what is a food service worker?
Food service summarises all activities from food preparation to serving the meals to customers. As a food service worker, you are responsible for how meals are prepared in your setting, whether it's a cafe or a food court. Your duties include taking orders and preparing and serving the food to customers.
Your responsibilities change depending on your working environment. For instance, working in a cafe-style restaurant involves serving the general public while, in schools, your customers are students. Some food service workers also serve food in hospitals, delivering the food items to various wards.
The job involves preparing different kinds of food, including salads, beverages and hot and cold foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You also perform cashiering services and provide customers with relevant product information. That means you greet customers as they enter the restaurant and answer any questions about the menu items.
As a food service worker, you work in a fast-paced environment requiring multitasking skills and excellent customer service abilities to keep the customers happy. Attentiveness to detail is also crucial in food preparation since it ensures the food items are prepared according to the recommended recipes and meet the desired health and safety standards.
Would working as a food service worker suit your customer service skills and multitasking abilities? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a food service worker role.
view jobsaverage food service worker salary
According to ONS, a food service worker receives an average salary of £26,520 per year or £13.60 per hour. On the lower scale, entry-level food service workers take a compensation package of £21,158 annually. However, experienced workers earn more than £36,000 annually, depending on their skill and experience level. The duties you perform as a food service worker affects your earnings. For instance, if you are a barista serving coffee in cafes and coffee shops, your salary ranges from £12,500 to £20,000 per year, while a food service manager could take home between £18,000 and £30,000 per year.
How to increase your salary as a food service worker
The compensation package of food service workers depends on their experience and qualifications. While most food service jobs don't require formal qualifications, a post-secondary course improves your salary prospects. Besides, it improves your skills and helps you specialise in a particular area. For instance, you could focus on food preparation and cooking tasks to earn an additional salary as a cook or chef. Waiters with extensive knowledge of coffee preparation techniques can become baristas. Your experience level also influences your earnings. You have minimal knowledge of the role at entry-level positions, but as you improve your experience, you gain expertise and perform complex tasks.
types of food service workers
Some of the common types of food service workers include:
- hospital food service workers: as a hospital food service worker, you prepare meals and serve them to patients, employees and visitors. You also clean kitchen equipment and dishes after meals. You stock the food supplies in hospitals and ensure patients eat healthy food.
- hosts or hostesses: these food service workers welcome guests and manage the reservation desks at the front of the restaurant. Your job is to greet guests, lead them to their tables and provide menus.
- waiters or waitresses: you assign tables to guests and hand out menus. However, your primary role is to take customers' orders to the kitchen and serve food and drinks. You serve the meals to guests and clean their tables when they leave.
working as a food service worker
As a food service worker, you assist in preparing meals and serving them to customers. Below are more responsibilities and the types of places you are likely to work:
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food service worker job description
Your duties as a food service worker involve:
- conducting general cleaning in kitchen and dining areas: you perform cleaning and sanitisation duties in your workspace. That means you clean the work surfaces in the kitchen and dining areas to ensure a clean and hygienic work environment.
- performing basic food preparation: you assist with food preparation like washing and sectioning fruits, slicing meats and chopping salad ingredients and dressing. You also prepare simple dishes like starters.
- serving meals to customers: you ensure every order arrives in a timely manner and is presented according to the specific customer instructions.
- washing dishes: you should ensure the kitchen is clean and orderly. That means you perform cleaning duties like washing utensils and sanitising pots, pans and other food preparation equipment. It is your job to maintain health and safety standards provided in the regulations and adhere to the food safety guidelines like washing hands and food storage techniques.
- delivering food to the serving area and customers' tables: as a food service worker, you convey food served from the bakery or main kitchen to the serving area. You lay out the dishes on the plates artfully to ensure they look delicious.
