The restaurant industry runs by many qualified and highly-trained individuals. Parts of them are the food service managers, general managers, and executive chefs. These persons dedicate their lives to make sure that whatever restaurant they work for will run and smoothly as possible. Being extremely knowledgeable in all things food service in an obvious requirement for any of these career paths, including also the ability of being a team player, being able to think on one’s feet, the ability to adapt to change, and most necessarily, the ability to make large and important decisions at a moment’s notice.
Duties and Responsibilities
Followings are the duties and responsibilities of a food service manager and/or general manager:
- Handling the daily activities of the restaurant, including the kitchen, bar area, and general dining area.
- Coordinating all of the activities that occur among these entities, either during the normal business hours or for special events.
- Ensuring that customers are completely satisfied with the service and food they accept from the restaurant, and make every effort possible to rectify the situation if they feel otherwise.
- Ordering all of the food and supplies for the restaurant and ensuring that all of the equipment is up to date and functioning appropriately.
- Hiring employees and ensuring that they are doing their tasks up to the restaurant’s standards.
- Ensuring the staff members get the disciplinary action or even get fired as necessary.
- Maintaining the employee’s payroll and working schedules.
- Making sure that every aspect of the restaurant runs as smoothly as possible.
While, the duties and responsibilities of the executive chef are below:
- Ensuring that the kitchen runs as efficiently as it can.
- Training new cooks in the preparation of the restaurant’s dishes.
- Creating new and exciting menu items to make sure that customers will come back to the establishment.
Training and Education Requirements
Usually, there is no general training to become a food service manager, general manager, or executive chef. Nevertheless, many larger-scale and chain operations require candidates to undergo an internship in order to rise into a management position. This will also be incorporated into a two or four year hospitality and food service program provided at many colleges and universities. Many larger restaurants may also pay for their managers to submit to computer and other technology-related training.
Executive chef candidates who attend culinary school will be preferable to be hired by many restaurants. They are also required to be able to make various dishes and put their own variation on those dishes in order to make the restaurant’s menu completely unique.
Salary and Wages
The salary of food service managers and executive chefs is vary depends on the location of the restaurant, caliber of the food served, and general industry of service, but it can be said that the average is between $29,000 and $60,000 with the median salary at about $37,000.
Certifications
To officially measure the achievement, there is award issued by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation called the Foodservice Management Professional award which is given to individuals who represent the very high point in professionalism and excellence in their field.
Professional Associations
The main professional association will be the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. This foundation is also managing the Foodservice Management Professional certification.
Interested candidates can also become Foodservice Management Professional proctors who are in charge for instructing managers on proper management, better management styles, and ways to better the industry on a larger level, as well as proposing names and giving consideration for individuals who qualified for the extraordinarily prestigious Foodservice Management Professional award.
