With the market size of the UK’s restaurant industry rising to £19 billion in 2024, it’s no wonder that restaurant management is a sought-after career path. From hotels and franchises to independently owned establishments, the UK’s restaurant industry is full of brilliant opportunities for aspiring managers. But how do you turn your career goal into reality?
Continue reading to discover your ultimate guide to becoming a restaurant manager in the UK.
What are the responsibilities of a restaurant manager?
Before taking the first steps towards your new career as a restaurant manager, you must develop a thorough understanding of the role’s responsibilities and requirements. While job descriptions will vary from establishment to establishment, the fundamental responsibilities of a restaurant manager include, but are not limited to:
- Working with the chefs to plan menus
- Hiring and training new waiting staff
- Planning schedules and rotas
- Managing stock and budgets
- Dealing with food and drink suppliers
- Managing customer expectations and dealing with complaints
- Ensuring the restaurant is adhering to up-to-date licensing, food hygiene, and health and safety rules
The skills and qualities you need
With such a wide variety of responsibilities, a restaurant manager needs a broad skillset. Hospitality is a fast-paced industry, and working in a restaurant can present its unique challenges, so a great restaurant manager needs to have:
- Strong customer service skills
- The ability to manage and motivate a team
- Leadership skills
- A calm demeanour when working under pressure
- Knowledge of food production and preparation
- Business management skills
- A food hygiene certificate
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How to gain the right experience
Education
While you don’t need to have a specific qualification to become a restaurant manager, completing a college course or university degree in hospitality management may give you a leg up on the career ladder.
This kind of education will support you in developing the skills you’ll need to thrive as a manager at a restaurant, such as problem-solving, people management, accounting, and more.
Apprenticeships
If you’d prefer not to go down the university or college route, but would still like to gain a fundamental understanding of the industry before you begin your professional career, you could apply for an apprenticeship. In the UK, you can complete the Hospitality Supervisor Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, or a Hospitality Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship if you’ve already got some restaurant experience you’d like to hone.
Working in a restaurant
Of course, plenty of restaurant managers don’t have formal qualifications in hospitality management. Instead, they grow their careers by gaining hands-on experience working in several roles within a restaurant, starting in entry-level positions before working their way up to higher positions.
If you take this route, it’s important to develop your experience in as many roles as possible within one or more restaurants, so when you come to apply for managerial positions, you can prove you have a broad understanding of how the business works.
From the kitchen to front-of-house, every staff member in a restaurant plays a critical role in keeping the business moving smoothly, so proving your in-depth knowledge of these individual functions is essential.
Working your way up the career ladder
Once you’ve worked your way up to becoming a restaurant manager, there are plenty of other paths you can take to advance your career further. This will somewhat depend on whether you want to specialise in working within a particular type of restaurant, such as a fast-casual eatery or fine dining establishment.
For example, if you’re a manager at a restaurant chain or franchise, you could use your experience to work towards becoming an area manager or landing a position in the head office.
On the other hand, it’s common for restaurant managers to use their experience working at other establishments to open up and run their own restaurant. This requires a lot of planning and business acumen, but it can be a highly rewarding career path for people passionate about food and hospitality.
To find out more guides and advice for managing a restaurant, check out our blog. Looking to get more diners through the door and increase your revenue? Sign up for TheFork today.
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