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work environment
If you fancy working as a food service worker, you should be ready to work in an indoor kitchen or cooking environment. The working environment exposes you to unusual elements such as extreme temperatures and loud noise. Other hazards include physical risks, especially if precautions are not followed. The job offers different working environments, such as hospitals, cafeterias and correctional facilities, both in the public and private sectors. Some food service workers work outdoors, especially street food traders. You serve dishes from an open-sided vehicle, which allows you to work in semi-outdoor settings.
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who are your colleagues?
As a food service worker, your colleagues may include receptionists, food service managers, restaurant managers and food service directors. You may also work with food service associates and cooks, as well as other specialists, including chefs, bar persons and cruise ship stewards.
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work schedule
Food service workers enjoy flexible work schedules. However, the schedules change with the demand. Most food outlets have peak seasons or times when they receive many customers and off-peak times when there are fewer customers. Peak times occur during public holidays like Christmas and New Year.
Food service workers typically work in shifts, with the management creating rotating shift schedules. For example, most cafeterias open at 6 am. If you are on the morning shift, you start your day at 6 am and end at 2 pm, after which someone else comes in to cover the evening shift. Generally, you work 32-40 hours a week, depending on how busy the working environment is. You also work at weekends or on night shifts. Your schedule generally depends on whether you work in a school, hospital, cafeteria, food court or another type of facility. Unfortunately, you cannot work from home or in a remote location due to the nature of the role.
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job outlook
Among the many opportunities for career development, a food service worker has an opportunity to become a food stylist or a food service manager with additional training. The job offers you daily opportunities to grow and advance your skills through on-the-job training, preparing you for career advancement. With improved skills and experience in the position, you can move from a first-class food service worker to a restaurant manager or chef role.
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advantages of finding a food service worker job through randstad
Finding your food service worker job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:
- a wide variety of training and development opportunities
- an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
- a range of opportunities in your area
- get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
- temporary and permanent contracts
Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a food service worker is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too!
education and skills
Food service workers don't require formal education, but some pursue the following post-secondary courses to improve their career prospects:
- college course: completing a college course equips you with the necessary skills for performing your duties. You can pursue a Level 1 Award in professional food and beverage service skills or a Level 2 Certificate in the same course. For further training and career development, complete a Level 2 Diploma in food and beverage service.
- apprenticeship: some food service workers train through a hospitality team member intermediate apprenticeship. The programme takes a year and covers on-the-job training and coursework.
food service worker skills and competencies
Some of the qualities of a food service worker include:
- communication skills: as a food service worker, you require good communication skills to answer customers' questions and build a rapport with them. You should also explain the dishes to customers as you serve them.
- attention to detail: food preparation and serving require attentiveness to ensure adherence to the strict health and safety guidelines. It is vital to clean the work surfaces thoroughly to avoid contamination.
- customer service skills: as a food service worker, you interact with various people, from guests to customers and other staff. It is important to provide excellent service to all customers.
FAQs
FAQs about working as a food service worker
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what is a food service worker?
Food service workers ensure customers in cafeterias, restaurants, and other food establishments are served what they ordered. You are the link between the kitchen and the dining room. Duties revolve around food preparation and service to customers. You also respond to clients' questions and refer customer complaints to the management.
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what are the duties of food service workers?
As a food service worker, your tasks involve preparing and serving meals to guests and customers. You take customer orders, assist with food preparation and perform cleaning tasks.
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what's another name for a food service worker?
Food service workers have different names based on their work environments and gender. Some common titles include cafeteria assistant, lunch aide and school chef.
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what is the salary for a food service worker?
The compensation package of food service workers fluctuates depending on their skills and experience. However, most food service workers take home a median salary of £26,520 per year with a potential of earning over £36,000 annually.
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what are the three types of food service?
The different types of food service include self-service, waiter and buffet service. The food service types are available in different hospitality settings. For instance, table service and self-service are available in restaurants, while buffet services are common at catered events.
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how do I apply for a food service worker vacancy?
Applying for a food service worker job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our job offers for vacancies in your area. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here!
