What does a food supervisor do?
A food supervisor directs workers who prepare, apportion, and serve food to clients and staff. Their major responsibility is to ensure compliance with the food safety standards set by relevant authorities. They are also tasked with updating the food safety program and training all staff to understand and adhere to the instructions contained therein.
Food supervisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real food supervisor resumes:
- Lead shifts while personally preparing bakery items and executing requests base on require specifications.
- Maintain all food and beverage storerooms in proper condition to ensure cleanliness, freshness, and organization.
- Inspect all storage and food services preparation areas daily to ensure proper handling and cleanliness standards are met.
- Travel to find better products that utilize the companies finances better while still providing the best culinary experience for the customer.
- Examine food and beverage quality and presentation and provide corrective training where necessary, involving the culinary management team when need.
- Develop and organize BOH through cleaning, maintenance, equipment care, and ordering and receiving.
- Instruct workers (FOH and BOH) in the preparation, cooking, presentation, and garnishing of menu items.
- Take food deliveries off of truck and put into proper place using FIFO method.
- Record inventory following FIFO inventory method.
- Organize bakery department personnel, including performance management developing and implementing corrective actions and staff training programs.
- Conduct period inventory; maintaining records to comply with Aramark, government and accrediting agency standards.
Food supervisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Food Supervisors are proficient in HACCP, Problem Resolution, and Safety Training. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Food Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- HACCP, 18%
Implemented action plan for the maintenance of GMP, HACCP and Sanitation.
- Problem Resolution, 18%
Worked with customers to ensure satisfaction in such areas as quality, service and problem resolution.
- Safety Training, 16%
Participated in regular safety meetings, safety training and hazard assessments.
- Safety Regulations, 7%
Directed general operations in a high-energy atmosphere while adhering to the companies health and safety regulations.
- Customer Service, 7%
Provide customer service -Counter attendant -Cashier -Take customers order -Prepare food and beverages
- FDA, 6%
Monitor and train all on food safety, prepare for FDA & health department inspection at all times.
"haccp," "problem resolution," and "safety training" are among the most common skills that food supervisors use at work. You can find even more food supervisor responsibilities below, including:
Business skills. The most essential soft skill for a food supervisor to carry out their responsibilities is business skills. This skill is important for the role because "food service managers must understand all aspects of the restaurant business, including how to budget for supplies, comply with regulations, and manage workers." Additionally, a food supervisor resume shows how their duties depend on business skills: "handled customer complaints and resolved business-related problems in an efficient and constructive manner. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform food supervisor duties is communication skills. Food supervisors responsibilities require that "food service managers must give clear orders to staff and be able to convey information effectively to employees and customers." Food supervisors also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "monitored quality control specifications, marketing, mass communications, quality assurance and haccp guidelines for the food and nutrition department. "
Customer-service skills. This is an important skill for food supervisors to perform their duties. For an example of how food supervisor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "food service managers must be courteous and attentive when dealing with patrons." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a food supervisor: "travelled to find better products that utilized the companies finances better while still providing the best culinary experience for the customer. ".
Leadership skills. Another common skill required for food supervisor responsibilities is "leadership skills." This skill comes up in the duties of food supervisors all the time, as "managers must establish good relationships with staff to maintain a productive work environment." An excerpt from a real food supervisor resume shows how this skill is central to what a food supervisor does: "learned leadership skills in operating a business while keeping labor costs low and meeting budget requirements. "
Organizational skills. While "organizational skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to food supervisor responsibilities. Much of what a food supervisor does relies on this skill, seeing as "managers have many different responsibilities, including scheduling and overseeing staff, budgeting, and maintaining financial records." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of food supervisors: "labor costs from 30% to 27% weekly.skills usedi have proven management and organizational skills. "
The three companies that hire the most food supervisors are:
- Sodexo Management, Inc.253 food supervisors jobs
- Great Wolf Resorts91 food supervisors jobs
- Aramark10 food supervisors jobs
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Compare different food supervisors
Food supervisor vs. Chef/kitchen manager
A kitchen manager or chef is someone who oversees the overall operations in the kitchen as well as the food operations. Kitchen managers make certain that food and related products are well prepared, cooked, and served to customers. They maintain a fully-stocked kitchen inventory and comply with the cleanliness and safety standards. It is their responsibility to manage the kitchen staff and aid them in delivering quality food at the right time. They need to possess management skills, leadership skills, and attention to detail.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, food supervisor responsibilities require skills like "problem resolution," "safety training," "excellent interpersonal," and "safety regulations." Meanwhile a typical chef/kitchen manager has skills in areas such as "kitchen operations," "wine," "guest satisfaction," and "servsafe." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Chef/kitchen managers tend to make the most money working in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $44,258. In contrast, food supervisors make the biggest average salary, $35,705, in the hospitality industry.chef/kitchen managers tend to reach similar levels of education than food supervisors. In fact, chef/kitchen managers are 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Food supervisor 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, food supervisor responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "haccp," "problem resolution," "safety training," and "safety regulations." Meanwhile, a shift leader has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "math," "management," and "basic math." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Shift leaders may earn a higher salary than food supervisors, but shift leaders earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $36,581. On the other hand, food supervisors receive higher pay in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $35,705.In general, shift leaders achieve similar levels of education than food supervisors. They're 1.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Food supervisor 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.
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 supervisor resumes include skills like "haccp," "problem resolution," "safety training," and "excellent interpersonal," whereas a bar manager/bartender is more likely to list skills in "wine," "bartending," "pos," and "non-alcoholic beverages. "
Bar managers/bartender typically earn similar educational levels compared to food supervisors. Specifically, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Food supervisor vs. Deli manager
A deli manager is responsible for monitoring the daily operations of the restaurant, delegating tasks to staff, supervising the food orders and services, maintaining adequate stock inventory, and finding ways to minimize production costs without compromising quality service. Deli managers strategize on techniques in maximizing the productivity of the operations staff to boost revenues and increase the business' profitability. They also attend to the guests' needs, respond to their inquiries, and resolve complaints immediately. A deli manager analyzes current food trends to update the restaurant's menu and meet the guests' demands.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between food supervisors and deli managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a food supervisor might have more use for skills like "haccp," "problem resolution," "safety training," and "excellent interpersonal." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of deli managers require skills like "basic math," "pallets," "food handling," and "math. "
Deli managers enjoy the best pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $36,922. For comparison, food supervisors earn the highest salary in the hospitality industry.deli managers reach similar levels of education compared to food supervisors, in general. The difference is that they're 1.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of food supervisor
Updated January 8, 2025
