Michelle and Roxanne: A food and beverage director is responsible for operating the kitchen, the catering, the restaurants, the bars, and the room service efficiently and consistently. On a daily basis, the food and beverage director has to exceed guests’ expectations, perform and display leadership skills, observing and identifying trends, and monitoring their employees. It is essential for the food and beverage director to meet the guest’s needs, improve services, and make sure everything goes according to plan. 

Chris: His job was to be a Steward. A Steward maintains the kitchen and dining area in a clean and sanitary manner as he follows health and hygiene regulations as well as company policy and procedures. From Chris’ point of view, he saw workers change their pair of gloves every time they made a new meal. Also, the counter was extremely clean and empty, it was wiped down constantly leaving it looking some place like you would actually eat at without worrying that they didn’t follow health and hygiene regulations.

Anna: The job description of a Catering Sales Manager is to optimize guest satisfaction and revenue by selling the most profitable functions and going above and beyond to exceed guests’ food & beverage and service expectations. Beaubourg is a fine dining restaurant inside Le District. The restaurant event holds about one hundred guests and they provide both indoor and outdoor seating. They also do special events. Beauboug has a pre-fixed three-course menu that includes appetizers, entrée and desserts. Each course has about two to three options, which makes it much easier to prepare for a large group of people with the limited amount of space they have. And there is Le Bar, it is not just a bar, they also do catering. The bar has a catering menu for special events. Le Bar offers four different beverage packages, six platter options and also little’s bites by piece.

Pedro: Executive chefs work for restaurants and make most of the administrative decisions. They may review food and beverage purchases, develop and standardize recipes, maintain safety and sanitation in the kitchen, maintain equipment, design food presentation aesthetics, plan and prepare special menu items, choose menu designs and determine menu prices. They may also be in charge of interviewing, hiring and training new kitchen personnel.Additionally, executive chefs supervise all kitchen workers. They give performance reviews, grant pay increases and take disciplinary action when necessary. Executive chefs may also help prepare meals in the kitchen and delegate work to other chefs and cooks during the restaurant’s busy times. At the end of the work day, executive chefs oversee clean up and record the day’s sales. During Le District mall, there are various food options but they’re are molded by the customers they receive and their location. On the ground floor, there a few restaurants that you can go to eat in peace and enjoy the company of others. On the first flight up, there is a food court that has a lot of fast food restaurants that provide good quality food for those rushing during their lunch break and the prices match the area.

Sarah: The food and beverage director oversees every employee within this service of a company. She is in charge of making sure everything goes smoothly and according to schedule and that every guest’s need is met.

Karen: Restaurant Managers must combine strategic planning and day to day activities. The role is both business-like and creative in terms of marketing and business development. Restaurant Managers take responsibility for promotional events and discount schemes; prepare reports at the end of the shift/week including staff control, food control and sales; create and execute plans for department sales, profit and staff development; set budgets or agree them with senior management; plan and coordinate menus; coordinate the operation of the restaurant during scheduled shifts; recruit, train, manage and motivate staff; respond to customer queries and complaints, meet and greet customers, organize table reservations and offer advice about menu and wine choices, maintain high standards of quality control, hygiene, and health and safety.

Neil: Executive chef responsibilities are critical when it comes to the kitchen. The Executive chef is in charge of training and managing the kitchen personnel and supervising all culinary activities taking place. The Executive chef must purchase food; develop recipes; ensure efficient quality; estimate food consumption; demonstrate different techniques that need to be used; demand safety and sanitation in his/her kitchen.

Lily: An assistant director of food and beverage looks after the administration of the hotel staff, which caters to the needs of the customers. Part of the assistant’s job may include working with contractors the facility uses. Their responsibilities include: to discuss the budget and accordingly plan the inventory, chart menu cards along with their prices in the approval of the director. Supervise over the activities of the staff to get the taste that the customer’s desire. Take the approval of the directors if there are large orders, such as organizing of parties and marriage banquets. Oversee the duties carried out on day to day basis; provide the inventory and funds required on need.

For the Food and Beverage Management: Research and Development, in the first activity: Restaurant Management R&D we didn’t feel too welcomed by one cafe cashier at the register when Sarah was purchasing breakfast. We also witnessed the 5/10 foot rule when our group were walking up to the restaurant and the two hosts instantly stopped conversation going and greeted us.

For the menu analysis activity, we confirmed that the material that cafe’s used were different from the materials at sit-down restaurants used in that at the cafe’s, the menu was very basic and they used chalk boards. At the sit-down restaurants, menus were laminated and we were each given an individual menu. Another point noticed from the menu analysis activity were the prices. All cafe’s were priced about the same, however the sit-down restaurants were about double of what you would be paying for a similar item at a cafe.

