Restaurant Jobs / Restaurant Jobs and Careers

Career Guide to Restaurant

Have you dreamed of owning your own restaurant?

Careers in the culinary and food service industry are very popular. Earning your degree in the culinary arts prepares you for a broad choice of career options. One popular course of study is catering.

What Does a Caterer Do?
Caterers provide food and banquet services to their customers at specific locations and venues. Catered events can range from box lunches for a picnic, to full food service. Private caterers often manage entire events and are responsible for not only the e food, but beverage service, decor and floral arrangements as well.

Another main area of catering is hotel catering. These catering managers arrange for food service in a hotel’s meeting rooms, for banquets, weddings, etc. They coordinate the menus and costs for these parties and events with planners or individual clients. They also organize schedules and staffing in conjunction with kitchen personnel for proper execution of food service.

There are also other areas of catering such as mobile catering and industrial catering. Mobile caterers generally work from a vending cart of some sort for sporting events, festivals, or on the street. Industrial caterers often work providing catering services for airlines and schools.

Training
To become a professional in catering or any branch of the culinary arts, qualified training is recommended. Students in formal culinary training programs generally spend their time in kitchens learning to prepare meals through actual practice. They learn knife techniques and proper use of kitchen equipment. Food safety is one course that is required for culinary students. Students will learn about sanitation and public health rules for handling food. This ensures safe food-handling procedures.

Other training programs can include courses in nutrition, menu planning, and purchasing and inventory management. Training in catering service can also include courses in management, inventory software, and banquet services.

 If this sounds like something your interested in, then a career in Restaurant / Food Service might be for you!

Food services and drinking places may be the world’s most widespread and familiar industry. These establishments include all types of restaurants, from fast-food eateries to formal dining establishments. They also include cafeterias, caterers, bars, and food service contractors that operate the food services at places such as schools, sports arenas, and hospitals.

In 2006, there were 524,000 privately owned food service and drinking places across the United States. As shown in table 1, about 46 percent of establishments in this industry are limited-service eating places, such as fast-food restaurants, cafeterias, and snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, that primarily serve patrons who order or select items and pay before eating. Full-service restaurants account for about 39 percent of establishments and cater to patrons who order, are served, and consume their food while seated, and then pay after eating. Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)—bars, pubs, nightclubs, and taverns—primarily prepare and serve alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Drinking places comprise about 9 percent of all establishments in this industry. Special food services, such as food-service contractors, caterers, and mobile food-service vendors, account for 5 percent of establishments in the industry.

Many food services and drinking places establishments in this industry are open long hours. Staff typically are needed to work during evening, weekend, and holiday hours. Full-time employees, often head or executive chefs and food service managers, typically work longer hours—12-hour days are common—and also may be on call to work at other times when needed. Part-time employees, usually waiters and waitresses, dining room attendants, hosts and hostesses, and fast-food employees, typically work shorter days (4-6 hours per day) or fewer days per week than most full-time employees.

Technology influences the food services and drinking places industry in many ways, enhancing efficiency and productivity. Many restaurants use computers to track orders, inventory, and patron seating. Point-of-service (POS) systems allow servers to key in a customer’s order, either tableside using a hand-held device or from a computer terminal in the dining room, and send the order to the kitchen instantaneously so preparation can begin. The same system totals and prints checks, functions as a cash register, connects to credit card authorizers, and tracks sales. Many managers use inventory-tracking software to compare the record of sales from the POS with a record of present inventory to minimize food costs and spoilage. Some establishments enter an inventory of standard ingredients and suppliers into their POS system. When supplies of particular ingredients run low, additional inventory can be ordered directly from the supplier using this preprogrammed information. Computers also allow restaurant and food service managers to more efficiently keep track of employee schedules and pay.

What Education/Certifications do you need for:
Restaurant Jobs / Restaurant Jobs and Careers

The skills and experience required by workers in food services and drinking places differ by occupation and type of establishment. Many entry-level positions, such as waiters and waitresses or food preparation workers, require little or no formal education or previous training. Managerial occupations, though, require prior experience working in food service, which may be acquired through summer or part-time employment in the industry, or through formal internships or other work opportunities while pursuing a culinary or hospitality management degree. Similarly, work in limited-service eating places generally requires less training and experience than work in full-service restaurants, particularly at higher end restaurants.

Other qualifications. Nationwide chains often operate their own schools for prospective assistant managers, so that they can attend training seminars before acquiring additional responsibilities. Eventually, successful assistant managers may advance to general manager of one of the chain’s establishments, to a top management position in another large chain operation, or to a management position in an independent restaurant. Assistant managers in smaller, independent restaurants may learn their duties on the job, while assistant mangers in most chain-affiliated establishments receive training through more formal programs. Managers often are required to keep up with the latest food safety regulations, computer management systems, and hiring issues by attending industry or chain-sponsored seminars and classes.

Current & Future Job Outlook for:
Restaurant Jobs / Restaurant Jobs and Careers

Job prospects. Job opportunities in food services and drinking places should be very good, because the large number of young and part-time workers in the industry will generate substantial replacement needs. A large number of job openings will be created for new entrants as experienced workers find jobs in other, higher-paying establishments, seek full-time opportunities outside the industry, or stop working. Industry expansion also will create many new jobs as diners continue to seek the convenience of prepared meals. The greatest number of job openings will be in the largest occupations—waiters and waitresses and combined food-preparation and serving workers—which also have high replacement needs.

Employment change. A growing population that increasingly prefers the convenience of eating out and having their meals prepared for them will contribute to job growth and a wider variety of employment settings in which to work. All sectors of the industry are expected to grow and generate numerous jobs. The numbers of limited-service eateries and fast-casual restaurants that specialize in serving soups, salads and sandwiches made to order on the spot will grow as time-strapped diners seek out healthful menu alternatives while on the go. In contrast, traditional fast-food and quick-service restaurants that appeal to younger diners and those whose first priority is convenience should increase more slowly than in the past.