Loribeth (Director of Food and Beverage): Reports to the general manager and is responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the following departments: kitchen, catering, banquet, restaurants, room service, minibars, lounges, bars, and stewarding. I am in charge of exceeding guests’ expectations in food and beverage offerings and service, leadership, identifying trends, finding and keeping outstanding employees, training, motivation, budgeting, cost control, finding profit from all outlets, and having a detailed working knowledge of the front-of-the-house operations. During our trip to Le District what I found most interesting is the service, all the workers were focused on preparing for the day and serving customers at a fast pace. They were more focused on selling their product than interacting with customers. Also, the Tartinery in the food court upstairs served Rose and would pair with a chicken tartine. This is important knowledge because it creates a higher average bill and the customer appreciates the suggestion. Overall, Le District was well kept and all the workers had knowledge of the product they were selling.
Bao Yu (Restaurant Manager): “As a restaurant manager, my responsibility is to plan menus, manage budgets, training staff and so on. Also, I need to deal with customer service issues as well as to ensure that the food quality coming out of the kitchen is the best it can be. During the trip, I went to the market, there are food courts and grocery sections. I can see how the workers treated their guests and how they sell their products. They also have free samples for guests to sell them new products. I also found a personal hygiene issue, during observation, one of the workers grabbed lettuce without wearing gloves.”
Emily (Executive Chef): “Reports to the Food and Beverage Director, maintains cost control, oversees menus and recipes, ordering and purchasing and inventory control, check in with night cleaners in the morning and make sure utilities are working, check that employees are on task, check walk-ins, and consider the consistency in quality of the food on a daily basis. On our trip to Brookfield Place, I observed that in the sushi bar in the food court served overflowing sake into a shot glass and box. This practice was interesting to see as an executive chef because it showed hospitality and welcomed guests to the operation through traditions of Japanese culture. What stood out to me in Le District was the server at le boucherie who knew the flavors of the meat she was serving and was capable to answer my questions about food.”
Robert (Beverage Director): “My food and beverage job title is beverage director and his/her responsibilities are to supervise the ordering process and storage of beverages, prepare a beverages list, overseeing and train the staff, maintaining cost control, and assist guests with their beverage selection.
The two most significant observations that I saw in Le District were the employees preparing foods and stocking up inventories for lunch rush hours. We arrived and went inside pretty early so there was barely any customers interacting with the employees. I also saw baristas make and served coffees hastily to remove the long line. I saw one barista took the 7th customers on-line by looking up over the counter, point to the customers and asked “how do you want your coffee?” Overall, employees were courteous and knowledgeable, the floor is clean so do the display glasses. Display foods looked very appealing and in order.”
Destiny (Catering Manager): “The catering manager has more to do then just providing food, such as making sure clients are delighted with a room set up, the service provided and the food. Also checking that all hotel rules dealing with their department are met and followed. They also have to coordinate with the “banquet chef” to see the arranged service and menus. During our trip I went to Sprinkles cupcakes. On their wall I noticed they provided information on ordering cupcakes for any occasion. With ordering for any occasion you can have your cupcakes designed any way you wish and all prices were listed for the customer. Also, the Black Seed Bagel had written on their menu all the service they provide, such as catering and under they listed their email and phone number for customers seeking more information about their services.”
