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What does a food runner do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
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.

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Food runner responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real food runner resumes:

  • 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.
  • Work as a busser, barback, runner and special events when need.
  • Expedite food from the kitchen according to cook time and delivery time constraints.
  • Take food orders, micros system, serving food and drinks with a smile.
  • Deliver customers culinary choices to their table, answer questions and assist other team members.
  • Fast pace service, banquet parties, weddings, holiday buffets, and private parties.
  • Clean all work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, and silverware and ensure they are stored appropriately.
  • Work front of the house taking orders at the front counter, using a POS system, and running food.
  • Propose appetizer, wine, beer, and cocktails; as well as suggest and sell according to people's preferences.
  • Have a working knowledge of menu: food, wine, and beer so guests know you are efficient and reliable.

Food runner skills and personality traits

We calculated that 20% of Food Runners are proficient in Cleanliness, Wine, and Culinary. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Physical stamina.

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

  • Cleanliness, 20%

    Collected customer payments and handled large monetary deposits, maintained cleanliness of restaurant

  • Wine, 9%

    Proposed appetizer, wine, beer, and cocktails; as well as suggest and sell according to people's preferences.

  • Culinary, 7%

    Provided excellent customer service to guests by describing and suggesting culinary options

  • Food Orders, 6%

    Helped ensure customer satisfaction by providing fast and accurate food orders

  • Fine Dining, 5%

    Facilitated all front of house elements intrinsic to Michelin-starred fine dining.

  • Food Handling, 5%

    Washed, peeled, cut, and seeded fruits and vegetables for the bar, all while using food handling standards.

Most food runners use their skills in "cleanliness," "wine," and "culinary" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential food runner responsibilities here:

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a food runner to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "food and beverage serving and related workers must listen carefully to their customers’ orders and relay them correctly to the kitchen staff so that the orders are prepared to the customers’ request." Food runners often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "handle multiple food and drink orders efficiently - use communication skills to provide quality customer service"

Customer-service skills. Many food runner duties rely on customer-service skills. "food service establishments rely on good food and customer service to keep customers and succeed in a competitive industry," so a food runner will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways food runner responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "create a rapport with guests, while providing them with the correct food and drink orders in a fast paced environment. "

Physical stamina. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of food runners is physical stamina. This skill is critical to many everyday food runner duties, as "food and beverage serving and related workers spend most of their work time standing, carrying heavy trays, cleaning work areas, and attending to customers’ needs." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "fast-paced, busy, high volume and maintain physical stamina. "

Physical strength. food runner responsibilities often require "physical strength." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "food and beverage serving and related workers need to be able to lift and carry stock and equipment that can weigh up to 50 pounds." This resume example shows what food runners do with physical strength on a typical day: "strengthened critical thinking skills in order to provide excellent customer service. "

See the full list of food runner skills

The three companies that hire the most food runners are:

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Compare different food runners

Food runner vs. Waitress

Waitresses are responsible for ensuring that guests are given proper attention during their visit to the restaurant. They guide guests to their table, provide menu boards, answer any questions the guests may have, take the guests' order, and communicate the order to the kitchen. Once the order is ready, waitresses collect the food from the kitchen and serve it to the guests. They then give guests time to finish their meal. Upon the guests' request, waitresses bring them their bill and wait for them to finish paying up. Once the guests leave, waitresses are responsible for ensuring that the table is ready for the next guests.

The annual salary of waitresses is $766 lower than the average salary of food runners.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between food runners and waitresses are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like food orders, fine dining, and food service.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, food runner responsibilities require skills like "cleanliness," "wine," "culinary," and "food handling." Meanwhile a typical waitress has skills in areas such as "waiter," "sales taxes," "computer system," and "order slips." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Waitresses tend to make the most money working in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $25,414. In contrast, food runners make the biggest average salary, $26,747, in the hospitality industry.On average, waitresses reach similar levels of education than food runners. Waitresses are 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Food runner vs. Server/barista

A server/barista is someone who makes and serves beverages and foods, such as coffee, tea, and sandwiches or baked goods. He/She or she should be able to explain menu items to customers to ensure customer satisfaction. Other responsibilities include knowing food and beverage quality controls and updating displays to attract customers. The core skills that a server/barista should possess include excellent listening and communication skills and the ability to cope up with a physically demanding work environment. A candidate with a high school diploma or equivalent could qualify for the position.

Server/barista positions earn higher pay than food runner roles. They earn a $5,213 higher salary than food runners per year.A few skills overlap for food runners and server/baristas. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "cleanliness," "wine," and "food orders. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real food runner resumes. While food runner responsibilities can utilize skills like "culinary," "food handling," "excellent guest," and "safety standards," server/baristas use skills like "multitasking," "presentation standards," "bistro," and "caf."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Server/baristas tend to reach similar levels of education than food runners. In fact, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Food runner vs. Cashier/host

A cashier/host is responsible for facilitating the cash register processes and managing financial transactions. Cashier/hosts process reservations and online payments, respond to customers' inquiries and concerns, escalate high-level complaints, update customer's account information on the database, and perform various administrative and clerical tasks as needed. They also create comprehensive financial reports for management's review, including recommendations on cost-efficient strategies to minimize the company's loss without compromising high-quality services. A cashier/host must be analytical and communicative to maintain smooth operations and achieve the highest customer satisfaction.

An average cashier/host eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of food runners. The difference in salaries amounts to cashiers/host earning a $955 lower average salary than food runners.Using the responsibilities included on food runners and cashiers/host resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "cleanliness," "food orders," and "fine dining.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from food runner resumes include skills like "wine," "culinary," "food handling," and "food service," whereas a cashier/host is more likely to list skills in "host," "reservations," "guest complaints," and "basic math. "

Cashiers/host earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $29,494. Food runners earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $26,747.When it comes to education, cashiers/host tend to earn similar degree levels compared to food runners. In fact, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Food runner vs. Line cook

Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line. This is apt because line cooks are usually assigned to a specific station to work on a specific part of a meal or a preparation process. They are part of a bigger group of cooks in the restaurant. This is done so that meal preparation is more efficient. Line cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients, ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked, and doing their assigned activity in the line. They are expected to be good team players, have experience as a cook, and be able to follow recipes and provide alternatives when necessary.

Line cooks typically earn higher pay than food runners. On average, line cooks earn a $7,358 higher salary per year.According to resumes from food runners and line cooks, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "cleanliness," "culinary," and "food orders. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between food runners and line cooks, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a food runner might have more use for skills like "wine," "food service," "guest satisfaction," and "reset tables." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of line cooks require skills like "sanitation standards," "team work," "kitchen equipment," and "quality food. "

The hospitality industry tends to pay the highest salaries for line cooks, with average annual pay of $32,363. Comparatively, the highest food runner annual salary comes from the hospitality industry.line cooks reach similar levels of education compared to food runners, in general. The difference is that they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of food runner

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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