Restaurant Management
Have you ever dreamed of running your own restaurant? Explore exactly what’s needed to run a successful restaurant, including ordering supplies, hiring quality workers, maintaining inventory, and managing a large staff. Understanding such concepts as food safety, hygiene, customer relations, marketing, and using a point-of-sale system are crucial to being an effective restaurateur. Whether you are hoping to operate a casual sit-down eatery, oversee a fine dining establishment, or buy a food franchise, this course is the perfect first step.
Units at a Glance
Unit 1: Restaurant Management: What You Need to Know
Did you know that there are over one million restaurant locations in the United States alone? Whether you are interested in managing a fine, 5-star restaurant in a big city or a small, family owned diner, a career in restaurant management can be interesting, challenging, and rewarding. In this unit, you’ll learn about the four key goals of restaurant management: customer satisfaction, making a profit, staffing, and logistics. From customer satisfaction to managing supplies, restaurant management is a juggling act. You need to keep everyone happy and make money to make your restaurant a success. To be successful, your restaurant needs to turn a profit, so you’ll also learn how to track inventory and manage money in the restaurant industry.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Identify different types of restaurants.
- Recognize the importance of customer needs.
- Manage and support staff.
- Track expenses and profit.
Unit 2: How Restaurants Work
Do you know what it takes for your food to get to your restaurant table? As a restaurant guest, you simply order, wait, eat, and pay. But the work of many different people is necessary to get your meal to the table—as well as computer support to manage payments, track inventory, and create various types of financial reports. In this unit, you will learn what it takes to make your meal happen. Restaurant managers need to understand the function and responsibilities of each of their employees and how these people work together to accomplish tasks in the restaurant, whether it’s a fast food place or a fine dining establishment.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Identify the different roles in the front of house.
- Recognize job responsibilities in the kitchen.
- Understand how the point-of-sale system works.
- Explore how the restaurant manager functions in this hierarchy.
Unit 3: Food & Workplace Safety
Rules and regulations matter in the kitchen. These exist not just to make the health inspector happy, but to keep your employees and your customers safe and healthy. In this unit, you’ll learn about the essential procedures in the kitchen to reduce the risk of injuries, such as providing good quality knives and setting up smart rules about uniforms and lifting. You’ll also learn all about safe food handling to reduce the spread of food-borne illnesses and about different types of food-borne illnesses.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Understand essential safety regulations in the kitchen.
- Recognize the importance of proper employee training.
- Identify key food safety practices.
- List common food-borne illnesses.
Unit 4: Understanding Recipes, Techniques, & Equipment
Rules and regulations matter in the kitchen. These exist not just to make the health inspector happy, but to keep your employees and your customers safe and healthy. In this unit, you’ll learn about the essential procedures in the kitchen to reduce the risk of injuries, such as providing good quality knives and setting up smart rules about uniforms and lifting. You’ll also learn all about safe food handling to reduce the spread of food-borne illnesses and about different types of food-borne illnesses.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Understand how to read a recipe.
- Recognize ingredient quantities and preparation instructions.
- Explain some basic cooking techniques.
- Explore the function of commercial cooking equipment.
Unit 5: Managing a Restaurant Staff
One of a restaurant manager’s main tasks is managing the restaurant staff. In this unit, you will learn how to handle hiring, manage problems, and even terminate employees when needed. You’ll also learn how to make and manage employee schedules and respond to employee needs and concerns. These management skills are essential to keeping your restaurant running smoothly, and these skills can help you to earn the respect, admiration, and friendship of your staff. A good manager helps to create a happy and loyal staff that works hard to create a pleasant experience for your guests.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Make good hiring decisions.
- Recognize the importance of teamwork.
- Understand how to make a work schedule.
- Manage employee problems and challenges.
Unit 6: Professional Communications & Ethics in Restaurant Management
Unit description.What do you do when a customer complains? Restaurant managers have to handle the tough conversations, whether it’s with an unhappy customer or an employee you need to let go. In this unit, you’ll learn strategies for effectively communicating with your customers directly and through your marketing materials. You’ll also learn how to communicate with your employees and use active listening skills to support your employees. This unit will provide you with information about ethics in the restaurant management industry and about ways to help and support both your employees and yourself.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Use active listening skills to hear and communicate effectively.
- Discuss the importance of nonverbal communication.
- Understand the ethical guidelines appropriate for a restaurant manager.
- Recognize the importance of employee-friendly policies.
Unit 7: Marketing & Customer Service
What makes a great restaurant dining experience? One of the vital parts is great customer service. In this unit, you will learn how to create a positive dining experience for your guests from the time they enter your restaurant until they leave. Customer service includes how your staff interacts with the guests, the physical space in the restaurant, and the food quality. You’ll learn about taking feedback from your customers and responding to that feedback. In addition, you’ll learn how to create a restaurant marketing plan and present that plan to attract new customers and maintain a consistent or increasing number of repeat customers for your restaurant. These skills are essential to the success of any restaurant.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Recognize the importance of customer service.
- Identify key ways to improve customer service.
- Discuss the types of customer feedback.
- Understand the components of a marketing plan.
Unit 8: Building a Restaurant Management Career
Are you ready for a career in restaurant management? In this unit, you will put your skills to work. You’ll learn about writing a résumé and a cover letter and assembling a portfolio. This unit will provide you with the skills you need to apply for jobs, handle introductory job paperwork, and make decisions about furthering your education. Finally, you’ll learn a little about managing work stress and staying organized, on top of things, and taking care of yourself while working in a high-stress environment.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Fill out a job application.
- Write a résumé and cover letter.
- Prepare a portfolio.
- Make a self-care plan to handle stress and balance work and life obligations.
Required Materials
- A digital camera or camera phone
- Ingredients and tools to make a simple food dish of the student’s choice
- Stove/grill/oven/microwave
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