Food and Beverage or F&B is a crucial department. F&B service is needed in so many departments. Some departments that need this service include the banquet organization, room service organization, lounge organization, and bar organization. But, what is this F&B service?
What are some types of F&B service? In the industry of hospitality, there are so many career paths available. If you have passion in F&B, you can explore so many options in that industry. But before exploring, you better learn about F&B service and management first.
Definition of Food and Beverage Service
F&B service is a process of preparing foods and beverages, presenting them, and serving them to the customers. The word food includes various cuisine types and styles. Those foods usually are classified by the country. And the word beverages include non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks.
The alcoholic beverages include the wines as well as the other alcoholic drinks types such as Beer, Cocktails, Spirits, Liqueurs, and Ciders. The non-alcoholic beverages are also classified by the country, but mostly are tea, coffee, and many other beverages that contain zero alcohol.
In the industry of foodservice, there are different service types and various job opportunities available. Below are various F&B service types and top careers await in the F&B services.
Food and Beverage Services in Various Types
There are three different types of F&B service. The first one is the waiter service. Then there is self service and finally there is assisted service.
1. Waiter service
This service type is when the foods and beverages are served by the waiters to the guests at the place of the guests. That place can be in the hotel room, restaurant, in a hospital, on a flight, and so on. Waiter service is classified into some different service types.
- English service or silver service or formal service
This is when the waiter serves the food from a platter or dish onto the plate of the guest using a serving fork and spoon from the left side of each guest. The clearance should be conducted from the right side of the guest.
- American service or plated service
This service doesn’t require any service skill and requires low labor cost. This is considered as a quick service. Unfortunately, this service may need more kitchen labor and time to prepare the foods and the beverages that will be served.
- French service or family service
This service is found in so many family banquets and pensions. The dish will be presented to every guest from the left side of the guest.
2. Self service
The main self service form can be found in the cafeterias. This is when the customers will collect a tray from the service counter, carry the tray along the counter in order to select the meal. Then the guests will pay and collect the cutlery to enjoy their meal.
3. Assisted service
This kind of service is usually used for breakfast service. In some areas, the guests will take the meal by themselves. But in some spots, the assistant will help customers to get dishes they can’t reach or some dishes that should be cooked first before being served.
Jobs and Careers in Food and Beverage
In the industry or sector of food and beverage, there are various jobs available. Every job comes with different duties and possible career paths. Below are some careers available in the F&B industry.
1. Food and Beverage Director
F&B Director’s duties include setting budgets and following the budgets, meeting with the suppliers, supervising the staff, and following the culinary trends. If the businesses also sell alcoholic beverages, selecting wine and sourcing it is also the major part of the F&B Director’s job.
2. Regional Operations Manager
The Regional Operations Manager’s main job is presiding over the four star bar or restaurant in a hotel. Regional Operations Manager must have high emotional intelligence or EQ in order to supervise the bar and restaurants without micromanaging.
3. Executive Chef
An Executive Chef has proven expertise as catering manager, cook, and chef. An Executive Chef should also have managerial skills since he is going to interview, hire, lead, train, and also supervise the team that consists of chefs, line cooks, sous chefs, and many kitchen workers.
4. Director of Culinary Operations
This director is responsible for the entire facets of the multi unit facility F&B Kitchen departments which include menu planning, staffing, vendor monitoring, ordering, inventory, catering, food production, and budgeting.
5. Wine server
A wine server will recommend the right wine and serve it to the guest. Wine servers usually work in private clubs, hotels, cruise ships, and dining rooms. Wine servers must have knowledge about wine so they can match the appropriate wines to different customers.
6. Nightclub manager
Nightclub managers will plan, direct, and control the entire aspects of nightclubs in resorts, private clubs, and hotels. This nightclub manager has a very similar position as the F&B manager, but the focus is a little different.
7. Line cook
Line cooks will prepare, organize, and assemble the cold and hot food so all the foods can be prepared and served to the customers. Line cooks will also clean and care for the kitchen equipment, machinery, and tools.
8. Kitchen helper
Kitchen helpers will clean and sanitize the entire kitchen equipment and will assist in the basic food preparation. Kitchen helpers will also receive and store products in clubs, restaurants, kitchens, catering companies, and fast food outlets.
F&B Management Tips
The pandemic challenged all F&B industries for almost two years now. Now, all F&B industries must deploy the techniques of revenue management in order to push their sales. Fortunately, there are strategies that can be deployed by F&B teams in order to optimize the top line.
- Dynamic Pricing
Evaluate the surge pricing that is based on the meal period or demand level in order to drive the incremental revenue.
- Time Management
Provide options of express meal or set the table limits, for example one hour per lunch. This is going to optimize the number of the covers that are done by the restaurant during the certain meal periods.
F&B Managers will plan, direct, organize control, and also evaluate the overall operations of cafetarias, bars, restaurants, and the other businesses that serve foods and beverages. Those managers must have great management skills and customer skills to make sure that the financial and labour goals of the organization can be maintained properly.
F&B industries must do their best to survive and grow during the pandemic. But since people always need food, this industry will hurt but never die.