Before you start hiring for your restaurant, it's important to understand the different roles and responsibilities of each job. Many business owners don't know the difference between a head chef and a kitchen manager, and this can lead to problems. Being informed about the different positions in a restaurant will help you find the right people for the job. Assistant managers are responsible for assisting the general manager in their duties.
This includes managing paperwork, training programs, participating in brainstorming activities, and helping with decision-making processes. When the general manager is away, the assistant manager takes their place. If you want to offer the best cuisine in town, you need to find an excellent executive chef. They are responsible for preparing the meals on your menu and improving your overall service.
They also handle all cooking processes, from preparation to presentation. The executive chef is the second most important position in the kitchen. Sous chefs are like assistants to the executive chef. If the executive chef is away, it's the sous chef who takes charge of the kitchen.
They must have similar experience and skills as an executive chef. The kitchen manager is like the general manager of the kitchen. Their duties include recruiting and dismissing staff, process management and optimization, inventory management, and more. The kitchen manager must be able to create a cohesive team with one main goal: customer satisfaction.
Let's start with employees who work in front of house. The host or hostess is usually the first person customers see when they enter your establishment, so they should be friendly and smiling. Hosts are responsible for taking customers to their seats and fulfilling takeout orders, as well as general restaurant maintenance such as making sure bathrooms are clean or picking up trash in the waiting room. Waiters or waitresses are at the heart of any restaurant. They take orders from customers and serve them food and drinks as requested.
Some waiters may also be responsible for handling alcoholic beverages, depending on state laws. Waiters must be able to work with all types of personalities and provide exceptional service no matter what day or table they serve. Waiters must have a food handler certificate to understand best safety practices for serving food in the United States. The payment of a waiter depends largely on the restaurant and state they work in. Most servers are paid less than minimum wage because their pay is supplemented by tips. Bartenders are responsible for preparing drinks for the entire restaurant, as well as serving people at the bar.
They are paid similarly to waiters, where most of their salary comes from tips. If you're interested in becoming a bartender, make sure you complete your training to get certified as an alcoholic beverage vendor before applying for any job. Now let's move on to back of house or kitchen staff. Of course, a restaurant can't continue to function without delicious food, so chefs play a critical role in its success. Depending on the restaurant, there may be several different types of cooks such as line cooks, head cooks and sous chefs.
The levels of experience and salary scales required vary depending on the type of chef. When looking for a job as a cook or chef in a restaurant, pay attention to job descriptions and experience required as charges may vary from restaurant to restaurant. Dishwashers are also essential for any restaurant and it's an excellent entry-level job if you want to gain experience in the restaurant industry. Dishwashing isn't difficult; it mainly consists of pre-rinsing dishes and operating machines. However, you'll need to learn a bit about industrial dishwashers since they're different from those found at home. Dishwashers are usually paid minimum wage because it's a more basic job. When it comes to managing a restaurant, it often requires several people.
Each restaurant has its own configuration which could include kitchen managers, bar managers and restaurant managers. Kitchen and bar managers have titles that are self-explanatory; while restaurant managers direct daily operations from hiring and firing to managing customer complaints. Formal waiter education may be required at some restaurants but many hire based on experience. If you have a fine dining restaurant or one where wine is the focus of the whole experience, hiring a sommelier is essential.
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