Food runner vs fine dining server

The differences between food runners and fine dining servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a fine dining server has an average salary of $32,140, which is higher than the $25,536 average annual salary of a food runner.

The top three skills for a food runner include cleanliness, wine and culinary. The most important skills for a fine dining server are wine, fine dining, and cleanliness.

Food runner vs fine dining server overview

	Food Runner	Fine Dining Server
Yearly salary	$25,536	$32,140
Hourly rate	$12.28	$15.45
Growth rate	14%	10%
Number of jobs	240,853	77,549
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	23	28
Years of experience	-	-

What does a food runner do?

Food Runners are responsible for assisting waitstaff on serving customers at a restaurant or similar establishment. Among their duties include maintaining cleanliness in particular areas, setting tables, refilling drinks, assisting customers with everything that they need, and coordinating with the workforce in and out of the kitchen. Furthermore, Food Runners need to ensure that all deliveries are accurate according to what is ordered by a customer. It is essential to stay presentable and helpful at all times as the main priority is customer satisfaction.

What does a fine dining server do?

Fine dining servers the people who make your stay at a restaurant enjoyable. They deliver well-written orders for the kitchen to prepare and bring your food and beverage. Being a fine dining server is no easy task, as certain skill sets need to be met in order to become an effective dining server. An efficient server is detail-oriented, observant to the needs of the diners, and intuitive. An extensive knowledge of wines and other specific food categories may be required depending on the restaurant.

Food runner vs fine dining server salary

Food runners and fine dining servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Runner	Fine Dining Server
Average salary	$25,536	$32,140
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $34,000	Between $21,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	-
Highest paying state	Vermont	-
Best paying company	University of Massachusetts Boston	-
Best paying industry	Hospitality	-

Differences between food runner and fine dining server education

There are a few differences between a food runner and a fine dining server in terms of educational background:

	Food Runner	Fine Dining Server
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Food runner vs fine dining server demographics

Here are the differences between food runners' and fine dining servers' demographics:

	Food Runner	Fine Dining Server
Average age	23	28
Gender ratio	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%	Male, 39.6% Female, 60.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 8.2% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between food runner and fine dining server duties and responsibilities

Food runner example responsibilities.

Manage labor and design of numerous weddings, banquets, buffets, and the restaurant floor.
Manage event reservations and party requests, inform customers about upcoming events and specials.
Provide excellent customer service to guests by describing and suggesting culinary options
Greet customers and prepare drinks (tea, smoothies).
Expedite the kitchen to ensure food leaves fast and accurately.
Demonstrate strong computational skills for tendering receipt of payments from clients.

Fine dining server example responsibilities.

Schedule and prioritize workload while managing multiple tasks as a representative of this distinctive establishment frequent by wine enthusiasts.
Maintain Microsoft windows base computer system.
Work closely with management to implement new organizational systems to facilitate efficient wine service and inventory.
Craft featured cocktails and signature drinks when bartending.
Inform chefs if guests have any allergies or other requests.
Maintain cleanliness of work areas, china, glass, etc., throughout the day.

Food runner vs fine dining server skills

Common food runner skills

Cleanliness, 20%
Wine, 9%
Culinary, 7%
Food Orders, 6%
Fine Dining, 5%
Food Handling, 5%

Common fine dining server skills

Wine, 27%
Fine Dining, 24%
Cleanliness, 7%
Customer Service, 5%
Beverage Orders, 4%
POS, 4%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
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Food Runner vs Fine Dining Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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