Career Profile: Food Service Managers

Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 329,100 people employed as food service managers in the United States. The median annual salary is $59,440. Entry level employees earn approximately $36,630 per year and senior employees earn approximately $98,070 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Keep records required by government agencies regarding sanitation or food subsidies.
• Investigate and resolve complaints regarding food quality, service, or accommodations.
• Maintain food and equipment inventories, and keep inventory records.
• Monitor food preparation methods, portion sizes, and garnishing and presentation of food to ensure that food is prepared and presented in an acceptable manner.
• Schedule and receive food and beverage deliveries, checking delivery contents to verify product quality and quantity.
• Coordinate assignments of cooking personnel to ensure economical use of food and timely preparation.
• Monitor compliance with health and fire regulations regarding food preparation and serving, and building maintenance in lodging and dining facilities.
• Count money and make bank deposits.
• Estimate food, liquor, wine, and other beverage consumption to anticipate amounts to be purchased or requisitioned.
• Schedule use of facilities or catering services for events such as banquets or receptions, and negotiate details of arrangements with clients.
• Take dining reservations.
• Plan menus and food utilization, based on anticipated number of guests, nutritional value, palatability, popularity, and costs.
• Establish and enforce nutritional standards for dining establishments, based on accepted industry standards.
• Create specialty dishes and develop recipes to be used in dining facilities.
• Establish standards for personnel performance and customer service.
• Perform some food preparation or service tasks, such as cooking, clearing tables, and serving food and drinks when necessary.
• Greet guests, escort them to their seats, and present them with menus and wine lists.
• Test cooked food by tasting and smelling it to ensure palatability and flavor conformity.
• Schedule staff hours and assign duties.
• Arrange for equipment maintenance and repairs, and coordinate a variety of services, such as waste removal and pest control.
• Review menus and analyze recipes to determine labor and overhead costs, and assign prices to menu items.
• Organize and direct worker training programs, resolve personnel problems, hire new staff, and evaluate employee performance in dining and lodging facilities.
• Review work procedures and operational problems to determine ways to improve service, performance, or safety.
• Assess staffing needs and recruit staff, using methods such as newspaper advertisements or attendance at job fairs.
• Order and purchase equipment and supplies.
• Record the number, type, and cost of items sold to determine which items may be unpopular or less profitable.
• Monitor employee and patron activities to ensure liquor regulations are obeyed.
• Monitor budgets and payroll records, and review financial transactions to ensure that expenditures are authorized and budgeted.

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