Finding the best people to fill positions in your restaurant is often a difficult task. Whether you run a small bakery or a large family restaurant, one of the most important things to focus on is hiring great employees. Remember that each restaurant position has its own specific duties and responsibilities that are critical to the overall success of the entire business. Therefore, you should only delegate them to the right people.
But before you focus on hiring, it's important to familiarize yourself with all the different job titles in a restaurant. Many owners can't tell a chef from a head chef and wonder why their business isn't doing well. Being knowledgeable about the different positions in restaurants can help you find the right people.
A restaurant is like a puzzle. If you don't find the right pieces for each position, you won't succeed.
The purpose of this article is to acquaint you with all the jobs in a restaurant, their roles and responsibilities. This way you know what to expect from each member of your team, establish efficient work processes and achieve higher customer satisfaction.
22 restaurant stands and their functions
through efficient useSelf-Order-InfrastructureSome restaurants get by with very little staff. But depending on your business model and the type of restaurant you run, you may need to hire more than 80 people in around 20 different roles. Therefore, in order to make a correct judgment of the staff required for the efficient operation of your business, you must first find out what the responsibilities of the people in the different positions in the restaurant are:
1. Managing Director
This is the most important position in your company when it comes to the operational side. General managers are the ones who focus on hiring/firing employees, training programs, public relations and marketing, process optimization, etc. Think of them as the chef of your restaurant.
Skills and competences:
- Excellent communication skills
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Ability to work under pressure
- Problem Solving Skills
- solid experience
Average hourly wage: $18.00 - 23.00
2. Deputy General Manager
As the job title suggests, assistant managers are responsible for assisting the general manager in carrying out their duties. They are often responsible for completing paperwork, conducting training programs, participating in brainstorming activities, helping with decision-making processes, etc. When the general manager takes a day off, it is the assistant who fulfills his role.
Skills and Competences (practically the same as the Managing Director):
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to work under pressure
- Experience (i.e. the deputy manager is a less experienced CEO)
Average hourly wage: $18.00 - $20.00
Related:5 tips for choosing the perfect restaurant name with 30 examples
3. Chef
If you want to offer the best cuisine in town, focus on finding the best chef. A good chef creates the dishes on his menu. Optimum helps you to improve your overall service and adapt your dining concept to the needs of your restaurant. It also takes care of all cooking processes, from preparation to service.
Skills and competences:
- Appropriate culinary training or diploma
- solid experience
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Ability to work under pressure
- proactivity
Average hourly wage: $35.00 - $55.00
Advice:When setting the salary budget for your company, make sure you know themRegulation of overtime pay, so you can keep your employees happy and stay compliant with the law.
4. second cook
This is basically the second most important task in the kitchen after the chef. Think of sous chefs as assistants to the captain. If the head chef takes a day off, the sous chef takes over the kitchen. Sous chefs must have similar experience and skills as executive chefs.
Skills and competences:
- Appropriate culinary training or diploma
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Ability to work under pressure
Average hourly wage: $24.00 - $40.00
5. Pastry chef
The pastry chefs are responsible for the sweets on their menu. You will develop recipes and prepare desserts such as sponge cakes, tarts, soufflés, crêpes, mousses, etc. Consider hiring them if you have a large, casual restaurant. If not, you can leave these tasks to your other chefs if they have a pastry background.
Skills and competences:
- proper pastry training
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Ability to work under pressure
Average hourly wage: $25.00 – $36.00
6. Kitchen Manager
This is basically the general manager of the kitchen. The functions associated with this position focus on hiring and firing of staff, control and optimization of processes, inventory management, etc. Customer satisfaction.
Skills and competences:
- Excellent communication skills
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Problem Solving Skills
- Previous leadership experience
Average hourly wage: $20.00 - $29.00
7. Food and Beverage Manager
This position is not as popular in most restaurants as it is in larger ones. Food and Beverage Managers are responsible for managing inventory (both bar and kitchen products and supplies), overseeing that the kitchen and bar are in compliance with local health requirements and regulations, as well as determining the menu and general work processes in the Restaurant (creation of schedules).
Skills and competences:
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Ability to work under pressure
- team player
- Problem Solving Skills
- Previous leadership experience
Average hourly wage: $28.00 - $39.00
8. line cook
This position is very important when running a larger restaurant. The line chef performs various tasks to speed up the work of other chefs and cooks. The tasks of a line chef relate to the care of one or more areas of the kitchen and thus ensure perfect and efficient work organization.
Skills and competences:
- team player
- Dynamic and efficient work habits.
- organized and focused
- Some experience in the professional kitchen.
