BusinessHABGordon’s food service: If you’re creating a resume or preparing for an interview, you may be wondering how you can share your food service experience to prove your professional abilities. Working in food service requires valuable skills you can apply to nearly any career. From working with a team of servers to communicating with guests, food service skills show prospective employers you can perform in a fast-paced environment to accomplish multiple tasks.
In this article, we give examples of food service skills with ideas for highlighting these abilities on a resume or discussing them in an interview.
Gordon’s food service
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1. What are food service skills?
Food service skills encompass a wide range of abilities involving food preparation, customer service and restaurant management. Cooks, servers, bartenders and hosts are all positions that use food service skills.
Food service employees need specific restaurant and food preparation knowledge to succeed in the industry. Here are some of the key industry-specific skills food service employees use:
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Food preparation
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Waiting tables
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Food knowledge
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Point of sales system
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Reservation system
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Operating kitchen equipment
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Sanitizing procedures
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Bartending
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Menu preparation
2. Examples of more food service skills
Those who work in food service use a wide range of skills to complete their duties in a restaurant or professional kitchen. They must work with a team of other food service employees to create a positive dining experience for guests. A career in food service prepares you with many necessary skills applicable to any workplace.
Here are some of the main skills used in food service outside of specific industry knowledge:
Gordon’s food service
3. Customer service
Food service is centered on the customer experience. Servers, cooks and hosts all play a role in creating a friendly atmosphere that welcomes guests. Maintaining customer satisfaction through food preparation, table service and dining experiences is an essential skill in the food service industry.
4. Time management
The food service industry is a fast-paced environment where timing matters. Foods must be served quickly to maintain a certain temperature for both the enjoyment and health of customers. Servers need to keep track of the time between when a patron orders their food to when it arrives. All food service staff work under strict time guidelines whether they are visible to diners or in the kitchen.
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5. Organization
Maintaining inventory, kitchen supplies and table items are all part of the responsibilities of a food service employee. All food service locations visible to guests need to be kept clean and organized to meet health codes and create a welcoming atmosphere for diners.
6. Attention to detail
Food service employees need a critical eye to inspect food, remember customer orders and prepare dishes according to meet every guest’s needs. Memorizing menu items and descriptions also proves that you can accurately focus on details.
Gordon’s food service
7. Communication
Those working in food service need strong communication skills to interact with coworkers and customers. Servers need to communicate with kitchen employees regarding their guests. Those working in the kitchen need to communicate among themselves to ensure food is prepared correctly. Active listening and taking feedback are necessary qualifications for food service employees.
8. Adaptability
Things can change in a moment in food service. Servers, cooks and other industry workers need to adapt to new circumstances to complete their jobs. From handling the business of a restaurant at peak times to working with different ingredients, food service professionals must be ready to change their work methods at any time.
9. Hospitality
Food service workers who interact with guests need to maintain a friendly demeanor as they engage with diners. Hosts who greet diners and take seating reservations use interpersonal skills to make guests feel comfortable.
10. Teamwork
The food service industry relies on groups of employees working together to create a dining experience for guests. Servers, cooks and hosts depend on one another to complete their jobs and must be able to overcome challenges as a team to meet common goals in a food service venue.
How to improve food service skills
Food service skills can be improved through practice and specific training. Here are some ways to enhance your food service skills:
11. Work as a host
Learn how to engage dining guests and practice communication skills as you greet guests, take reservations, seat parties and answer general questions about the restaurant. You can increase your customer service skills dealing with any conflicts that arise from seating concerns or wait times.
12. Become a server
Servers have to manage food orders, serve customers and work with a team of cooks, hosts and other servers to ensure guests have a positive dining experience.
Gordon’s food service
13. Work in the kitchen
Though you may not see guests, cooks and those involved in food preparation gain valuable skills working in the busy environment of a professional kitchen. Managing cook times for multiple dishes that all need to be served at once is one way to build a range of qualifications from attention to detail to time management.
14. Earn certifications
Gaining certifications as a food service employee will add to your industry knowledge and increase your professional abilities. Here are some ways you can add certifications to increase your food service skills:
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Servsafe Food Handler**:** This nationally recognized certification covers food safety through topics like foodborne illness and contamination, food preparation and storage, safe kitchen cleaning and managing food allergies. You can take online or in-person classes to prepare and take the exam for this certificate. Remember, you will need to renew a Servsafe certification by retesting every five years.
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Certification to serve alcohol: Several states require food service professionals to obtain a certification before they can serve alcohol. There are multiple certifications available that cover topics from responsible service procedures to recognizing the effects of alcohol in customers. Certifications include the ServSafe Alcohol Serving Certification, Training for Intervention ProcedureS (TIPS), Alcohol Server and Selling Certification, and the Way to Serve Interactive Alcohol Server Certification. Most certifications require renewal after a certain period of time.
Gordon’s food service
15. Become a food service manager
Once you’re gained enough experience in the food service industry, you can add management to your skill set by applying for a position to oversee a team of employees and interact with customers on a higher level. Food service employees at the management level are responsible for the health and safety standards of a venue, scheduling employees, overseeing food service operations and ensuring customers receive excellent service.
How to highlight food service skills
Whether you’re applying for your next food service position or another professional opportunity, you can use these tips to emphasize your abilities and experience as a food service professional:
16. Food service skills for your resume
As you prepare your resume, add food service skills like organization and communication in a bulleted list format. Use these keywords to explain your experience in brief phrases underneath past job titles. Carefully choose your wording to connect applicable skills to food service functions. Instead of writing that you “waited tables,” another way to describe this experience could be that you “maintained a high-level of customer service for dining guests.”
Gordon’s food service
17. Food service skills for your cover letter
When you prepare a cover letter to show food service skills, emphasize how your experience prepared you for your next step. Whether you are graduating college and looking for a first job in your degree field or moving into a new career after a long work history in the industry, use your food service experience to demonstrate that you are capable of handling customers and managing multiple tasks in the workplace.
18. Food service skills for your job interview
During your job interview, be ready to discuss your time in food service as a valuable part of your career path. Be prepared with specific examples to common interview questions like how you handled an unhappy customer and what you did during peak times to maintain the quality of the food and service in your workplace.
If you are interviewing for a position in a restaurant, it’s a good idea to visit as a guest before you speak about a job opening. You can then share specific comments about the service or atmosphere and how you believe you will fit in with the team.
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