Food and Beverage Assistant: What is the cost of hiring?

What is a food and beverage assistant?

A food and beverage assistant is typically responsible for assisting with food service operations, ensuring cleanliness and providing attentive customer service in dining establishments. They support service staff and kitchen teams to help create positive guest experiences.

Why hire a food and beverage assistant?

Food and beverage assistants can help your business maintain cleanliness, improve guest satisfaction and support the flow of service during peak hours. You may need to hire one if your business is expanding service hours, hosting events or seeking to enhance the customer experience.

Contributions of a great food and beverage assistant:

• supports dining operations by preparing tables, serving food and beverages and clearing dishes
• provides excellent customer service to guests by responding to requests promptly and professionally
• maintains cleanliness and adheres to hygiene and safety standards in food service areas

Defining your hiring needs for food and beverage assistants

Start by assessing your service volume, staffing availability and seasonal needs. Are you looking for someone to assist during peak hours, help manage events or provide day-to-day operational support? Decide whether a full-time, part-time or freelance hire makes the most sense for your business. Smaller teams may benefit from generalists who can do a bit of everything, while larger venues might need multiple assistants for specific shifts or roles.

What are the types of food and beverage assistants?

Food and beverage assistants can specialize in different areas depending on the service environment. Some focus on guest-facing roles, while others handle support duties behind the scenes.

Common types of food and beverage assistants include:

• restaurant food and beverage assistant: supports table service and guest needs in restaurants
• banquet server: assists with event setup, food delivery and clearing during functions
• hotel food and beverage assistant: provides room service or support in hotel dining rooms
• hospitality attendant: handles lounge service or special event food setups
• cafeteria assistant: works in institutional settings, helping with food trays and cleanup

When writing your food and beverage assistant job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on food and beverage assistant jobs, according to Indeed data:

• administrative assistant
• calgary stampede
• stampede 
• restaurant 
• seasonal
• retail 
• office administrator
• summer
• assistant
• office assistant   

Want more hiring insights for your food and beverage assistant role? Sign in or create your free Indeed account.

Where to find food and beverage assistants

You can find food and beverage assistants across Canada by targeting local hospitality programs, seasonal workers and staff looking to grow within the service industry.

To find the right food and beverage assistant for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Career fairs: Hospitality schools and local colleges often host events with job-seeking students.
• Industry associations: Groups like Restaurants Canada and ORHMA connect businesses with trained service staff.
• College programs: George Brown College, Vancouver Community College and others offer food and beverage certifications.
• Internal advancement: Promote kitchen assistants or bussers who are ready for a more guest-facing role.
  

Post your job online. Try posting your food and beverage assistant job on Indeed to find and attract quality food and beverage assistant candidates.

Skills to look for in a food and beverage assistant

A successful food and beverage assistant candidate will typically have the following skills and competencies, which may be gained through a variety of experiences, training or education:

• customer service and professionalism when interacting with guests
• attention to cleanliness and hygiene standards
• ability to work well under pressure in fast-paced service environments
• communication and collaboration with team members and supervisors
• adaptability and multitasking to handle changing service needs
• physical stamina to stand, carry trays and work long shifts

Writing a food and beverage assistant job description

Now that you know the key skills, salary expectations, popular job-seeker search terms and hiring insights for a food and beverage assistant, you’re ready to write a job description.

A food and beverage assistant job description typically includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position. You may also want to include information about your company culture, benefits and perks to attract candidates to your open role.

Ready to get started? See our full guide for writing food and beverage assistant job descriptions.

Interviewing food and beverage assistant candidates

Strong candidates for food and beverage assistant positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• experience assisting in food service or hospitality settings
• ability to handle customer requests and prioritize tasks
• familiarity with cleanliness standards and food safety practices
• communication with team members and kitchen staff
• ability to manage multiple tables or service areas during busy shifts

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of food and beverage assistant interview questions for examples (with sample answers).