Kitchen, Restaurant and Bar Jobs
Catering/Restaurant Manager
Catering/restaurant managers supervise staff who prepare, cook and serve meals and drinks. These include the waiting staff, chef and kitchen staff and, sometimes, the bar staff. The manager’s main responsibility is to make sure that they are all doing their jobs properly and deal with those who aren’t.
They sort out any problems that arise – they might have to get kitchen equipment repaired so that the chef can do the cooking, for example. The manager will discuss menus with the chef to make sure the food bought is within budget. The manager may also be responsible for dealing with customers’ complaints and queries.
Catering/restaurant managers work in all kinds of places where food is prepared and served. These include hotels, restaurants, catering companies, hospitals and prisons.
Chef/Cook
Chefs prepare and cook food for people staying at the hotel or dining in the hotel restaurant. The food that they cook depends both on how experienced they are (trainee chefs usually do the simpler food) and the type of hotel or restaurant they work in.
It’s generally the job of the less experienced chef to cook breakfast for the hotel guests. The chef works out how much of each type of food to prepare, depending on how many guests there are.
They use various types of kitchen equipment to prepare and cook the food, and are responsible for keeping this equipment in good working order.
After cooking breakfast, the chef prepares food for lunch and dinner. A trainee chef will cook the simplest parts of these meals, while more experienced staff do the more complicated aspects.
With experience, a chef can learn to run a particular section of the kitchen, such as the vegetables or the puddings. The chef who is in charge of the kitchen – the head chef – decides which dishes are going to be on the menu, and supervises the more junior chefs.
Kitchen Assistant
Kitchen assistants do the routine jobs in a kitchen to help the chefs. Part of their job is preparing food before it’s cooked or served. They might make up side salads, or chop vegetables, for example. The chef on duty tells them what needs doing.
The other main part of a kitchen assistant’s job is keeping the kitchen clean and tidy. They wash up pots and pans, and wipe surfaces. They also take out the rubbish, and may have to clean the floor and cookers at the end of the shift.
Waiter/Waitress
Waiting staff work in hotel restaurants preparing the tables, taking orders for food and serving meals. Before the first guests arrive, the tables must be prepared, usually with a tablecloth, cutlery and glasses.
The waiter/waitress shows customers to a table and gives them a menu so they can choose the food and drink they want. The waiter/waitress takes the order (usually writing it down) and takes it to the kitchen for the chef to prepare. When the food is ready, the waiter/waitress takes it to the customers.
The waiter/waitress also serves the customers with wine or other drinks. After the customers have finished their meal, the waiter/waitress takes the dirty plates to the kitchen to be washed up.
Barperson
A barperson serves customers with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. They may also sell snacks and food.
At the start of a shift, the barperson makes sure that there are enough bottles on the shelves, and that the bar is clean and tidy. When customers have finished their drinks, the barperson collects the empty glasses and puts them in a glass-washing machine.
A barperson may also take orders for, and serve, bar meals. They also take payments for food and drink, operate a till and give change.