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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for F&B Captain

💰 $ - $

HospitalityFood & BeverageRestaurant Management

🎯 Role Definition

The F&B Captain (Food & Beverage Captain) is a front-of-house leader responsible for delivering exemplary guest service, supervising daily floor operations, coaching service teams, and driving revenue through upselling and exceptional service standards. This role sits at the intersection of guest experience, operational excellence, and team leadership—ensuring that food and beverage service is executed flawlessly across a la carte, banquets, private dining and event functions. The F&B Captain enforces hygiene and safety regulations, manages shift-level financials, liaises with culinary and banqueting teams, and acts as the primary escalation point for guest concerns during service.

Key searchable focus areas: F&B Captain, Food and Beverage Captain, restaurant captain, service captain, front-of-house supervisor, banquet captain, guest service leadership, POS and cash handling, HACCP, inventory control, upselling strategies.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Waiter / Senior Server
  • Assistant Supervisor / Supervisor (Food & Beverage)
  • Bartender or Banquet Server with supervisory experience

Advancement To:

  • Assistant Food & Beverage Manager
  • Food & Beverage Manager
  • Restaurant Manager
  • Outlet Manager (multi-outlet supervision)

Lateral Moves:

  • Banquets / Events Coordinator
  • Guest Relations Manager
  • Training and Quality Assurance Specialist (F&B)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and coordinate the front-of-house service team during assigned shifts, ensuring all stations are staffed, briefed and operating to company standards for fine dining, casual dining and banquet events.
  • Deliver proactive, high-touch guest service by greeting guests, managing seating and reservation flow, resolving escalations, and ensuring a memorable dining experience that increases guest satisfaction and repeat visits.
  • Supervise order taking and service execution to guarantee timing, accuracy and presentation of food and beverage items in close collaboration with the kitchen and bar teams.
  • Train, mentor and provide on-the-job coaching to servers, bussers and junior staff on service techniques, upselling approaches, menu knowledge, beverage pairing and company SOPs.
  • Maintain full operational control of point-of-sale (POS) systems and workflow during the shift, including order entry, modifiers management, bill splitting and ensuring accurate checkouts.
  • Conduct pre-shift briefings and post-shift debriefs to communicate menu changes, VIP arrivals, special dietary requests, allergen information and sales targets.
  • Monitor and enforce food safety, sanitation and allergen protocols (HACCP, local health regulations), ensuring compliance across service areas and completing required checklists and logs.
  • Manage shift-level cash handling, closing procedures and reconciliation, including cash drops, credit card batching and discrepancy resolution in accordance with finance policies.
  • Oversee mise-en-place and floor readiness for service—table settings, linen, condiments, glassware, and station readiness—and coordinate rapid turnarounds during peak periods.
  • Drive revenue by promoting daily specials, pairing suggestions, beverage upgrades and dessert offerings while coaching staff on suggestive selling and soft skills to increase average check.
  • Coordinate event and banquet service plans with the events team, create timing schedules, allocate staff and ensure venue setup matches the event order, floor plan and client expectations.
  • Perform inventory control duties at the shift level: monitor stock movement, report low-stock items, conduct spot checks on beverage and service consumables and liaise with procurement.
  • Prepare and submit incident reports, guest feedback summaries and shift reports to line management; follow up on corrective actions to continuously improve service delivery.
  • Implement and monitor restaurant service standards, SOPs and grooming standards; evaluate team performance and provide constructive feedback and recognition.
  • Assist in recruitment and onboarding of service staff, participate in interviews, evaluate candidate fit for service culture and help structure training plans for new hires.
  • Support allergy and special-diet handling by verifying orders, communicating with the kitchen and advising guests on safe menu choices to minimize health risks and legal exposure.
  • Manage table allocations and seating strategies to maximize throughput while maintaining service quality during busy periods, private events and walk-ins.
  • Act as a liaison between front-of-house and back-of-house teams to expedite orders, handle product substitutions, and resolve preparation or timing issues quickly and diplomatically.
  • Ensure beverage service excellence by supervising bar communication, cocktail preparation standards, wine decanting/pouring techniques and responsible alcohol service.
  • Track and contribute to daily KPIs such as covers served, average check, table turnaround, waste levels and guest satisfaction scores; implement initiatives to meet targets.
  • Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of menus, seasonal changes, promotions and beverage lists; lead staff tastings and product knowledge sessions to improve upselling and guest guidance.
  • Facilitate smooth opening and closing procedures for the outlet, including security checks, refrigeration temperature logs, glassware inventory counts and handover notes for the next shift.