Average hourly wage: $10.00 - 14.00
9. Fast-Food-Koch
When you run onefast food restaurant, this position is one of the most important for the overall success of your company. Fast food chefs must work under pressure and prepare orders as quickly as possible. They usually work with kitchen appliances such as grills, fryers, sandwich makers, ovens, etc.
Skills and competences:
- team player
- Excellent communication skills
- Fast and efficient working methods
Average hourly wage: $9.00 - $11.00
10. Rapid cooking
As the name suggests, individuals in this position are responsible for processing small breakfast or brunch orders. Quick-order cooks often prepare salads, sandwiches, burgers, or other types of light meals that don't take much time to prepare.
Skills and competences:
- Excellent communication skills
- cooking experience
- Fast and efficient working methods
Average hourly wage: $12.00 - $16.00
11. Prepare to cook
The prep cook is the basis of a successful restaurant kitchen. Although the staff in this position are not directly involved in the cooking processes, they are one of the main reasons your dish is served so quickly. Typically, the Prep Cook position is typical of fine dining restaurants and their duties relate to the initial preparation of the ingredients needed for menu items. Prep chefs are important when there is a high order intake and chefs need to serve them as quickly as possible. By preparing every ingredient in advance, meals are prepared effortlessly and on time.
Skills and competences:
- Fast and efficient working methods
- Excellent communication skills
- fast learners
Average hourly wage: $12.00 - $15.00
12. Summary
When you have a fancy dinner party or a restaurant where the wine is central to the entire experience, hiring a sommelier is a must. Your tasks are related to buying wines, making a good wine list, advising customers or waiters about the different types of wine and suggesting suitable pairings.
Skills and competences:
- formal education
- solid experience
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Excellent communication skills
Average hourly wage: $21.00 – $33.00
13. Server
If the host is the face of your restaurant, then the waiter is the heart. Good servers are often the ones who can turn a less than pleasant customer experience into a great one and vice versa. The waiters are not only responsible for taking orders and sending them to the kitchen and bar staff, but also for personally serving each customer. This position requires certain skills. A good server knows when it's needed and doesn't bug clients every 2 minutes to check if everything is ok. On the other hand, the worst thing a customer can experience is waiting too long for an invoice or order. So make sure your servers know the balance between the two and can serve your customers accordingly.
Skills and competences:
- excellent memory
- Fast and efficient working methods
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to work under pressure
- Relaxed person with a professional attitude.
- Competent and able to help customers
- solid experience
Average hourly wage: $3.50 - $12.00 (plus tip)
14. Corridor
Some restaurants prefer to hire bellboys to make the waiter's job more efficient and easier. The main task of the runner is to get the food from the kitchen as soon as it is ready and serve it to the customer as quickly as possible. The food arrives on time and at the right temperature.
Skills and competences:
- Fast and efficient working methods
- Ability to work under pressure
Average hourly wage: $9.00 - $11.00
15. Bus/Busperson
This position relates to cleaning and preparing the table. Once a customer leaves and a table becomes available, the waiter is responsible for cleaning it up and preparing it for the next customers. Servers often delegate less complex and time-consuming tasks to servers, such as providing additional utensils, serving butter, bread or water, filling empty glasses, etc.
Skills and competences:
- Fast and efficient working methods
- team player
Average hourly wage: $7.00 - $9.00
16. Host/Receptionist
The host/receptionist is responsible for the customer's first impression of your restaurant and service. Therefore, hiring a cheerful person is important if you want to positively prepare your customers for the next experience. The host/hostess usually greets their customers and leads them to their respective tables. They also provide menus and help with initial information or customer questions. Individuals hired for this position will also be responsible for answering the phone and making reservations.
Skills and competences:
- highly organized
- Excellent communication skills
- happy and relaxed person
Average hourly wage: $8.00 - $11.00
17Barmann
A good meal is nothing without a good drink, right? The position of the bartender is very important for the image of your restaurant. Make sure you hire an experienced bartender as this can determine overall customer satisfaction. Keep in mind that the person hired for the position isn't just sitting behind the counter, isolated from the crowd. They usually take orders and talk to their customers. For this reason, a good bartender is a very important ingredient in your restaurant's recipe for success.
Skills and competences:
- Excellent communication skills
- Solid experience with different types of drinks.
- happy and relaxed person
- Ability to work under stress.
- Professional attitude with a focus on customer satisfaction
Average hourly wage: $8.00 – $13.00 (plus tip)
18. The grill
BarbacksThey are barista helpers. They are responsible for numerous tasks, but generally they make sure that the bartender has everything they need to do their job properly. They take care of the necessary number of bottles, check the supply (coffee, sugar, fruit, etc.), fill up the ice bar, change the barrels, etc.
