While the British food and hotel industry offers a wide range of exciting career paths, the climbing of the scale requires more than simple hard work: it takes experience, skills and an intelligent approach to learning and networking.
Whether you start or work in the industry already, read the rest for a guide to develop your career in food and hospitality.
Work experience
Get work experience In different roles and parameters is the best way to understand what you like and what you are good. Work in as many kitchens and food settings as possible and try different types of kitchen and catering styles, fast food points at gourmet restaurants. Each place will teach you something new, and the experience will be invaluable for your CV.
If you think you may like to work in the kitchen, working under a variety of different chefs can help you collect different techniques, attitudes and cooking cultures. It is also a great way to strengthen your confidence and be noticed. Over time, you will start to understand what type of career in the food and hotel industry is best for you, whether cooking, management or something else.
In front
If you are interested in working in front of the house, you will probably seek to develop your career as a master of. It is the role of the chief server that oversees the whole dining room. To get there, you will have to be dedicated, excellent customer service and a solid understanding of how a restaurant works.
Start by being the best server you can be. Learn the menu inside, stay organized and always stay calm under pressure. Then assume more responsibilities over time. Offer to help with space plans, take reservations, manage the guest complaints and support more recent staff.
The networking is also essential: talk to the experiences of experience and see if you can establish an advice and mentoring relationship. Many people in the hotel industry are happy to support other serious people about industry.
Culinary school
Although the practical experience is important, formal training can give you a huge boost, especially if you are targeting higher level jobs or if you want to move abroad.
In the United Kingdom, there are many fantastic vocational training options. The Cordon Bleu London is one of the best known schools, but many local colleges also offer lessons, including city and GUILDES or NVQ qualifications in professional cuisine. While these programs will teach you everything you may need to know about the kitchen, you will also find out about a range of other key responsibilities, including cooking management, food security rules and how to correctly cost the dishes, which are all things that employers really appreciate. In addition, having a qualification can bring out your CV when requesting roles through Food recruitment agenciesCompared to the other candidates who have not received any form of professional food training.
Business awareness
If you want to go to management or business roles such as the regional manager, the operations director or even the food buyer, you will need to understand how the commercial side of hospitality works. Instead of focusing on excellent service or delicious food, businesses will allow you to better understand the financial and commercial implications for the management of a restaurant or a host establishment.
To start, ask for the observation of your restaurant director or to sit down during business meetings. This will give you a precious overview of areas such as the control of actions, the prices of suppliers and the gross beneficiary margins. Also, read and familiarize yourself with Basic accounting principles and legal rules. By understanding how decisions affect the results, you will start to think more as a business owner, which is an essential state of mind for leadership roles in industry.
Marketing
With a huge increase in social media in recent years, an Instagram and Tiktok well managed page can be decisive to bring customers to a business. If you are interested in working in restaurant marketing, understanding these platforms and how to manage their algorithms to work in your favor will be decisive of the growth of your career.
Start by learning to use tools like Canva to create catchy graphics and menus and learn to share photos and videos on Instagram and Tiktok food, behind the scenes, or special offers in a way that stimulates business and generates a buzz.
