Food Runner Job Description
Food Runner is an entry-level job that doesn’t require a long list of qualifications. However, this doesn’t mean that the role is without its challenges.
If you’re an employer, you need to be on the lookout for applicants who have strong attention to detail, communication skills and resilience. Otherwise, the kitchen operations will be slow and chaotic, ultimately resulting in your restaurant’s reputation suffering.
To help you find the ideal candidate and provide your customers with a great dining experience, we created a Food Runner job description template you can customize to suit your needs.
Example of a Food Runner Job Description
You can download our Food Runner job description template below in PDF or Word format as a guideline for creating your own. Feel free to customize the details — such as salary, required experience and specific responsibilities — to match your needs.
Job Overview
[Restaurant Name] is looking for an energetic Food Runner to join the front-of-house team. Your duties will include delivering meals from the kitchen pass to the correct table, assisting Servers and Waiters in addressing minor customer requests and helping with kitchen duties such as refilling condiment bottles, polishing silverware and throwing out the garbage.
At [Restaurant Name], we are dedicated to giving our customers an unforgettable dining experience. Our ideal candidate has keen attention to detail, a strong willingness to learn and a sense of urgency.
Salary: $[Salary range] per year
Schedule: Part-time (minimum of [Number] hours per week)
Perks and Benefits:
- Pre-tax commuter benefits
- Dental, health and vision insurance
- Education assistance program
- Paid time off
- 401(k) matching
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Delivering food and drinks from the kitchen pass to customers’ tables
- Organizing food tickets
- Communicating with Cooks and Chefs regarding order status
- Checking food and drinks before bringing them to the dining area
- Addressing minor customer requests, such as refilling water glasses
- Refilling napkin dispensers, condiment bottles and ice bins
- Supporting other restaurant employees as necessary
Skills & Experience:
- Ability to lift 50 pounds
- Strong communication, organizational and time management skills
- Experience working in a fine dining restaurant is preferred
- Good attention to detail
- Ability to stay calm under pressure
- Knowledge of proper food handling
Education & Certification:
- Food handler certification
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How To Write a Food Runner Job Description
On average, job seekers only spend 49.7 seconds reading a job description before deciding if it’s the right fit for them. Therefore, you need to make sure that your job description is concise but comprehensive.
Job summary
Start by mentioning where the role fits within the team in the job summary. This is important as it gives clarity regarding team structure and dynamics. In the case of Food Runners, they’re part of the front-of-house department, mainly supporting Waiters and Servers. It’s also essential to add the key duties and qualifications early on in this section so you don’t lose job seekers’ interest.
Duties and responsibilities of a Food Runner
In the duties and responsibilities section, reiterate the day-to-day tasks previously mentioned in the job summary to ensure clarity of the role. You may also include other tasks, such as restocking stations with necessary items such as napkins, silverware and condiments.
Skills and experience requirements for Food Runners
Food Runner is essentially an entry-level job, but if you require someone with experience working in a specific type of establishment, include it in your qualifications. When it comes to the skills required, consider highlighting qualities of a great support worker such as resilience, communication skills and time management. These are important in ensuring good customer service, seamless coordination between the front-of-house and back-of-house teams, and ultimately building an excellent reputation for your establishment.
Education and certification requirements for Food Runners
Most Food Runner employers in the U.S. don’t typically require a high school diploma. As for certifications, many states legally require Food Runners to have a food handler’s card to maintain health and safety standards and prevent the risk of foodborne disease outbreaks.
Food Runner Salary Expectations
Food Runners in the U.S. earn an average base salary of $29,691 per year. Salaries for Food Runners can vary widely depending on the following:
- Type of establishment
- Experience and skills
- Geographic location
When determining salaries for Food Runners, make sure to research wages in your area. Factor in the cost of living, experience and location. For example, if your restaurant is based in a major U.S. city such as New York City, the average base salary for Food Runners is $43,596 per year. This is 46% higher than the national average.
If you need a tool to estimate your employees’ salary after statutory deductions, use our Paycheck Calculator.
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Food Runner Job Description FAQs
No. Only Servers and Waiters are in charge of handling payment transactions. If customers try to order from a Food Runner, the Food Runner must be able to professionally redirect the customer to the right personnel.
The two roles are similar but not identical, so they don’t share the same job description. In some ways, they share similar duties, such as bringing food and drinks to the right table, communicating with kitchen staff regarding orders and addressing customer requests. The main difference is that Food Runners don’t interact with customers as much as Servers do. A Server’s duties include greeting customers, presenting the menu and taking orders.
What are some tips to make my Food Runner job description effective? Aside from being concise to maintain job seekers’ interest and using our job description template to expedite the whole writing process, keep in mind the following tips:
- Be transparent with your salary: A report shares that job descriptions with salary information get 75% more clicks than those without it.
- Prioritize readability: Keep your bullet points up to a maximum of 10. Since Food Runner is a job that those who are still in high school can apply for, you don’t have to have a laundry list of duties and qualifications. Readable job descriptions with clean formatting tend to have higher application rates.
- Use SEO: Ask an SEO specialist to review your job description and suggest keywords related to the role and the restaurant industry to make sure your ad appears to the right audience.