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What does a catering staff do?

Updated January 8, 2025
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Catering staff responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real catering staff resumes:

  • Manage and prioritize restaurant reservations.
  • prepare food for cater events * waiter * bartending
  • Prepare and cook a wide range of food and espresso beverages and bartending.
  • Work with pos system to complete orders, kitchen line with fifthteen people.
  • Stock and serve buffets lines and also set up and display for private party's.
  • Decorate event halls and arrange displays, wait tables, work at buffets, bars, coat checks etc.
  • Work with the event planner to coordinate weddings, banquets, fundraisers, and VIP events for local congressmen and senators.
  • Create unique menu items and standardize innovative production recipes to maintain consistent cuisine and guest satisfaction.
  • Manage retail and retail production FOH and BOH.

Catering staff skills and personality traits

We calculated that 32% of Catering Staff are proficient in Wine, Dishes, and Food Preparation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Dexterity, and Physical strength.

We break down the percentage of Catering Staff that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Wine, 32%

    Full set-up and break-down of events -Bartending and wine service, serving guests -Shadowing VIP clients -Beverage and hors d oeuvres service

  • Dishes, 30%

    Create specialty dishes and develop recipes to be used in dining facilities.

  • Food Preparation, 7%

    Assisted with set-up and breakdown of venue decor such as floral and dining arrangements, seating and food preparation.

  • Culinary, 6%

    Carried out dining service, culinary preparation, event hosting & bar-tending responsibilities

  • Bartending, 4%

    Prepared and cooked a wide range of food and espresso beverages and bartending.

  • Food Service, 4%

    Provided professional food service to San Francisco State University.

Common skills that a catering staff uses to do their job include "wine," "dishes," and "food preparation." You can find details on the most important catering staff responsibilities below.

Most common catering staff skills

The three companies that hire the most catering staffs are:

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Compare different catering staff

Catering staff vs. Front of house manager

A front of house manager coordinates and supervises the front house team. Front of house managers make sure that every client receives a warm welcome. They see to it that all house services are performed smoothly. The scope of their duties and responsibilities may involve the recruitment of team members. They carry out administrative tasks in an organization or establishment such as a theater, concert hall, or restaurant. It is their job to handle the preparation and daily operations of these areas.

If we compare the average catering staff annual salary with that of a front of house manager, we find that front of house managers typically earn a $10,056 higher salary than catering staff make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between catering staff and front of house managers are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like wine, food preparation, and bartending.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, catering staff responsibilities require skills like "dishes," "culinary," "food handling," and "wedding receptions." Meanwhile a typical front of house manager has skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "guest service," "foh," and "cash handling." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Front of house managers tend to make the most money working in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $39,179. In contrast, catering staff make the biggest average salary, $33,555, in the education industry.On average, front of house managers reach similar levels of education than catering staff. Front of house managers are 0.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Catering staff vs. Kitchen assistant manager

An assistant kitchen manager is in charge of a large establishment or restaurant when the manager is not around. They supervise all operations in the kitchen, monitor the performance of the staff, train the newly hired crew, and create an inventory report of all supplies. They must also ensure that clients expectations are met by providing them the best service. An assistant kitchen manager needs to be customer-oriented and detail-oriented, and they must also have management skills, critical thinking skills, and organizational skills.

A career as a kitchen assistant manager brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a catering staff. In fact, kitchen assistant managers salary is $8,007 higher than the salary of catering staff per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Catering staff and kitchen assistant managers both require similar skills like "food preparation," "culinary," and "food service" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, catering staff responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "wine," "dishes," "bartending," and "excellent guest." Meanwhile, a kitchen assistant manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "kitchen equipment," "safety procedures," and "product quality." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, kitchen assistant managers earn a higher salary than catering staff. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, kitchen assistant managers earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $41,915. Whereas catering staff have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $33,555.kitchen assistant managers earn similar levels of education than catering staff in general. They're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Catering staff vs. Bar manager/bartender

A bar manager/bartender is responsible for handling daily bar operations to achieve the highest customer satisfaction. Bar manager/bartenders often interact with guests, responding to their inquiries and special requests, and immediately resolving service complaints. They also develop marketing strategies to attract guests by updating menu information and researching the latest market trends. Bar managers/bartenders also monitor inventories and stock supplies, coordinating with third-party vendors, and negotiating contracts with trusted suppliers. A bar manager/bartender must have excellent leadership skills and oversee the compliance of all staff to the bar regulations and safety standards.

On average, bar managers/bartender earn lower salaries than catering staff, with a $6,056 difference per year.By looking over several catering staff and bar managers/bartender resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "wine," "bartending," and "food service." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, catering staff are more likely to have skills like "dishes," "food preparation," "culinary," and "food handling." But a bar manager/bartender is more likely to have skills like "cleanliness," "cash handling," "non-alcoholic beverages," and "beverage service."

Most bar managers/bartender achieve a similar degree level compared to catering staff. For example, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Catering staff vs. Shift leader

Shift leaders are tenured or experienced employees who are assigned to oversee employees in specific work shifts. They manage team members who are assigned in their shift. They also ensure that business goals are met. Shift leaders check whether team members are working, and they ensure that they always comply with company policies and guidelines. They also monitor the performance of their employees and coach them should the employees need help in any area of their work. Shift leaders should have good communication skills, decision-making skills, and interpersonal skills.

Shift leaders tend to earn a higher pay than catering staff by an average of $2,734 per year.While both catering staff and shift leaders complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like food service, excellent guest, and customer service, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "wine," "dishes," "food preparation," and "culinary" are skills that commonly show up on catering staff resumes. On the other hand, shift leaders use skills like patients, customer complaints, math, and safety standards on their resumes.shift leaders enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $36,581. For comparison, catering staff earn the highest salary in the education industry.The average resume of shift leaders showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to catering staff. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.

Types of catering staff

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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