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