POSITION PURPOSE

The Food Runner ensures the efficient, accurate, and timely delivery of food from the kitchen to guests in a restaurant, serving as a vital link between the front-of-house and back-of-house teams. Key responsibilities include verifying order accuracy, overseeing proper plating and presentation, expediting orders for prompt service, upholding food quality standards, and maintaining a clean and safe kitchen environment.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ensuring communication in the kitchen by calling out orders, getting the status on dishes, and calling the wait staff to serve completed dishes.
• Informing the waitstaff when certain dishes or ingredients have run out and passing food requests from the waitstaff to the kitchen. 
• Monitoring the food portions on completed dishes according to restaurant standards. 
• Ensuring that all orders are completed in time and with the correct priority.
• Inspecting the cleanliness, presentation, and temperature of completed dishes.
• Performing the finishing touches to completed dishes, such as adding garnishes and removing smudges.
• Keeping the cooking, storage, and prep areas clean, neat, and well-stocked.
• Ensuring all staff adheres to health and safety standards.
• Assisting all staff as needed.
• Handling customer complaints on behalf of the kitchen staff and looking for solutions.
• Ensure guests are greeted and served promptly and professionally.
• Help create a welcoming, helpful, and team-oriented service environment.
• All other duties assigned by manager or supervisor.
   

SUPPORTIVE FUNCTIONS

In addition to performance of the essential functions, this position may be required to perform a combination of the following supportive functions, with the percentage of time performing each function to be solely determined by the manager based upon the particular requirements of the hotel:

• Assist with any guest inquiry.
• Follow all company and safety and security policies and procedures. Report maintenance problems, safety hazards, accidents, or injuries.
• Perform other reasonable job duties as requested by direct and indirect Supervisors. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Environmental conditions are inside, a job is considered “inside” if staff spends approximately 75 percent or more of the time inside. Temperature is moderate and controlled by hotel environmental systems.
• Must be able to work in extreme temperatures like freezers (-10°F) and kitchens ( 110°F), possible for one (1) hour or more.
• Must be able to stand and exert well-paced mobility for up to four (4) hours in length. Must be able to exert well-paced ability to maneuver between functions occurring simultaneously.
• Must be able to exert well-paced ability in limited space and to reach other departments of the hotel on a timely basis.
• Must be able to lift up to 45 lbs. as needed.
• Must be able to push and pull carts and equipment weighing up to 250 lbs.
• Requires grasping, writing, standing, sitting, walking, repetitive motions, bending, climbing, listening, and hearing ability and visual acuity.
• Hearing, smelling, tasting, and visual ability to observe and distinguish product quality and detect signs of emergency situations.
• Talking and hearing occur continuously in the process of communicating with other staff, guests, and supervisors.
• Vision occurs continuously with the most common visual functions being those of near and color vision and depth perception.

SPECIFIC JOB KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

The individual must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities and be able to explain and demonstrate that he or she can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Must be able to speak, read, write and understand the primary language used in the workplace.
• Requires good communication skills, verbal, written and electronic. Must have excellent leadership capability and customer relations skills.
• Must be detail oriented with outstanding organizational and communication skills. Must possess intermediate computer skills.
• Must possess basic computational ability.
• Ability to analyze, foresee user needs, and makes judgments to ensure proper tools are provided at property level.
• Ability to effectively deal with internal and external customers some of whom will require high levels of patience, tact and diplomacy and collect accurate information to resolve conflicts.
• Knowledgeable about basic function of Windows OS, MS Office, PMS, and POS. Self-driven and able to work independently.
• Exceptionally strong in issue resolution and proven analytical skills with a strong attention to detail.
• Knowledge of table and bar service.
• Knowledge of appropriate table settings and service ware.
• Ability to describe all menu items and methods of preparation

EDUCATION

• High school or equivalent education required.

EXPERIENCE

• 1-2 years of experience in a restaurant or kitchen environment 

LICENSES OR CERTIFICATIONS

• Food certification required.

GROOMING

All Staff Members must maintain a neat, clean, and well-groomed appearance per Azul Hospitality standards. Refer to the property specific required grooming and uniform standards policy.

ATTENDANCE

Regular attendance in conformance with the standards, which may be established by Azul Hospitality, from time to time, is essential to the successful performance of this position. Staff with irregular attendance / tardiness will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Upon employment, all staff is required to fully comply with Azul Hospitality rules and regulations for the safe and effective operation of the hotel’s facilities. Staff members who violate hotel rules and regulations will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Due to the cyclical nature of the hospitality industry, staff members may be required to work varying schedules to reflect the business needs of the hotel. In addition, attendance at all scheduled training sessions and meetings is required. This job description is not an exclusive or exhaustive list of all job functions that a staff member in this position may be asked to perform from time to time.