Food Service
Advance your skills and learn what it takes to move up the Food Service Career Ladder!
Each career level contains information about hourly wages, job descriptions, main job duties, examples of job titles, general skills, and links to educational courses and training opportunities.
If you have further questions about local labour market information, contact us here: [email protected].
SECTION 1
Food Counter Attendants and Kitchen Helpers
Median hourly wage:
$15.50/hr
What you do:
Prepare, heat and finish cooking simple food items and serve customers for restaurants, hotels, hospitals and other establishments.
Main job duties:
- Take customers’ orders
- Clean, peel, slice and trim foodstuffs using manual and electric appliances
- Use equipment to prepare fast food items and hot beverages
- Portion, assemble, and wrap food or place it directly on plates for service to patrons, and package take-out food
Skills:
Customer service
Interpersonal skills
Food safety
Organization
Time management
Job title examples:
Food Counter Attendant
Kitchen Helper
Dietary Aide
Hourly wages:
$15.50 low
$15.50 median
$15.62 high
Education & Training:
| Hospitality & Tourism: Remarkable Customer Service | St.Lawrence College |
| Food Counter Attendant & Kitchen Helper | Tri-County Literacy Council |
| Food & Beverage Server | Tri-County Literacy Council |
| Customer Service (french) | Moi j’Apprends |
| Customer Service (french) | Carrefour de Formation pour adultes inc |
| WHMIS | Moi J’Apprends |
| Cooking & Catering | Eastern Ontario Training Board |
| Safe Food Handler | Eastern Ontario Health Unit |
SECTION 2
Cooks
Median hourly wage:
$15.90/hr
What you do:
Prepare a wide variety of foods for restaurants, hotels, hospitals and other establishments.
Main job duties:
- Prepare and cook full meals or individual dishes of food
- Maintain inventory and records of food, supplies and equipment
- Oversee kitchen operations
- May plan menus, determine size of food portions, estimate food requirements and costs, and monitor and order supplies
Skills:
Attention to detail
Communication skills
Food safety organization
Time management
Job title examples:
Line Cook
Short Order Cook
Dietary Cook
Hourly wages:
$15.50 low
$15.90 median
$21.20 high
Education & Training:
| WHMIS | Moi j’Apprends |
| Cooking & Catering | Eastern Ontario Training Board |
SECTION 3
Chefs
Median hourly wage:
$22.00/hr
What you do:
Plan and direct food preparation and cooking activities and prepare and cook meals and specialty foods.
Main job duties:
- Plan menus and ensure food meets quality standards
- Estimate food requirements and may estimate food and labour costs
- Supervise activities of cooks and other kitchen workers
- Prepare and cook full meals or specialty foods
- Instruct cooks in the preparation, cooking, garnishing and presentation of food
Skills:
Customer service
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Time management
Planning
Job title examples:
Sous Chef
Specialty Chef
Head Chef
Hourly wages:
$19.00 low
$22.00 median
$25.00 high
Education & Training:
| Hospitality & Tourism: Post COVID-19 Standards | St.Lawrence College |
| WHMIS | Moi j’Apprends |
| Safe Food Handler | Eastern Ontario Health Unit |
SECTION 4
Restaurant and Food Service Managers
Median hourly wage:
$23.50/hr
What you do:
Plan, organize, direct, control and evaluate the operations of bars, cafeterias and other food and beverage services.
Main job duties:
- Determine types of services to be offered and implement operational procedures
- Recruit staff and oversee training
- Set staff work schedules and monitor staff performance
- Control inventory, monitor revenues and modify procedures and prices
- Resolve customer complaints and ensure health and safety regulations are followed
Skills:
Customer service
Conflict resolution
Leadership
Communication skills
Planning
Job title examples:
Hotel Restaurant Manager
Food Catering Manager
Bar Manager
Hourly wages:
$20.00 low
$23.50 median
$27 high
Education & Training:
| Hospitality & Tourism: Post COVID-19 Standards | St.Lawrence College |
| Hospitality & Tourism: Remarkable Customer Service | St.Lawrence College |
| Customer Service (french) | Carrefour de Formation pour adultes inc. |
| Office Clerk | Carrefour de Formation pour adultes inc. |
SECTION 5
Supervisors, Food and Beverage Processing
Median hourly wage:
$24.12/hr
What you do:
Supervise, co-ordinate and schedule the activities of workers who process, package, test and grade food and beverage products.
Main job duties:
- Establish methods to meet work schedules and co-ordinate work activities with other departments
- Resolve work problems and recommend measures to improve productivity and product quality
- Train workers in job duties, safety procedures and company policy
- Prepare production and other reports
- Requisition of materials and supplies
Skills:
Organization
Interpersonal skills
Attention to detail
Time management
Leadership
Conflict resolution
Job title examples:
Manufacturing Supervisor
Production Lead
Quality Supervisor
Hourly wages:
$18.75 low
$24.12 median
$31.45 high
Education & Training:
| Leadership Development Series | St.Lawrence College |
| Hospitality & Tourism: Post COVID-19 Standards | St.Lawrence College |
| Hospitality & Tourism: Remarakable Customer Service | St.Lawrence College |
| Office Clerk | Carrefour de Formation pour adultes inc. |
SECTION 6
Entrepreneurs / Business Owners
Median hourly wage:
$--/hr
What you do:
Organize and operate a business, taking on greater than normal financial risks to do so.
Main job duties:
- Creating and managing a business plan, ongoing research and planning, hiring staff, creating policies, and forecasting
- Maintaining business accounts, payments processing, taxes and general bookkeeping
- Develop marketing campaigns, manage social media and conduct other marketing activities
- Respond to customer service inquiries, including answering phone calls and emails to build a positive reputation for the business
Skills:
Work independently
Customer service
Organization
Accounting
Time management
Job title examples:
Small Business Owner
Franchisee
Hourly wages:
$-- low
$-- median
$-- high
Education & Training:
| Business Managment/Entrepeneaurial | St.Lawrence College |
| Supply Chain Management | St.Lawrence College |
| Business Administration | St.Lawrence College |
| Leadership Development Series | St.Lawrence College |