The beverage activity helped us see the different types of drinks they served at Le District. There were a variety of breakfast beverages including coffee and natural juices. After discussing which would be better, we came to the conclusion that the natural juices are the healthier option but at the end of the day, it all depends what you prefer. Natural juices, although expensive we filled with lots of nutrients needed to start your day. We also noticed that Le District had a large selection of wine which would could be perfectly paired with cheese.

Sam: The Director of Food and Beverages is a position given to the person in charge of running all aspects of the hotel that involve any form of food and beverages. The Director of F&B is responsible for leading the emplyees that work under him or her to deliver outstanding service to the guest who are staying at the property. The thing that stood out to Sam was the difference in service between two stores. This had to do with how the emplyee at one store didn’t even try to answer his question when asked about the items on their menu. While the employees at the restaurant knew what they had on the menu and what changes they can make to make a dish meet the guest likings.

Daniel:The Beverage Manager is in charge of the order and storage of the wines,making a wine list for the day, watching over the staff, maintaining cost control, helping guest when they are choosing a wine for themselves, making sure wine is served properly and having the knowledge of the drinks they serve. There were two things that I found very significant while on the trip was the fact that some store employees would not acknowledge people if they weren’t “open”. The second thing I found intersting was that 5 foot/10 foot rule was only used once when we were at Beaulourg.

Mimi:The Executive Chef is in charge of making sure that food is produced in a timely and efficient manner. They also need to make sure that the dishes that are served to the guest exceed their expectations when it comes to taste, presentation, and portion size. Finally, they need to make sure that they make a profit off of the dishes that they prepare. Two things that stood out to Mimi was how there were two coffee shops that where very close to each other but offered very different opetions when it came to drinks. This was due to the fact that one was more seasonal, while the other just offered coomon drinks.

Dale: The Restaurant Manager is in charge of making sure that the guest expectations are passed, hiring and training of new employees, making sure quality standards are created and met by the staff, marketing the restaurant, in-room dining, and making a reasonable bugdet. One thing that Dale found significant was the fact that when she was ordering something, she was not acknowledged.

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.”

Group Members: Ri Dong Zheng (Food and Beverage Director), Angela Liang (Beverage Manager), Kaylah Bilal (Catering Manager), Lisbel Hernandez (Restaurant Manager). 

Brief description of our responsibilities: A Food and Beverage Director is responsible for the efficient and effective operation of all the departments that has to do with food and beverages. Some examples are kitchen, catering banquet, restaurants, room service, bars, etc.

A Beverage Manager is responsible for the smooth operations of beverages while ensuring high pour-cost percentage with minimum pilferage. This may include bars, restaurants, or banquets.

A Catering Manager is responsible for selling and servicing, catering, banquets, meetings, and exhibitions in a way that exceeds guest’ expectations and produces reasonable profit.

A Restaurant Manager is responsible for ensuring the smooth operations of a restaurant while exceeding guest service expectations, hiring training and developing employees, and setting and maintaining quality standards.

Observations: During our site visit to the Le District, we made some significant observations according to what our roles are. Our Restaurant Manager noticed how well the employee in Sprinkles Cupcake was doing in which the employee was able to greet customers with a warm and welcoming smile. The employee was also able to use suggestive selling, where she gave her own experience of only eating original flavors but started to like red velvet after eating it. Another observation made was when the employees were making bread or dessert, it was noticed that one of the employees did not had the hairnet, had her phone in her pocket, and was not using gloves.

Our Beverage Director observed that the types of beverages served was simple and basic with nothing too fancy. This is befitting of a place where it serves mainly business people and gets overcrowded during lunch time. With something not complicated, orders can be taken and done in a quick and efficient pace. As a Food and Beverage Director, I noticed how the different types of beverages serve has to do with location. On one end, caffeinated drinks were served where breakfast and desserts were sold. In the middle, non-caffeinated drinks where actual food and meals were being sold. On the other end, only coffee of a special kind was served where groceries were being sold. There was also a bar serving alcoholic drinks where there many tables. So the types of beverages sold at different locations matches well with what is being sold nearby.

Our Catering Manager noticed that the menus in the various stores were using different kinds of materials to write the prices and options of their products. Some of which were chalkboards, pamphlets, and tags next to their products. By using re-writable options, prices of products of prices are subject to change without having to reprint thousands of menu pamphlets. As the Food and Beverage Director, an observation about the menus made was the fact that they were all simple and easy to read. Instead of having all the products listed our with each individual prices next to it, only one or two prices for different sizes (ie; small, large), all the different kinds of choices were below it. Easy menu makes easy ordering.