Secondary Functions

  • Support monthly stock takes, assist the F&B supervisor or manager with receiving and verifying deliveries and flagging discrepancies in invoices and orders.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects such as new menu rollouts, service concept pilots and customer experience initiatives by providing front-line insights and feasibility feedback.
  • Contribute to social listening and guest feedback reviews by summarizing online reviews and in-house feedback for management to inform service improvements.
  • Help implement training modules and refreshers on food safety, responsible alcohol service and emergency procedures; document completion and competency checks.
  • Assist the sales and events team during site inspections and client walkthroughs to advise on service flow, seating arrangements and staffing levels.
  • Maintain relationships with preferred suppliers and recommend alternative products for cost-control or quality improvements when requested by management.
  • Occasionally support promotional events, off-site catering or pop-ups by supervising service delivery and ensuring brand standards are upheld.
  • Create shift-level pre-opening checklists and post-event reports that feed into manager-level operational reviews and continuous improvement plans.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficient operation of POS systems (e.g., Toast, Micros, Lightspeed, POSitouch) and knowledge of payment processing and shift reconciliation.
  • Strong knowledge of food safety standards and certification familiarity (HACCP, ServSafe, RSA or local equivalents); able to complete sanitation logs and temperature monitoring.
  • Beverage knowledge including wine service, spirits, cocktail preparation basics and pairing recommendations for menus.
  • Inventory monitoring and basic stock control: receiving, storage rotation (FIFO), spot checks and reporting discrepancies.
  • Competence with rota and scheduling tools and basic labor cost awareness to assist in shift planning.
  • Cash handling, billing procedures, daily revenue reporting and basic familiarity with outlet-level financial controls.
  • Familiarity with banquet/event order (BEO) management, room setups, timing schedules and coordination with events teams.
  • Basic Microsoft Excel, Word and email reporting skills for shift reporting, incident logs and inventory reports.
  • Knowledge of allergy management procedures and experience communicating dietary restrictions to culinary teams.
  • Understanding of guest feedback management systems and reservation platforms (e.g., OpenTable, Resy, SevenRooms).

Soft Skills

  • Leadership and team development: ability to coach, motivate and hold staff accountable while fostering a positive service culture.
  • Exceptional guest-facing communication and interpersonal skills, with a calm and diplomatic approach to handling complaints and conflict resolution.
  • Strong organizational and multitasking abilities to prioritize service tasks during high-volume periods without sacrificing quality.
  • Sales orientation and upselling skills with a polished manner that enhances guest experience and drives revenue.
  • Attention to detail and consistency in maintaining service standards, table settings and presentation.
  • Time management and situational awareness to anticipate needs and prevent service bottlenecks.
  • Problem-solving mindset with the ability to make quick operational decisions and escalate appropriately.
  • Cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence to work effectively with diverse teams and international guests.
  • Adaptability and resilience under pressure in dynamic restaurant, hotel or event environments.
  • Coaching and feedback delivery skills, including practical training techniques and performance documentation.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent with relevant hospitality work experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Diploma or certificate in Hospitality Management, Hotel Management, Culinary Arts or Food & Beverage Service.
  • Certifications in Food Safety (HACCP, ServSafe) and Responsible Service of Alcohol (where applicable).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Hospitality Management
  • Culinary Arts / Food Service Management
  • Hotel & Restaurant Management
  • Business Administration (focused on service management)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of progressive front-of-house experience with at least 1–2 years in a supervisory or lead role (restaurant captain, head waiter, banquet captain).

Preferred:

  • 3–5+ years in fine dining, upscale hotel outlets or high-volume banquets with documented experience in staff supervision, POS management, cash handling and event coordination.
  • Proven track record of improving guest satisfaction scores, driving F&B revenue through upselling strategies and maintaining compliance with health and safety standards.
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