess a number of skills, such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, planning and organizational skills, and customer service skills. Maintaining a clean, smart appearance is of utmost importance as a food service manager meets up and interacts with a number of customers every day. Lastly, as this job entails long hours, being physically fit and energetic is a pre-requisite.

As you can see, a food service manager needs to have multitasking abilities. He has to ensure the food and service quality, train his staff, maintain the inventory and be pleasant and presentable at all times! The salary can be as much as $54,000 per year. Only those who have a passion for serving, for food and for working in hotels, should think of making a career in this field.