Food Service Technician Job Description, Duties, and Responsibilities

This post provides detailed information on the food service technician job description, including key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also highlights the major requirements you may be expected to fulfill to be hired for the food service technician role by most recruiters/employers.

What Does a Food Service Technician Do?

Food service technicians are a part of the food service team responsible for completing a variety of duties, including food preparation, cleaning and sanitizing food service equipment and work areas; menu planning, serving, and cashiering.

They work in restaurants, hotels, and institutions like hospitals and schools.

The food service technician job description entails ensuring sanitary guidelines when working with foods and food service equipment, or cleaning and maintaining food service and dining areas.

It also involves ensuring that customers/patients, depending on where they work receive quality service, and that the food served to them is nutritious, safe, and sanitary.

The food service technician role also involves maintaining a cooperative attitude of working together with the food service manager and all other members of the food service team.

They are responsible for monitoring all foods leaving the kitchen to ensure they meet the company’s specifications with regards to portioning and food presentation.

They also seek ways to continually improve food and service quality.

The food service technician work description also entails taking the lead in teaching students and food servers the proper serving techniques, as well as ways to increase customer service.

To work as a food service technician, you require a High School Diploma or General Education Diploma (GED). Culinary education is not required but could be useful or aid in career advancement.

You also require some role based soft skills to be successful on the job. It is important that you have good verbal and written communication skills, a detail orientation, basic math skills, customer service skills, and capability to use various pieces of kitchen equipment and food-preparation utensils.

Food Service Technician Job Description Example/Sample/Template

Food service technicians perform various functions as an active member of a company’s food service team, involving preparation and delivering of meals to clients/guests, etc.

The job description commonly handed to food service technicians to perform at most places they work consists of the following tasks, obligations, duties, and responsibilities:

• Responsible for the appropriate handling and storage of all food and supplies; always follow regulations regarding the proper techniques for food handling
• Maintain a clean and sanitary work space at all times in the kitchen and dining areas following established schedules, prescribed methods, and established standards
• Ensure accurate meal portioning utilizing correct serving utensils
• Responsible for temperature and sanitation checks and document checks as required by law
• Ensure continual/ongoing dishwashing practice following sanitation expectations or standards at all times
• Operate a cash register and make change accurately and efficiently
• Collect, wash, and sanitize all pots, pans and utensils
• Maintain cleanliness of all utensils, dishes, service wares, all fixtures, walls, floors, tables, vents and lights as required by established schedules and prescribed methods
• Stack clean flatware and trays on carts and deliver to appropriate production or distribution areas within Food Services
• Responsible for stocking dish room with chemical and cleaning supplies
• Polish stainless steel, countertops, shelving and equipment
• Keep Dish Return Window free of soiled trays
• Adhere to safety procedures in operating kitchen equipment
• Follow a prescribed cycle in emptying trash containers
• Assist in cleaning spills that are observed or requested
• Maintain assigned equipment for cleanliness and carry out repairs when needed
• Promote team work on a daily basis, communicate and report problems and concerns to the Manager
• Maintain a safe environment by following Serve-Safe standards
• Support supervisor in maintaining adequate inventory of food and supplies
• Apply proper care with table service and equipment, checking for breakage, etc. prior to storing them.

Food Service Technician Requirements – Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

To gain employment as a food service technician and achieve success in the career, you will need to acquire certain skills, abilities, knowledge, qualifications, and experience.

These will help you to be effective in performing the purpose, objective, and responsibilities that you might be assigned as a food service technician.

Here are major requirements you might be asked to meet to access the food service technician position with most organizations:

• Education: To work as a food service technician, you require a minimum of High School Diploma or GED
• Certification: ServSafe certification and State appropriate sanitation certification may be required
• Knowledge: A food service technician requires the ability to operate kitchen equipment, knowledge of food groups and ability to read and understand menus
• Knowledge of food preparation and experience in serving, chilling, and producing breakfast, lunch, dinner with snacks may be required
• Experience in cooking from scratch; temperature experience, measurements and health codes
• Ability to meet and maintain proper sanitation requirements
• Ability to organize work; knowledge of commercial food sanitation policies and procedures
• Ability to operate a computerized cash register may be required, and is a plus to the individual
• Basic Math skills: The ability for food service technicians to perform basic arithmetical or mathematical calculations is essential. They require this skill to effectively and efficiently make appropriate change to customers
• Communication skills: The food service technician job description requires them to make documentations and engage with customers, and teach proper serving, food handling and presentation skills; it is important that they possess verbal and written skills to be resourceful on the job
• Customer service skills: They need this skill to effectively carry out customer support duties
• Organizational and time management skills: Work in the kitchen is usually very fast, hence to cope the fast-paced environment, it is important that food service technicians are highly organized, can prioritize assignments effectively, and manage tasks wisely
• Physical dexterity: They should be able to assist in lifting up to 50 lbs, and to stand for long periods of time.

Conclusion

If you are an employer hiring for the position of food service technician for your company, you can apply the sample job description and knowledge about the duties and responsibilities of the role gained from this post in making a good description of the position.

The ability to write a good description for the available food service technician job will improve your chances of attracting the best competent and qualified candidates to your offer.

This post is equally useful to individuals looking to become a food service technician; it provides exhaustive information to help them learn about what the role entails and how to succeed in the career.

Did this article increase your knowledge of what food service technicians do? Please, leave a comment in the box below. You may also share your job description if you work as a food service technician.