Duties and responsibilities of food and beverage personnel

Duties and responsibilities of food and beverage personnel

Duties and responsibilities of food and beverage personnel

The food and beverage manager

The food and beverage manager is responsible for the implementation and setting of the

food and beverage policies. In general, food and beverage managers are responsible for:

1.     Ensuring that the required profit margins

2.     Updating and complete new wine lists

3.     Compiling, in liaison with the kitchen, menu

4.     Purchasing of all materials

5.     Ensuring that quality/quantity in relation to the price paid is maintained

6.     Ensuring staff training in maintaining highest professional standards

7.     Employing and dismissing staff

8.     Holding regular meetings with section heads

9.     Marketing and sale promotion

Assistant food and beverage manager

This position exists only in large organisations. The assistant food and beverage manager

assists the food and beverage manager in running the department by being more involved

in the actual day-to-day operations.

An assistant food and beverage manager’s job includes:

1.     Assisting section head during busy periods.

2.     Taking charge of an outlet, when an outlet manager is on leave.

3.     Setting duty schedules for all the outlet managers and monitoring their

performance.

4.     Running the department independently in the absence of food and beverage

manager.

Restaurant manager

Responsibility for the organization and administration of particular food and beverage

service areas. These may include the lounges, room service (in hotels), restaurants and

possibly some of the private function suites.

Job duties consist of:

1.     managing employees,

2.     regulating business operations,

3.     resolving customer issues,

4.     create work schedules,

5.     monitor and evaluate employee performances,

6.     motivate staff members,

7.     monitoring inventory (ordering/ delivery),

8.     meeting health and safety regulations,

Hostess

The Hostess/reception headwaiter is responsible for accepting any bookings and for keeping

the booking dairy up to date. He/she will reserve tables and allocate these reservations to

particular stations. The reception headwaiter greets guests on arrival and takes them to the

table and seats them.

Restaurant supervisor / Head waiter

The headwaiter has a overall charge of the staff team and is responsible for seeing that all

the duties necessary for the pre-preparation for service are efficiently carried out and that

nothing is forgotten. The headwaiter will aid the hostess during the service and will possibly

take some orders if the station waiter is busy. He/she helps with the compilation of the duty

rotas and holiday lists, and may relieve the restaurant manager or hostess on their days off.

Team Leader / Station headwaiter / section supervisor

The team leader has the overall responsibility for a team of staff serving a number of sets of

tables (which may be anything from four to eight in number), from one sideboard. Each set

of tables under the station headwaiter’s control is called a station.

The team leader must have a good knowledge of food and wine and its correct service,

and be able to instruct other members of the staff. He/she will take the order (usually from

the host) and carry out all the service at the table with the help of the associates, who is in

command of one station.

Associate / Station waiter / chef de rang

The associates must be able to carry out the same work as the team leader and relieve him

on days off. The associate will normally have had less experience than the station

headwaiter. Both the team leader and the associates must work together as a team to

provide an efficient and speedy service.

Trainee / debarrasseur / apprentice

The apprentice is the ‘learner’ having just joined the food serving staff, and possibly wishing

to take up food service as a career. During the service this person will keep the side board

well filled with equipment and may help to fetch and carry items as required. The trainee

would carry out certain of the cleaning tasks during the pre-preparation periods. He/she

may given the responsibility of serving water, assisting in pre-plated service, food pick up

from the kitchen and mise en place.

Room service manager

The room service manager reports directly to the food and beverage manager and is

responsible for the room service outlet. The room service manager checks that the service

rendered to the guests conforms the standard set by the hotel. He also monitors all

operational aspects of the outlet such as service, billing, duty charts, leave and absenteeism,

in addition to attending to guest complaints regarding food and service.

The room service manager is also in charge of the sales and expenditure budget. Since

room service is the outlet which is most liable to have problems, the room service manager

should ensure coordination among the room service order taker, the captain and the waiter.

It is necessary for the room service manager to be present in the outlet during peak hours to

interact with other departments of the hotel and to take regular inventories of all the

equipment used. In the event of the hotel offering valet service, the room service manager

takes charge of that service as well.

Room Service Steward

1.     Lining trays and trolleys and arranging them with basic service equipment and

accompaniments

2.     Store pick up

3.     Food pick up

4.     Carrying orders to the room and serving as per standards

5.     Settlement of bills from guest rooms

6.     Placing room amenities

7.     Replenishing mini bar

8.     Clearance of trays and trolleys from guest rooms and corridors

9.     Attending briefing

10.  Setting up the pantry.

Banquet waiter

They are responsible for the following

1.     Cleaning and wiping cutlery, crockery and glassware

2.     Arranging tables for various functions according to the banquet event order

3.     Setting up and manning buffer counters

4.     Setting up covers & Mise en place activities

5.     Food pick up & serving as per instructions

6.     Attending briefing

7.     Clearance and resetting banquet areas

Bartender

They are responsible for the functions at the bar assigned and their duties include:

1.     Mixing and serving drinks to guests seated at the counter

2.     Pouring required measures against BOT for waiters to serve

3.     Washing of glassware & maintenance of bar tools and equipments

4.     Recording sales

5.     Bill settlements

6.     Keeping the bar area clean

7.     Taking opening and closing stock

8.     Store pickup.

9.     Establishing good relationship with customers.

Inter departmental coordination and communication with F and B service and other

departments

The Food and beverage service department is seen to possess a very vigorous intra and inter

departmental interactions in prospect of accomplishing works. This has also made the

functioning of the organisation very suave. Positive mutual aid and harmonisation can be

found in between the intra departmental staffs, as they are willing to lend a helping hand

during busy operation hours and favourably exchange their ideas and views with each other.

