How to Become a Food and Beverage Manager

About Food and Beverage Manager

A Food and Beverage manager handles all the culinary as well as the business operations of a restaurant. He is responsible for ensuring the qualify of the food and the beverage served at any restaurant. An F&B Manager must have a good knowledge and understanding of the various food products and drinks. He is in charge of managing operations such as maintaining the quality of food, preparing budgets, handling customer complaints, designing unique and creative menus. The food and beverage manager also handles a report on how the restaurant is progressing and performing. A career as a food and manager is helpful for the candidates who are looking to become a restaurant manager or general manager at any of the top-ranking restaurants chains of the country. Candidates who are looking for a career as a food and beverage manager must have a good understanding of how to connect with costumers.  

Hospitality management includes the management of food and beverages. It focuses on the organisational side of managing food and drink. A food and beverage manager is in charge of placing orders for raw materials and inventory, managing finances and budgets, creating menu item costing, etc.

Students who are interested in taking courses in food and beverage management can choose from a variety of online or certificate programmes. For specialised UG and PG programmes in food and beverage management, there are none, though. Food and Beverage Management may be a major subject for students enrolled in hospitality management or hotel management programmes. The range of INR 20,000 to INR 4,00,000 is the average course fee for all courses. Managing Food and Beverages Jobs are available in hotels, eateries, resorts, and other businesses in the hospitality sector. One can work as a bartender, head chef, sous chef, guest service associate, food and beverage manager, director of food and beverage, etc. The typical pay scale is between INR 1,20,000 and INR 9,00,000 LPA.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Food and Beverage Manager 

Food and beverage managers create delicious, enjoyable menus and are constantly looking for ways to enhance them. Forecasting, preparing, arranging, and ordering food items for the restaurant as well as beverages to supply the restaurant are among the duties and responsibilities of the food and beverage manager. Managers of food and beverage companies build trusting relationships with their suppliers. They are in charge of handling complaints, keeping good client relations, and paying attention to client needs. People who work as food and beverage managers are also in charge of the daily operations of the food and beverage sector.

• The menu is created by the food and beverage managers, who also make sure that everyone on board is aware of it and ready for it. The menu is typically what draws patrons into a restaurant. As a result, it's critical for food and beverage managers to collaborate with chefs to develop a menu that will appeal to customers
• One of the responsibilities of the food and beverage manager is to supervise and oversee the staff while the food is being prepared and served. They issue directives and orders to staff members of hotels and restaurants. The work of the employees is closely watched by the food and beverage managers to avoid any chaos that could cause unneeded delays
• Maintaining a record is also the responsibility of keeping track of all the ingredients needed for the chef's preparation falls to the food and beverage managers. They are in charge of calculating the quantity and ordering the food for the kitchen. They monitor the supply of food and drink to ensure that it doesn't run out before delivery

An F&B Manager also maintains the following duties:

• Make friends with your regular customers
• Observe food and safety laws
• Aid in organising marketing events
• Make restaurant regulations
• Engage and educate new restaurant personnel
• Make sure that the kitchen is stocked with food supplies and that the diners are happy with the food and service

Eligibility to become Food and Beverage Manager

The eligibility for this position depends on the level of experience and the restaurant you are applying for a job.

Academic Qualification: Usually, there is a demand for candidates holding a bachelor's and master's degree in hospitality management. However, candidates who hold a diploma in hospitality management are eligible for a low-level profile. Candidates applying for this position can easily check the requirements from the job description.

• Candidates for any bachelor's, master's, or diploma programme in hotel management must pass the 10+2 exam from a recognised board

How to Become a Food and Beverage Manager?

Candidates can follow these steps to become a food and beverage manager:

Step 1: Complete the 10+2

After graduating from high school, students must know exactly how to work as a food and beverage manager in India. Following high school, you can follow the steps listed here to work as a food and beverage manager. The students must successfully complete a 10+2 level of education in any stream with a cumulative mark of 50% or its equivalent from an acknowledged board. We will go over how to become a food and beverage manager in India in this section.

Step 2: Clearing an Entrance Exam

Here are some crucial steps on how to become a manager of food and beverages. Entrance exams are administered by a number of universities and colleges to determine admission. The popular entrance exam for degrees in food and beverage management or hotel management is mentioned below.

Popular Entrance Examination

Step 3: Pursuing Bachelor’s

It is necessary for students to apply for admission to bachelor's level programmes after successfully completing their 10+2 requirements. The well-liked bachelor's degree programme for a career as a food and beverage manager is listed below.

Popular Bachelor's Level Programmes 

Step 4: Pursuing Post-Bachelor’s

Students have a variety of options after earning their undergraduate degree in culinary arts and hospitality. Below, we've listed two key career paths for food and beverage managers that they can choose from.

Option 1: The candidate can begin working in an entry-level position after earning a bachelor's degree. They can choose to continue their education and pursue a master's degree. For management positions, a master's degree is deemed to be more valuable.

Option 2: The candidate will immediately resume their studies after completing the bachelor's degree programme. After earning a master's degree, he or she will begin working in the field.

