Looking to explore work opportunities in the hospitality and catering industry? A Catering Assistant role is the perfect position for people looking to gain customer service experience, work around food, or gain work experience near you. Here, we will look at what it takes to become a Catering Assistant, what you need to know when applying for a catering role, and similar jobs you might consider to gain more experience.
What is a Catering Assistant?
A Catering Assistant is someone who helps in the serving and preparation of food for an event or in a professional kitchen. Whether you’re working for a hotel, restaurant, or even serving at someone’s wedding, a Catering Assistant role requires attention to detail, hygiene, and multitasking. Depending on the venue, you might be more involved with the preparation or serving of the food, making it a great career choice for people looking for a versatile role around food.
If you’ve got good communication, customer service skills, and want to learn more about food preparation, Catering Assistant roles are available around the UK. Catering Assistants often experience various tasks needed within the hospitality and catering industry. During your day-to-day, you can expect to serve food and beverages, plan menus, operate registers, manage stock checks, follow food hygiene guidelines, and manage and clean catering equipment. Each day can look different, making it a great career choice for people who enjoy the stability of work while experiencing new fast-paced environments every day.
Working as a Catering Assistant can develop your transferable skills including communication, multitasking, and teamwork, while also specialising your understanding of the catering industry. You’ll be expected to partake in food preparation, serving, cleaning, inventory, customer service, and event support, making this a strong job choice to develop a career path in hospitality and catering.
How to Become a Catering Assistant?
To become a Catering Assistant, you don’t need any prior experience. In fact, many positions are available at entry-level across the UK. Formal qualifications also aren’t needed for this role, but basic English and Maths might be required at GCSE level or equivalent. Some experience that could help you land a role as a Catering Assistant includes food handling, customer service, or sales positions.
What to Put on a Catering Assistant CV
To best present yourself for this position, you’ll want a tailored Catering Assistant CV template that fully demonstrates any prior experience and your transferable skills. Previous work experience including sales and customer service can help you land a role as a Catering Assistant. If you’ve got prior experience, including volunteer work, in food preparation, this should be highlighted on your CV. You should also mention any transferable skills that might be useful including multitasking, organisation, and teamwork.
Similar Jobs to Catering Assistant
Whether you’re looking to grow your experience with similar roles or want another route into catering, there are plenty of similar roles to Catering Assistant available around the UK. Some common alternative roles include Kitchen Porter, Sous Chef, Beverage Manager, and Barista. If you’re wanting to experience food and beverage service, while developing your career, these roles can help you specialise your expertise or gain a wider breadth of experience.
Other Jobs in Hospitality and Catering
Hospitality and catering can be a brilliant sector for people wanting to work with their hands, develop specialisms within food and beverage services, and provide exceptional customer service. These roles can often be flexible with shift patterns available for any lifestyle. If you’re looking to stay within food service, some common roles include Kitchen Assistant or Server. Other hospitality and catering jobs can also include Cleaner, Food Manager, Restaurant Manager, Front-of-House Staff. Whether you’re looking for your first foot in the door or to develop your current skillset, there are various roles available across the UK within this sector.
Apply for Catering Assistant Jobs Near You
Looking for a Catering Assistant job near you? There are plenty of restaurants, hotels, and event venues that need quality caterers around the UK. Whether you’re looking for part-time or full-time Catering Assistant work, there are opportunities across England, Scotland, and Wales.
Catering Assistant Job Description FAQ
Is a Catering Assistant a Good Career Choice?
Becoming a Catering Assistant is a good career choice for both beginners looking to gain work experience or jobseekers developing their skillset within the hospitality and catering industry. Due to the versatility of work, you can quickly gain experience and new skills through this role, making it a perfect position for gaining access to other work and industries.
What Skills Does a Catering Assistant Need?
A Catering Assistant doesn’t need specific qualifications or work experience, but some common skills that will help in this role include:
- Communication
- Customer service
- Hygiene
- Organisation
- Multitasking
What Are the Biggest Challenges of Being a Catering Assistant?
One of the biggest challenges of being a Catering Assistant is that it is a physically demanding role. You’ll be expected to remain standing for long hours at a time, as well as help with the preparation of food and organisation of stock. It can also include unsociable hours which don’t suit everyone.
What Personal Qualities Make a Great Catering Assistant?
Catering involves a lot of food preparation, serving, and storage. When it comes to being a Catering Assistant, some personal qualities that can help you within your day-to-day work include:
- Patient
- Friendly
- Organised
- High stamina
- A good communicator
