What does a Food Service Worker do?
Foodservice workers are employees at restaurants, food trucks, or any outlet that provides food to customers. They may be assigned to welcome customers, take food orders, prepare food orders in the kitchen, serve food, handle customer payments, clean up the tables once the guests leave, or maintain the whole store's cleanliness. They may also be assigned to manage inventories, handle stocks and deliveries, and other activities related to the restaurant's successful operations. Foodservice workers must always be hygienic and maintain the sanitation of the area to ensure food safety.
Food service worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real food service worker resumes:
- Volunteer at rehabilitation center/ nursing home escorting and communicating with the patients.
- Learned how to do math quickly and efficiently.
- Demonstrate money-handling and math skills in processing payments for orders.
- Prepare all food stuffs, roasting meats, baking cookies, preparing salads.
- Work in full compliance with values of compassion, dignity, excellence, integrity, and team work.
- Install and maintain HVAC systems which include walkin coolers and freezers, reach-ins and pass thru and a/c systems
- Participate in HACCP training and utilize those components of the HACCP system that are a function of the job tasks.
- Prepare and serve patient trays, general cleaning, used commercial equipment safely, fill out HACCP temperature sheets accurately.
- Clean, stock, and restock workstations and display cases -Take food and drink orders and receive payment from customers.
- Wrap and weight cut meat and or cheese food items for retail sales to be enter in the store POS system.
- Operate kitchen equipment including, graters, slicers, knives, ovens, steamers, food warmers, and tilting skillets.
- Stock bar with beer, wine, liquor and relate supplies such as ice, glassware, napkins, or straws.
- Work in main kitchen, prepare salads, wash dishes, transport food on carts and give appropriate food to residents.
- Monitor patients in order to detect unusual behavior, and report observations to professional staff.
- Provide patients with information about modify diets and forward complex nutritional questions to diet technician and/or register dietitian.
Food service worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Food Service Workers are proficient in Food Handling, Safety Standards, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Listening skills, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Food Service Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Handling, 22%
Trained in proper hygiene, including basic sanitation requirement related to food handling, equipment safety and sanitation of preparation surfaces.
- Safety Standards, 9%
Prepared and delivered meals to 300+ patients Maintained Stanford Hospital and Clinics Safety Standards Ensured meals met dietary restrictions and patient preference
- Customer Service, 9%
Exhibit a professional attitude, exceptional customer service and courtesy when assisting customers and interacting with co-workers and supervisors.
- Patients, 7%
Provide patients with information about modified diets and forward complex nutritional questions to diet technician and/or registered dietitian.
- Cash Control, 4%
Run cash register, fill out cash control paperwork and maintain register drawer.
- Rehabilitation, 4%
Continued experience as a versatile food service worker in a rehabilitation center.
Most food service workers use their skills in "food handling," "safety standards," and "customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential food service worker responsibilities here:
The three companies that hire the most food service workers are:
- Compass Group USA3,167 food service workers jobs
- Aramark2,406 food service workers jobs
- Healthcare Services Group1,562 food service workers jobs
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Compare different food service workers
Food service worker vs. Kitchen staff
The kitchen staff consists of preparation workers who execute several routine tasks as directed by chefs, food service managers, and cooks. These works should have the ability to follow cooking instructions and deliver well-prepared meals. Their responsibilities include the cleanup of dishes, cooking equipment, and the working stations. They also take charge of food safety regulations, storing and sorting of ingredients, and preparing foodstuff.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between food service workers and kitchen staff. For instance, food service worker responsibilities require skills such as "patients," "pet," "cash control," and "rehabilitation." Whereas a kitchen staff is skilled in "quality food," "meal preparation," "kitchen prep," and "attentiveness." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Kitchen staff earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $30,914. On the other hand, food service workers are paid more in the retail industry with an average salary of $30,177.kitchen staff tend to reach similar levels of education than food service workers. In fact, kitchen staff are 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Food service worker vs. Kitchen aide
A food prep/dishwasher's role is to perform food preparation and cleaning duties in a kitchen, under the supervision and directives of a chef or manager. One of their primary responsibilities is washing dishes, sanitizing utensils, and preparing ingredients by washing, peeling, and cutting them according to size. They may also participate in organizing, sorting, and putting them in proper storage. There are also instances when they have to perform basic cooking tasks ranging from boiling and frying to baking. Furthermore, a food prep/dishwasher may have the duty of maintaining the kitchen's cleanliness and other areas.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that food service worker responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "pet," "cash control," and "rehabilitation." But a kitchen aide might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "meal preparation," "functional operation," "food trays," and "food safety."
On average, kitchen aides earn a lower salary than food service workers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, kitchen aides earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $29,166. Whereas food service workers have higher pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $30,177.kitchen aides earn similar levels of education than food service workers in general. They're 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Food service worker vs. Food prep/dishwasher
An associate food scientist is primarily responsible for developing new recipes for a company, ensuring quality and marketability. They are also responsible for improving existing recipes, performing support tasks for a head scientist, conducting market research and analysis, monitoring the progress of projects, and maintaining all recipes' data and records, including nutrition value and ingredients. Furthermore, there are instances when an associate food scientist must manage the packaging and storing processes of food, ensuring consumers' health and safety.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, food service workers are more likely to have skills like "food handling," "patients," "pet," and "cash control." But a food prep/dishwasher is more likely to have skills like "wash dishes," "unload trucks," "banquet tables," and "bus tables."
Food prep/dishwashers earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $30,657. Comparatively, food service workers have the highest earning potential in the retail industry, with an average salary of $30,177.Most food prep/dishwashers achieve a similar degree level compared to food service workers. For example, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Food service worker vs. Associate food scientist
Types of food service worker
Updated January 8, 2025
