What is a food and beverage manager?
A food and beverage manager facilitates the planning and purchasing of all food and beverage needs for a hospitality business, like hotels, venues, and sometimes restaurants.
What are a food and beverage manager’s duties and responsibilities?
A food and beverage manager’s duties and responsibilities include:
- Sourcing ingredients for the kitchen and bar in their establishment
- Forecasting, planning, and ordering ingredients and supplies
- Building good relationships with vendors
- Inventory management and tracking
- Budgeting for food and beverage supplies
- Identifying cost savings opportunities
- Making recommendations based on ingredient cost and availability
How much are food and beverage managers paid?
Food and beverage managers earn, on average, between $58,000 and $73,000 annually. They are typically salaried employees and their pay depends on the kind of business where they work and that restaurant's profit margins.
What are the qualities that make a good food and beverage manager?
Good food and beverage managers have strong business acumen, leadership skills, and extensive industry knowledge. They ensure hospitality businesses stay on budget and meet financial goals. Skills with hospitality management software, inventory management software, and financial software are often required.
They play a vital role in menu planning, ordering, and inventory. Food and beverage managers also need customer service and interpersonal skills to communicate with vendors and staff. They should be able to prioritize tasks and lead teams to keep the business running smoothly.
How to become a food and beverage manager
Becoming a food and beverage manager usually requires a combination of education and experience. Colleges and culinary schools offer programs in hospitality management that prepare students with the skills and knowledge to manage staff, inventory, and finances.
Most hospitality businesses also want candidates that have a few years of management experience before promoting them to a food and beverage management position. That way, they have time to develop the leadership and problem-solving skills that are necessary for the position.
How to hire a food and beverage manager?
When looking to hire a food and beverage manager, create a list of specific expectations for the role. Detail their place in the management staff hierarchy and outline the problems you need them to solve for the business.
Once you have a clear picture of the position, think about the education and experience the food and beverage manager will need to have. Consider their primary and secondary responsibilities and imagine the kind of person that would excel in the role. Before hiring a candidate, verify their skills, experience, and certifications for the job.
Posting open positions on online job boards is a good idea to attract a wide range of qualified candidates. You might also contact local education programs in hospitality management to ask about impressive graduates.
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