What Does a Food Service Manager Do?

First, earn your high school diploma or equivalent. 

Next, you’ll benefit from specialized training, such as earning a two-year associate degree in hospitality or food service management. To reach the top tier of finer restaurants, more formal culinary education may be necessary.

Food service management programs typically cover customer service, business management and administration, marketing, bookkeeping, food planning and preparation, nutrition and restaurant safety. 

The best programs often include internships, management trainee programs or other work agreements that incorporate practical, hands-on experience. No matter which path is available to you, don’t underestimate the value of on-the-job experience. Even part-time work alongside coursework can make a difference. 

For example, a food service manager who has worked in different roles — including as a waiter, line cook, kitchen manager or chef — will better understand how the front and the back of the house function and is likely to be a better overall leader than someone who hasn’t had that variety of experiences.

Certification isn’t mandatory but it’s recommended. A common certification is the Foodservice Management Professional (FMP), a designation from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). Another is the Food Protection Manager Certification (FPMC), a designation from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Plus, certifications are an opportunity to keep learning. 

There’s room to grow in this line of work. You can move around one restaurant or chain to gain new experiences, move up to a better quality restaurant or you can leverage your skills to run your own restaurant one day.

Food service managers will need a driver’s license because most establishments require that managers work long hours, including nights and weekends.  

Yes. Food service manager employment is expected to grow 10% from 2021 to 2031, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s much faster than typical job growth and amounts to about 45,000 openings each year over the decade. 

Much of that growth is recovery from COVID-19, which pushed many restaurant workers to consider other professions. That creates opportunity for young people or those who have decided they belong in the restaurant world. 

Successful food service managers tend to share certain traits: 

• Highly organized
• Excellent communication skills
• Work well under pressure
• Good leadership and motivational skills
• Strong financial skills
• Attention to detail
• Able to deal with many different personality types (both customers and staff)

This career has a low impact from AI because leadership and people management cannot be automated. AI helps with scheduling, inventory, and customer trend tracking. Managers use AI insights to improve efficiency and service quality.