Current trends in the food service industry

No-contact, co-op delivery and curbside pickups are the latest trends in this industry after the COVID-19 outbreak, which kept thousands of restaurants and other food service businesses afloat. The expansion of delivery expectations also boosted the financial incomes of significant tech and logistics companies like Amazon, which provided the software and systems that made deliveries possible.

The increased dominance of technology in the industry has also led to technical jobs in the food industry. Technical roles like vertical farm consultant, man/machine Team manager and AI developer will expand to handle online delivery and payment methods. However, while touchless transactions will become more common, sanitation positions, such as concierge and janitorial jobs, will also grow to ensure a daily cleaning staff is on hand to sanitize all service areas.

Of course, some more significant trends revolve around the rise in demand for healthy food varieties such as vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free products. These diets are finding their way onto menus at restaurants of varying price points. The latest vegan statistics suggest that 2% to 6% of the adult American population opt for a vegan diet. Likewise, synthetically-grown meat known as faux meat has garnered favor over animal meat because of allergies, health consciousness and ethical choices. It is a challenge for the food service industry to plan, produce and create nutritious meals to provide to patrons.

9 of the top soft skills needed for food service jobs

More than 12 million people in the United States are working in a restaurant or dining job. Food service operations involve catering planning, cleaning and reception, among other services. The scope of employment within these tasks is broad, and it demands crucial technical and soft skills. Growing these skills can increase your chances of landing a job in this industry.

• Excellent customer service skills

  All food service establishments rely on the quality of customer service. Addressing customer needs respectfully and adequately while ensuring a great dining experience is always the most critical task of your job. While clear written and verbal communication is the key to good customer service, situational relationship-building ensures customer satisfaction. Serving customers also involves resolving issues, such as questions about an overcharge on the bill.

• Sales awareness

  Your sales persona, developed through education and experience, helps grow business revenue. Examples of sales techniques are free sampling, suggesting drinks and dessert combinations and explaining the menu. Whatever you choose to do, improving sales techniques have to be approved by your superiors and adhere to business policies. To improve your sales awareness, you can take courses like the Oculus customer service and sales training by the IMPRESS program, which can help you practice restaurant sales techniques.

• Multitasking

  Servers prep the plates in the kitchen, accommodate multiple people at tables, serve them meals and beverages and check financial transactions for any mistakes. Both staff and restaurant managers need to juggle countless customer requests without losing focus. After mastering this skill, you can maximize efficiency and productivity without derailing the patron’s experience.

• Familiarity with restaurant technologies

  With technology growing in the restaurant industry, you have to learn all the hospitality tech tools to remain relevant in the game. While the variety of technologies differ from job to job, here are a few examples of the most important things you should look into (and that you should have on your resume):
  • Back in the house, employees must know how to use inventory management software such as Marketman to track food stocks and supplies.
  • To organize customer orders, food and catering servers, front-of-the-house employees need extensive knowledge of point-on-sale systems such as Upserve by Lightspeed.

• Physical speed and strength

  Food and beverage workers face a broad range of potential hazards in dining establishments, most common among them slips and falls that cause fractures. In addition, incidents of burns from cooking and serving plates prove fatal in many cases. There is a considerable 78.78% increase in deadly accidents in food preparation and serving related occupations, according to the report National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2019 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Good servers need to know how to carry heavy loads without stumbling or spilling. Your ability to move at a steady pace without distraction is essential. Restaurant tasks are physically demanding, so you have to consider your stamina and endurance. You can practice light exercises such as planks, lunges and correct eating habits to stay fit and healthy.

• Attention to detail

  The test of a food service worker is their attention to detail. As a food service worker, you need to know the reason behind a customer’s un-touched plate and ask them if you can do anything to resolve an issue that may have arisen with their meal.
  
  Food servers must also remember which guest ordered what meal and whether or not there is pepper in the dressing that could trigger someone’s allergies. Double-checking orders, sending additional requests to the kitchen and providing a safe dining experience are all part of the job.

• Specific knowledge of vegan and meat alternatives

  The food business is buzzing about vegan or raw diets. As more people discover tasty meat-free meals, vegan and vegetarian restaurants and recipes become equally popular, creating opportunities for herbivorous butchers or vegan chefs. These experts need to learn cooking skills to prepare the ingredients properly and maintain taste quality.

• Nutritional knowledge

  The L.E.K. Consulting's 2018 food and beverage survey suggests that 93% of consumers want to eat healthy at least some of the time, with 63% trying to eat healthy all of the time. Health-oriented food primarily includes fresh, natural, additive-free and sustainably produced food. Knowing the main class of nutrients like carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water, and their molecular and health effects while preparing and serving food requires a thorough food quality check. Most food service workers enroll themselves in programs that provide lessons in food preparation, service, nutrition, sanitation practices, customer service and business skills.

• Food safety and risk analysis

  Food businesses constantly battle safety hazards like cleaning chemicals, broken glass, bacteria, viruses and toxins. A food service worker needs to know the contamination level of an ingredient, foodborne illness, safe storage and methods for cleaning of food supplies and equipment to maintain food safety standards.
  
  The ServSafe certifications provide food safety training for food service workers to minimize food safety risks and hazards and increase healthy food practices to serve the consumers.

Educational requirements needed for food service jobs

Many food service industry individuals like dining room personnel and fast-food workers are college students or high school graduates/ However, many employers prefer to hire people with degrees for serving and bartending positions.

You can acquire food and beverage handling training through professional certification courses from member-associated organizations like the National Restaurant Association or online education companies like Udemy.

To handle alcoholic beverages, you will need to be 18 or above, take an alcohol permit exam and obtain a license to work as a bartender or barback. Many bartending programs include lessons in wines, garnishes and the use of glassware. That said, different counties, states and countries have varying types of legal and educational requirements, so you should always research.

You should also consider that many restaurants specialize in the delicacy of a particular country and require servers who can speak their specific language of the same country. For such cases, specialization in a foreign language can be highly advantageous. Beyond language, it’s also important to be mindful of the culture the restaurant attempts to replicate. For example, a Japanese hibachi restaurant expects workers to treat customers through a specific cultural mindset — such as not picking up the food plates until after the customer finishes.

Suppose you want to aim for a manager or higher position in any food service establishment. In that case, you should graduate with a bachelor’s or associate degree in food preparation and service management.