Unit 1 - Overview of the Restaurant and Foodservice Industry

Cover Letter

A brief letter in which applicants introduce themselves to an employer.

Portfolio

A collection of samples that showcases interests, talents, contributions, and studies; a good self-marketing tool that displays an applicant's finest efforts and can also show relevant courses, transcripts, certifications, and licenses the applicant might hold.

Job Application

A document a prospective employee fills out that provides a first impression of what the application has to offer and includes general information about the applicant and his / her employment history.

Prejudice

A general attitude toward a person, group, or organization on the basis of judgments that are unrelated to abilities.

Scholarship

A grant or financial aid award to a student for the purpose of attending an institution.

Entry-Level House

A job that requires little or no previous experience; entry-level jobs are an important starting point for all career pathways and usually lead to other positions with more responsibility that require more experience and/or specialized skills.

Stress Management

A process people use to identify what causes stress for them in a workplace as well as in their personal lives; once a stress is identified, various strategies can be applied to minimize its effects.

Career

A profession or work in a particular field that individuals choose for themselves.

Casual Dining Full-Service Restaurant

A restaurant segment where a majority of the menu items are cooked to order, often with trendy and popular flairs. Average check is about $10 - $25.

Quick-Casual Restaurant

A restaurant segment where guests order items at a counter and pay before eating, and the menu emphasizes on freshly-prepared items with high-quality ingredients. Guests also receive the food quickly. Average check is abouy $7 - $9.

Quick-Service Restaurant

A restaurant segment where guests order items at a counter and pay before eating, the menu is designed to produce food very quickly, and guests may eat on the premises, take it out, or have it delivered. Average check is about $3 - $6.

Family Dining Full-Service Restaurant

A restaurant segment where it caters and brings menu emphasis to families. Average check is about $10 or less.

Fine Dining Full-Service Restaurant

A restaurant segment where the menu provides intricate dishes and sometimes table-side cooking. The linens, plates, and utensils are all high quality. Average check is about $25 or more.

Concept

A restaurant's unique combination of menu offerings, pricing, service style, ambiance, and decor.

Career Pathway

A series of jobs through which people can advance to further their careers

Ethics

A set of moral values that a group of people holds that help guide the decisions they make, typically based on the principles of honesty, integrity, and respect for others; they can influenced by cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs, personal codes of conduct, and individual experience.

Resume

A written summary of an applicant's experience, skills, and achievements that relate to the job being sought out .

Haute Cuisine

An elaborate and refined system of food preparation

Dish Washer

Clean and sanitize dishes, utensils, and cooking equipment. They replenish service areas to ensure staff has what it takes to service guests.

Buser

Clear plates, clean tables, and set tables for new guests.

Networking

Connecting with several people to build relationships that may result in career advancement, industry updates, and greater knowledge and skill.

Nonverbal Communication

Describes communication through body language or gestures.

Verbal Communication

Describes communication through speaking or writing

Professional Image

Employees' professional image is comprised of the expectation for cleanliness and neatness in their appearance every day on the job, which includes everything from clean nails and hands to washed hair and clean, well-maintained, and ironed uniforms, whether in the front or back of the house.

Phatnai

Establishments in ancient Greece that catered to travelers, traders, and visiting diplomats

Quick-Service Counter Server

Greet guests (usually in a line, not seated). They take orders, process payments, and offer thanks to guests.

Server

Greet guests at their tables. They take and serve orders, and check on guests throughout the dining experience.

Prep Cook

Help the more experienced cooks and chefs to prepare orders. They portion out food, precook food, and prepare ingredients ahead of time.

Feedback

Helpful information that is given to someone to say what is working or what needs to be improved about a particular action or performance.

Workplace Ethics

In the business world, these codes set the professional tone and behaviors for employees in an operation and help everyone understand what is considered acceptable or unacceptable behavior

Historical Information

Information that has already happened.

Action-Required Information

Information that requires an action.

Interview

Meeting between an applicant and employer to discuss the applicant's qualifications for the job; the applicant's opportunity to "show his or her stuff" in person to a potential employer.

Financial Aid

Monetary assistance offered to students who apply, including grants, educational loans, and work study.

Executive Chef

Part of an operation's management team. They oversee the entire kitchen, from supervising all kitchen employees to purchasing food supplies and making decisions about menu items.

Lesche

Private clubs in ancient Greece that offered food to members

Cashier

Process payments (sometimes combined with a host or hostess's other tasks). Offer farewells and thanks to existing guests.