Popular Master’s level programmes

The top entrance exams for pursuing an MBA are as follows:

Types of Job Roles Food and Beverage Manager

There are a variety of job profiles available for Food and Beverage managers. Most of the companies hire a candidate as assistant food and beverage manager and then they promote the deserving candidates. You can shortlist the companies you are targeting on the basis of the profile. Every profile has different job roles which can be verified from the job description. 

Employment Opportunities for Food and Beverage Manager

Food and beverage managers can apply to any hotel, casino, beach resort, safari lodge, cruise ship or any hospitality-related organization. The Food and Beverage Manager is all about the experience. Candidates may start their career at a low profile restaurant and then they can boost up their career along with experience. Every company requires candidates with experience. Food and service manager with a good working experience of 4-5 experience will surely get benefit from a variety of options available in front of him.

Top Recruiting Agencies for Food and Beverage Manager

Some of the major recruiting companies for the food and beverage industry are listed below.

• Nestlé
• PepsiCo
• Pizza Hut
• KFC
• Hindustan Unilever
• McDonald
• Coca-Cola
• Amul
• Kelloggs
• Haldiram's

Skills Required to be Food and Beverage Manager 

A few of the skills required to be the best food and beverage manager are listed below:

Communication skills: Communication is crucial to keeping the restaurant and hotel operating efficiently and reducing risks. Food and Beverage Managers must communicate effectively with the staff members of the restaurant in order to prevent any mismanagement. Managers of food and beverage operations must interact with customers to get feedback on the products and services they offer

Organizational skills: Possessing these skills actually helps to maintain order. With their organisational skills, food and beverage managers are able to easily manage the enormous amount of work, the schedule, and the documents. Those who choose to work in the restaurant industry as food and beverage managers must be well-organized in their planning and preparation

Leadership: Employing effective leadership techniques can help businesses inspire, influence, and motivate their staff. Successful food and beverage managers need to possess this ability. Leadership abilities are used by food and beverage managers to direct their staff members toward a shared goal of providing excellent food and customer service

Pay Scale/Salary of Food and Beverage Manager

The salary of the food and beverage manager will vary according to the work experience of the candidates. The salary will also depend upon the company in which the food and beverage manager is working. The average salary structure of Food and Beverage manager is detailed below.

Note: The above figures are not exact and it may vary from individual to individual and company to company.

Career Path for Food and Beverage Manager

After completion of the graduation, a student who has taken a Food and Beverage course has two career options. The first step is to begin working in the sector as an Associate or Assistant. The industry's average salary ranges from INR 1,20,000 to INR 9,00,000 LPA for all job titles. Alternatively, the candidate may choose to pursue a higher education degree depending on their degree. The majority of people in the field hold a diploma degree. After that, one can enroll in a bachelor's degree programme before continuing on to earn a master's and a doctorate. Numerous options will become available to you if you hold a PG or PhD in the field.

People in the food and beverage sector work their way up to managerial positions. While more seasoned candidates work in the director position, one typically begins in the Executive or Associate position. The following are the prominent positions that F&B graduates have owned:

Assistant Food and Beverage Manager: On a regular basis, assistant food and beverage managers assist in managing and overseeing both food and beverage protocols. They work in dining establishments and foodservice facilities and answer to the bar manager and food and beverage manager. They put in longer hours on the weekdays and the weekends.

Senior Food and Beverage Manager: Food and beverage managers at restaurants, pubs, cafeterias, and other businesses that serve food and beverages plan, coordinate, drive, oversee, and review their operations. They handle the paperwork for the assistant food and beverage managers.

Books & Study Material to Become Food and Beverage Manager

There are no specific books as such for the profile of the Food and Beverage Manager. However, some of the books listed below are highly recommended for a food and beverage manager.

• Making the Cut: What Separates the Best From the Rest by Chris Hill
• The Profit Recipe by Cesar Quintero
• Chasing the Heat by Leonard Gentieu
• Restaurant Success By the Numbers by Roger Fields
• Setting The Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer
• Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
• Front of the House: Restaurant Manners, Misbehaviors & Secrets by Jeff Benjamin

Pros of becoming a Food and Beverage Manager

• Sometimes you get control of the whole restaurant after the owner. You will have the right to manage the restaurant on your own. You can improve the quality of the food and staff as per your need.
• You will get to know about the requirements of the customer, which can help you in improving the quality and reputation of your restaurant or hotel.
• You may use your skills and creativity, which will allow you to update the menu and staff with modern trends.
• Every restaurant owner and manager wants their customers to be delighted with their service and hospitality. Being a food and beverage manager, you are free to interact with the customers to know what can you do better to improve your service as well as quality.
• You will never get bored as every day you will face new challenges and new people. 
• You will get to know about the new types of dishes which will help you improve your knowledge

Cons of becoming a Food and Beverage Manager

• As the demand for food and beverage managers is not much, only a few candidates opt for this profession
• Working hours of the job as a food and beverage manager can be a bit problematic. Sometimes you will have to work for more than 40 hours a week.
• Sometimes your customer is not satisfied with the service provided by your restaurant and then they may leave without paying. In that case, you will suffer the loss.