Restaurant and food services management programs prepare people to plan, market, and run restaurants and other food services. Students learn about franchises and laws pertaining to this industry. They also learn to supervise staff and buy supplies.
By now, it's probably no secret to you that TV, even reality TV, rarely depicts real life as we know it. Time moves at lightning speed. (On cooking shows, chefs put a cake in the oven to bake for an hour, and less than 30 seconds later take out a finished product.) Situations are unlikely. (Restaurant chefs are rarely forced to showcase single items such as eggplant in their dishes.) Even reality TV is doctored to look glamorous and glossy.
Nevertheless, TV producers were on to something when they created the Food Network and the popular show "Iron Chef." The fact is, food services management is an exciting line of work, from running a restaurant to cooking up a storm.
It requires fast-paced energy and presents daily challenges that are not without their glamour, especially when overcome. It requires you to juggle financial skills, management know-how, and culinary expertise. Often, much of this is required while you're dealing with the pressure of customers waiting for their meals. Needless to say, customer service skills are another necessity.
In addition to a restaurant-related careers, this program prepares you for careers in the food services arena. You can manage food production and serving in hospitals or schools. Many also become caterers or managers in a catering business. You could also act as a consultant for institutions trying to develop a food service program. You could help these institutions plan all aspects of the program, from the menus to the design of the facility.
In a restaurant and food services management program, you take courses that prepare you to handle all of these aspects of the industry. You study the basics of accounting, administration, and management. You learn how to purchase supplies such as food and equipment while sticking to a budget. In this field, you need to know the business and logistics aspects behind managing culinary services. You learn the insurance policies, laws and regulations, and safety standards that you have to follow. You also study supervisory techniques and learn to be an effective leader of kitchen staff, wait staff, and other food services personnel. For this reason, you study human relations and learn successful communications skills.
You also study the basics of food preparation: how to prepare it in large amounts, how to plan a menu, and how to develop recipes. Although you may not be the executive chef at your restaurant, you study the culinary aspect of the field in order to understand what you're running. Depending on your interests, you may also take courses in culinary arts, table service, and leadership skills. You may also study human nutrition and learn to develop recipes. These courses are especially helpful if you plan on working for hospitals or schools. They prepare you to decide what kind of food your institution serves and still be conscious of principles of nutrition.
About 80 schools offer programs in restaurant and food services management. You can earn an associate, a bachelor's, or a master's degree in this program. In a few cases, you could also earn a doctoral degree.
In general, getting an associate degree takes two years of full-time study after high school. A bachelor's degree usually takes four years. A master's degree typically takes five to six years, and a doctoral degree nine to ten.