Host/Hostess

Provide a fist impression of the operation to guests. They also assist guests with coats or other items to be stored while eating.

Closed Interview Questions

Questions that can be answered with a yes or no or with a brief, factual statement.

Open-Ended Interview Questions

Questions that encourage people to talk, making them feel more comfortable and encouraging them to share important information and valuable insight about themselves; thought-provoking, in-depth responses, actively involved.

Back-of-House

Refers to foodservice employees who work outside the public space; back-of-the-house positions include chefs, line cooks, pastry chefs, crew (or shift) supervisors, dish washers, bookkeepers, storeroom clerks, purchasers, dietitians, and menu planners.

Front-of-House

Refers to the foodservice employees who serve guests directly; front-of-the-house positions include managers, dining room managers, maître d's, hosts/hostesses, cashiers, bar staff, service staff, and busers.

Diversity

Refers to the great variety of people in today's world and their backgrounds, experiences, opinions, religions, ages, talents, and abilities.

Hospitality

Refers to the service that people use and receive when they are away from home, including restaurants and hotels; also refers to the feeling that guests take with them from their experience with an operation - the service, care, attention, and even physical environment

Personal Responsibility

Responsibility to follow directions for a task you have been signed, and completing the tasks you have been assigned in the time frame your manager has assigned.

Station Cook

Responsible for a variety of areas within a kitchen. Pantry cook, Roast cook, Sauce and Stock cook, and Vegetable cook.

Banquet Chef

Responsible for catered parties, functions,and banquets. Banquet chefs usually work in lodging operations and clubs. They work closely with the catering department in an operation.

District Manager

Responsible for multiple operations in a particular region. They work closely with both offices and the restaurant's general managers to ensure the operations are running correctly. They need solid leadership skills and show an ability to make complex decisions quickly.

General Manager

Responsible for overall planning, direction, and coordination of the operation. They are responsible for hiring, promoting, and terminating employees. They leave the day-to-day management of various functions to the managers, who report back to them.

Pastry Chef

Responsible for pastry and baking production in an operation. Most work in hotels, fine-dining restaurants, and restaurants with high volumes of customers.

Sous Chef

Responsible for the kitchen team in the executive chef's absence and also lend their cooking expertise to overall food preparation.

Contract Feeding

Situation in which an outside contractor manages and operates the employee dining facility for a business or company.

Mentor

Someone who can play the role of a wise adviser to help guide a person along his or her career path.

Expediter

Staff member in Escoffier's kitchen brigade system who takes orders from servers and calls out the order to the various production areas in the kitchen

Aptitude Tests

Tests that ask broad questions that assess your overall disposition.

Psychological Tests

Tests that attempt to assess the individual in the abstract, looking for key organizational behavioral factors.

Assessments Tests

Tests that evaluate a person's ability in a given area.

Skills Tests

Tests that help indicate the ability of the applicant to meet the minimum qualifications on specific job tasks.

IQ Tests

Tests that look at your level of intelligence; important for complex positions.

Listening

The ability to focus closely on what another person is saying to summarize the true meaning of a message.

Communication

The act of expressing information or thoughts to someone else, including both verbal (speaking and writing) and nonverbal communication (body language and gestures)

Empathy

The act of identifying with the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes towards another person.

Interpersonal Communication

The act of people sharing their feelings, ideas, emotions, and information face-to-face with each other; any two-way communication that has immediate feedback-a conversation

Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

The application students and parents must fill out in order to qualify for financial aid at any school that receives federal funds.

Travel and Tourism

The combination of all of the services that people need and will pay for when they are away from home.

Professionalism

The combination of trained skills, polite and positive behaviors, and good judgement a person uses at work.

Stress

The condition where, or feeling that, demands exceed the resources available for use.

Message Content

The main connection between the people sending and receiving a message.

Receiver

The person receiving the message.

Sender

The person sending the message.

Etiquette

The proper way a polite person should behave.

Time Management

The use of tools to increase a person's efficiency and productivity; the skills needed for effective time management include planning, goal setting, setting priorities, and delegating.

Message Channel

The way in which information is being transferred (Verbal / Nonverbal )

Self-Operators

To hire your own staff to operate food services

Tourism

Travel for recreational, leisure, or business purposes

Teamwork

Using each team member's strengths so that the group has more success working together than working alone.

Context

Why the message is being sent.

Work Study

Working as a student for the school in exchange for financial aid.

Commercial

an establishment where their main function or purpose is to serve food

Non-Commercial

to prepare and serve food in support of another establishment's main function or purpose.