Skills and competences:
- Excellent communication skills
- proactivity
- team play
- Multitasking
- positive attitude
Average hourly wage: $9.00 - $11.00 (plus a small tip commission)
19. Barista
If you have a small bakery or fast food restaurant, you need to hire a barista. In addition to the dishes, people will be ready to order coffee, tea, smoothies, etc. Whoever you hire must be able to listen carefully to customers and process their orders in a timely manner.
Skills and competences:
- good communication skills
- excellent memory
- cool under stress
- Fast and organized work ethic.
Average hourly wage: $9.00 - $12.00
Related:How to Open a Restaurant: A Complete Guide to Opening a Restaurant
20. Self-Service Operator
This position is typical offast food restaurants. Drive-thru operators are responsible for taking and processing orders, cashier operations, and delivering food through the restaurant's drive-thru window. The peculiarity of this email is that it requires a fast and efficient service with minimal waiting times.
Skills and competences:
- Ability to work with numbers and handle money.
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to work under pressure
Average hourly wage: $8.00 - $10.00
21. Feld
The cashier's position is similar to that of the drive-thru clerk as they are also responsible for handling checkout operations and taking orders. The only difference between them is the fact that the drive thru operator is (surprisingly) located in a drive thru restaurant.
Skills and competences:
- Ability to work under pressure
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to process cash transactions.
Average hourly wage: $08.00 – $10.00
22. Dishwasher
This is the position most people who want to take their first steps in a restaurant kitchen start in. That's because it requires no prior experience and is a great opportunity to break into a restaurant kitchen and slowly but surely learn how to cook from top chefs. In addition to the hygiene of the dishes, dishwashers take care of the garbage and also clean the kitchen.
Skills and competences:
- Ability to work quickly and efficiently.
Average hourly wage: State minimum wage
Diploma
If you're about to hire any of the above restaurant positions, consider this: for most of them (bartenders, chefs, and management-minded) it's the motivation and willingness to learn and adapt that can define you when a particular candidate is your best option. Try to build the perfect team: a mix of younger, more motivated people who can learn and adapt to your restaurant's needs, as well as professionals who have been in the business longer.
Keep in mind that these people will spend most of their time together. Considering the fact thatemployee retentionIt is one of the key factors in the success of any business, it is very important to keep your team happy for many years. To do this, make sure you offer them the best possible working conditions.
FAQs
What are the different positions in food service? ›
- Baker.
- Banquet manager.
- Bartender.
- Beverage manager.
- Broiler cook.
- Bus person.
- Catering manager.
- Counter server.
Head Chef (Chef de Cuisine)
The head chef remains at the top of the hierarchy in restaurant kitchens without an executive chef. Like an executive chef, this person controls all aspects of the kitchen. They are responsible for creating menus, controlling kitchen costs, and managing the kitchen staff.
A waitress, waiter, or server is a front-of-house restaurant employee who takes care of guests during the length of their visit, mainly by recording and fulfilling their food and drink orders. The titles “waiter,” “waitress,” and “server” are used pretty interchangeably.
What are the different positions in restaurant based on the organizational chart? ›Example of Organizational Chart in Restaurant Management
Below the owner are the general manager and the bookkeeper. Under the bookkeeper fall the assistant managers and the kitchen manager. Finally the team members like servers and barristers work under the assistant manager(s).
Top – The number in a dining party, as in “8 top at table 20.” See also: the number of seats at a table/how many guests a table could seat. Underwater/Drowning – Overwhelmed with customers; see also: “in the weeds.”
What is a 12 top in a restaurant? ›12-TOP/4-TOP/DEUCE
A “12 Top” refers to a table with 12 diners. A “4 top” has four diners.
EXPERIENCED (LEVEL 3): Experienced professional who knows how to apply theory and put it into practice with in- depth understanding of the professional field; independently performs the full range of responsibilities within the function; possesses broad job knowledge; analyzes problems/issues of diverse scope and ...
What are 10 careers in food? ›- Teaching.
- Dietetics.
- Hospitality and tourism. Ad.
- Food science.
- Food science and technology.
- Food engineering.
- Hotel and catering management. Ad.
- Food research and development.
- Food truck.
- Delivery.
- Catering.
- Pop-ups.
- Cafeterias.
There are many different types of food and beverage service types or procedures, but the major category of the food service is 1) Plate Service, 2) Cart Service, 3) Plater Service, 4) Buffet Service and 5) Family style service.