First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

Career Overview

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in preparing and serving food.

Also Known As

• Dietary Supervisor
• Food Service Supervisor
• Kitchen Manager
• Restaurant Manager

Alternate Job Titles

• Banquet Captain
• Banquet Supervisor
• Bar Manager
• Bartender Manager
• Cafeteria Manager
• Cafeteria Supervisor
• Canteen Manager
• Cocktail Lounge Manager
• Commissary Production Supervisor
• Cook Manager
• Counter Supervisor
• Crew Chief
• Dairy Bar Manager
• Dietary Director
• Dietary Manager

What You'll Do

In this role, your typical responsibilities include:

• Resolve customer complaints regarding food service.
• Train workers in food preparation, and in service, sanitation, and safety procedures.
• Assign duties, responsibilities, and work stations to employees in accordance with work requirements.
• Present bills and accept payments.
• Perform various financial activities, such as cash handling, deposit preparation, and payroll.
• Supervise and participate in kitchen and dining area cleaning activities.
• Recommend measures for improving work procedures and worker performance to increase service quality and enhance job safety.

Knowledge You'll Use

You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:

• Customer and Personal Service
• Administration and Management
• Food Production

Essential Skills

Success in this career requires strong skills in:

1. Management of Personnel Resources
2. Speaking
3. Monitoring
4. Coordination
5. Active Listening
6. Instructing
7. Service Orientation

Key Abilities

This career requires key abilities in:

• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Problem Sensitivity
• Deductive Reasoning
• Speech Clarity
• Speech Recognition
• Written Comprehension
• Time Sharing
• Near Vision
• Selective Attention

Work Style

People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:

• Dependability
• Leadership Orientation
• Cooperation
• Social Orientation
• Stress Tolerance

What Matters in This Career

This career tends to satisfy these work values:

• Relationships
• Support
• Independence
• Achievement
• Recognition

Education & Preparation

Typical Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)

On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month

Education Details: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Experience Required: Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Technology You'll Use

Popular Technologies & Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Project
• Microsoft Word

Tools & Equipment

• Barcode scanners
• Card readers
• Cash registers
• Credit card processing machines
• Desktop computers
• Linear imaging scanners
• Long range charged coupled device CCD barcode scanners
• Notebook computers
• Point of sale POS printers
• Point of sale POS terminals
• Point of service scanners
• Point of service workstations
• Restaurant guest and server paging systems

Work Environment

• Telephone Conversations
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
• Contact With Others
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
• Physical Proximity

Salary & Job Market

Salary Percentile	Annual Wage
Entry-Level (10th percentile)	$29,340
Median	$42,010
Top Earners (90th percentile)	$63,420

Workers Employed Nationally: 1,187,460

Related Careers

If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:

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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.