With Food production:

It coordinates with kitchen department for the preparation of various food and beverage

items as per the orders. The kitchen also coordinates with food and beverage service

department regarding the functions, outdoor caterings, and promotional activities. It also

provides fruits, cream, mint, lemon, eggs and other ingredients required by the bar for

making cocktails.

With housekeeping:

It coordinates with housekeeping department regarding the cleanliness of the outlets,

different F&B sections and regarding the regular supply of staff uniforms and soil linens. In

many hotels, housekeeping department also looks after pest control in restaurants,

kitchens, and store attached to them. Special cleaning of this areas call for coordination with

the housekeeping department.

With front office department:

Receives rooming list from the front office which shows the occupancy position, status of

the guest, meal plan and so on. It helps the service dept to organise service accordingly.

Signed bills are posted to the guest room account through point of sales or are deposited at

the front office for charging to the guest account.

Human resources department:

Coordinates with this department for recruiting, training, performance appraisal and firing

of staff.

Security department

It coordinates with security department to create a safer environment for the guests, hotel

personnel and the assets to control them properly. It informs security about any articles

misplaced by guest, suspicious behaviour of guest, unclaimed baggage, drunken guest,

function caterings etc.

Engineering department

It coordinates with engineering department for repairs, maintenance, and installation of

various equipment and physical features required during operation hours and special

functions.

Information system

It coordinates with information system department regarding the updating and installing of

different electronic information system. Every personal are provide with the password as

access into the computer system of the hotel by the IS department. Similarly, the micros

cards are also issued to the F&B staffs and the degree of accessibility is governed by the

rank of the staffs.

Stores:

It coordinates with materials department for regular supply of food, beverages, and

essential stationeries for the outlet.

Sales and marketing department:

It coordinates with sales and marketing department for the sales of banquet halls, fixing the

menu price, and providing provisions and service as per the Banquet Event Order. F & B

personnel will do the necessary arrangement for the preparation and see to guests needs.

Get clients to hold functions using hotel facilities in banquets.

Finance department: It coordinates with finance department for payment of salary and

budget development. The Cost controller verifies bills and KOT’s of all service areas,

receipts of stores, closing stock records and conduct periodic inventories.

ATTRIBUTES OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE PERSONNEL

The product of any food and beverage operation is not just the food and drink itself. Any

member of the staff coming in contact with the customer is also the part of the product. No

matter how good the quality of the food, beverage, décor and equipment, poorly trained,

scruffy and unhelpful staff can destroy a customer’s potential satisfaction with the product.

It is also true that well-trained, smart and helpful staff can sometimes make up for aspects

that are lacking elsewhere in the operation.

Below are listed the principle attributes necessary in food and beverage service

personnel.

1. Personal Hygiene and Grooming

1.      Pride in one’s appearance is an essential quality of a good waiter. Guest will have

confidence in an establishment if the waiters are well groomed and professional.

Hands are particularly important because they are constantly under the eyes of the

guest. Fingernails should be well trimmed and neat. Waiters should wear

conservative, comfortable, well-polished shoes and black socks.

2.      Uniforms should be well tailored and fit properly.

3.      The waiters must make sure that they have a bath at least once a day, if not more.

4.      Hair should be well combed and neatly cut on a regular basis.

5.      Chewing of gum is not allowed.

6.      The jewelry worn by the service staff should be to a minimum. A watch, one plain

ring and a small plain earring are permitted.

2. Attitude to work

 Anticipate the guests needs and wishes

 A respectful manner towards guest and senior staff members is necessary.

 All guests should be treated as VIP’s, regardless of who or what they are, and

everyone should be given the same respect.

 A waiter’s conduct should be of the highest degree at all times, particularly in front

of the guest.

 The customer is always right – even when he is wrong. NEVER argue with the guest.

If the problem cannot be handled call a senior member of the staff.

 Service staff must develop a sense an urgency especially at the time when the

establishments is very busy in order to make maximum business and profit.

 Honesty is exceptionally important in dealing with both the guest and the

management.

 Assist fellow workers wherever possible without interfering. Never say no to the

guest. Help where you can – it is to everyone’s advantage in the long run.

3. Assuming responsibility

 As one grows in sensibility one’s responsibility increases. To be able to assume

responsibility is a sigh of maturity in itself.

 One must do ones job regardless of the presence of the supervisor.

 Responsibility grows as ones skill increases.

 Taking the job seriously, no matter how menial, will be recognized by those in higher

positions.

4. Memory and Anticipation

It is important to remember as much as one can about his customer’s because what a

customer wants is a sensitive awareness. They like persons who know just when

something is required without hovering near the guest all the time. He answers before

you call. If a waiter studies his customers preference, even their favorites, he will find

that they will be delighted when they realize that their wishes are known and

anticipated.

5. Courtesy

It is the hallmark of a good waiter to go out of his way to be considerate to ill-tempered

persons. The manners should not only be a part of the technique of the restaurant but

inherited in the nature. The waiter should be friendly without being familiar.

6. Technical Skills

In addition to the social skill one must also develop technical skills. One should be

hungry for knowledge and eager to learn service skills.

7. Handwriting

It is a must to have legible handwriting because you will be required to write KOT’s

(Kitchen Order Ticket) which will be read by the kitchen and billing staff.

8. Punctuality

Staff must report to work on time. Punctuality reflects the interest the staff have

towards their work