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A business is only as good as the people who work for it. A restaurant is no exception to this rule. In order to operate a successful restaurant, it takes a special staff made up of a variety of skills and talents. There are many different kinds of restaurant jobs, from “front of the house” to “back of the house” positions, as well as many specialty areas. Because of the wide variety of restaurant jobs available, many different types of people often make up a restaurant staff. Finding the right kind of person for the job is an important part of building a successful restaurant.
Front of the House Restaurant Jobs
The front-of-the-house staff is usually made up of people who are good at working with the public (or of people that can fake this attitude really, really well). Good front-of-the-house workers are friendly, exhibit good customer service skills, and can handle customer complaints effectively. Bartenders, servers, hosts, bussers, and bar-backs are all front-of-the-house jobs. When hiring for any of these positions, you should always keep in mind your restaurant concept. A server who is comfortable in a busy, casual family restaurant may not be as comfortable in a quieter, fine dining setting and vice versa. No matter what kind of restaurant you operate, each front-of-the-house position should know the basics of your menu and beverage selections. Lastly, the restaurant owner or manager is also an important member of the front of the house, because when things go wrong, guess who’s going to be called?
Back of the House Restaurant Jobs
While the back of the house workers don’t usually work directly with the public, it is still important they have good communication skills and know- how to work together (this is true of any job, really). Back of the house restaurant jobs include chef, line cooks, prep cooks, and the restaurant owner (because guess who is going to get called when things go wrong?). It also includes your bookkeeper or accountant, and any maintenance people, as well as anyone else who works behind the scenes of your restaurant. Higher paying positions, like a chef, require experience in the restaurant industry. They need to know not only how to cook excellent food, but how to cook in the midst of chaos during a busy dinner rush and how to manage a commercial kitchen.
Non-cooking positions, such as accountant, may only be a part time job. Some restaurants use an accountant on a weekly or monthly basis. Others hire a bookkeeper who works more often (and for less) to manage the day-to-day finances of a restaurant. No matter who is keeping the books, a restaurant owner should always know where their money is at and how it is being spent. Simple tasks like daily bank deposits can be done by an owner or manager. More complex issues, like payroll and taxes should be done by a professional, unless you feel confident in your accounting skills, because mistakes in either of these areas can be very costly.
Specialty Restaurant Jobs
Depending on your restaurant concept, you may have other staff positions that move between front and back of the house or are concentrated in one specific area. For example, a fine dining restaurant may have a “sommelier” on staff. Originally, sommelier was a reference to a steward or waiter in charge of wine within a royal household. Today it refers to a wine specialist. Sommeliers in restaurants should have extensive knowledge of wines and menu pairings. Other specialty positions include bakers, butchers, pastry chefs, dessert chefs, and maître de. Aside from very high end fine dining restaurants, most eateries don’t have one person designated for each of these positions. Often time’s staff will be cross-trained to do multiple jobs.
No matter where in a restaurant each employee works, it should be understood from the first day on the job that everyone is part of a larger team.
Vocabulary
<td">He said in the interview that he was most comfortable in a casual restaurant setting.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| operate | to run a business | In order to operate a successful restaurant, it takes a special staff made up of a variety of skills and talents. |
| talented | natural abilities or qualities | A pastry chef must be a talented manager of people. |
| effectively | in such a way that achieves desired results | Good front-of-the-house workers are friendly, exhibit good customer service skills, and can handle customer complaints effectively. |
| setting | the context and environment in which something is set | |
| vice versa | with the order reversed | A server who is comfortable in a busy, casual family restaurant may not be as comfortable in a quieter, fine dining setting and vice versa. |
| know-how | the knowledge and skill needed to do something | Ms. Lee has a lot of experience and an excellent work record, so we can say that she has the know-how we are looking for. |
| include | have as a part, be made up out of | Back of the house restaurant jobs include chef, line cooks, prep cooks, and the restaurant owner. |
| commercial | connected with or engaged in or sponsored by or used in business | They need to know not only how to cook excellent food, but how to cook in the midst of chaos during a busy dinner rush and how to manage a commercial kitchen. |
| finances | assets in the form of money | An accountant works with the finances of a company. |
| issue | some situation or event that is thought about | The issue was discussed in the privacy of the manager’s office. |
| confident | having or marked by assurance | She was hired because of her desire to work and confident attitude. |
| accounting | a system that provides quantitative information about finances | Mr. Podborski’s accounting skills allowed him to save the company money and pay himself as well. |
| mistake | a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention | The waiter made a mistake when his fingers touched the top of the glass and he didn’t replace it for the customer. |
| extensive | large in range or scope or quantity | Sommeliers in restaurants should have extensive knowledge of wines and menu pairings. |
| dessert | a dish served as the last course of a meal | After the main meal the customers were asked if they wanted to have any dessert. |
| server | a person who waits on tables in a restaurant | The server smiled as he gave the customers their dinner orders. |
| busser | a person who clears and cleans tables at a restaurant | Before working as a waiter, Igor was a busser at the Mongolian Restaurant. |
| barback | an assistant to the bartender | The barback was constantly running back and forth getting bags of ice and glasses for the bartender. |
| line cook | a cook who supervises a specific area of a kitchen | The line cook reported to the head chef that the kitchen would soon run out of lettuce. |
| maitre d' | a dining-room attendant who is in charge of the waiters and the seating of customers | Because it is a small restaurant, the maitre d' works as a host, food server, wine expert, and manager. |
Exercise
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