Cafeteria Manager to Be!

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I am completely finished with my five-week cafeteria management rotation!  This rotation was extremely important to me because it is one of the top reasons I applied to the Sarasota District Schools internship program.  Five weeks seems like a long time but I learned that managing a food service operation is not an easy task!  Here are a few of the top things that I learned during this rotation:
·       As a manager you have to choose your battles.  A manager who picks out all the bad will start to bring the morale in the kitchen down.  Employees may not be perfect all the time and they do make mistakes.  As a manager it is important to remember what strengths each employee brings to the table, for it is these strengths that make the food service operations possible.  
·       Do not let your paperwork get behind, even by one day.  As a manager you can sometimes feel like you are swimming in paperwork.  If you put the paperwork off you will feel like you are drowning in paperwork.  Do whatever you can to make sure that production sheets get filled out, orders get received, and reports get printed.  This will keep you less stressed and up to date! 
 ·       Come to work with a smile everyday.  Whatever is bothering you in your personal life needs to be left at the door the second you walk into the kitchen.  The manager’s mood sets the tone in the entire kitchen and if the manager is having a bad day it seems to have a domino effect.  The manager interacts with parents, teachers, and children on a daily basis so it is important that the manager presents a positive image of the food service staff at all times. 

I learned so much more than these three things that I hope to use in my future career.  After completing this rotation I am confident that I want to pursue a career as a food service dietitian and that means that this time next year I may be managing my own school cafeteria.  Such an exciting thought! 
By: Amanda Bot