How to Use the Food & Beverage Manager Interview Template

Why structured food and beverage manager interviews matter

F&B is typically the most operationally complex and financially volatile department in any hotel. Multiple outlets, different service styles, perishable inventory, high-turnover teams, and razor-thin margins mean a weak F&B manager bleeds money from a dozen different places simultaneously. A strong one turns the department into a profit centre and a genuine differentiator for the property.

The challenge with F&B manager hiring is that the role demands an unusual combination of skills - creative vision (menus, concepts, guest experience), hard commercial discipline (food cost, beverage cost, labour percentage), and people leadership across diverse teams from executive chefs to casual bar staff. Candidates often excel in one area while being dangerously weak in another. This template tests all five critical competency areas systematically, so you don't discover a blind spot after the appointment.

Using the same structured approach for every candidate also prevents the common trap of hiring the most charismatic F&B personality rather than the most capable operator. The hospitality industry is full of engaging F&B professionals who can talk brilliantly about food and service but can't control a P&L to save their career.

Pre-Interview Preparation

Before the candidate arrives, work through this checklist to ensure you're set up for a thorough assessment.

Review candidate CV and F&B management experience - Look for the number and type of outlets they've managed, cover counts, revenue figures, and team sizes. Note whether they've run hotel F&B (multi-outlet, room service, banqueting) versus standalone restaurants - the operational complexity is fundamentally different. Check for food cost and beverage cost percentages they claim to have achieved.

Prepare interview area - Ideally conduct the interview near your F&B operation so the candidate can tour outlets during the practical trial section. A private meeting room that's quiet enough for detailed financial discussion is essential.

Have scoring sheets and pen ready - F&B management discussions can cover enormous ground - from menu engineering to staff scheduling to supplier negotiations. Capture specifics immediately so you can compare candidates on commercial substance.

Ensure 60 minutes uninterrupted time - A comprehensive F&B manager interview needs a full hour. Brief your team, silence your phone, and give the candidate your complete attention. These are senior roles and the candidates will judge your operation by how the interview is conducted.

Review F&B department P&L and targets - Know your current food cost, beverage cost, labour percentage, covers per outlet, average spend per head, and departmental profit. You need these numbers to assess whether the candidate's experience and ideas are relevant to your operation's scale and challenges.

Customisation tips:

• For hotel operations with banqueting, add "Review current banqueting revenue and event pipeline"
• For properties with multiple restaurant concepts, add "Prepare brief on each outlet's positioning and performance"
• For operations with room service, add "Review in-room dining P&L and guest utilisation data"
• For properties with significant bar revenue, add "Prepare beverage cost analysis and cocktail programme overview"

Candidate Details

Record the candidate's full name exactly as they prefer to be called. This becomes your reference for all subsequent documentation and correspondence.

Document when the interview took place. Essential when comparing multiple candidates, particularly for F&B roles where you may be interviewing across several weeks while keeping operations running.

F&B Management Experience

Why this question matters:

Managing a hotel F&B operation is fundamentally different from running a single restaurant. You're coordinating across multiple outlets with different concepts, managing banqueting and events alongside daily service, overseeing room service logistics, and aligning all of it with the hotel's broader commercial strategy. A candidate who's only managed a single-outlet operation may underestimate this complexity. You need to understand the scope of what they've actually managed, the results they've delivered, and whether they've genuinely owned the department's performance.

What good answers look like:

• Specific scope with quantified scale ("I managed five F&B outlets across a 350-room hotel - a fine dining restaurant doing 80 covers, an all-day dining outlet at 200 covers, a lobby bar, a pool bar, and banqueting for up to 500 guests. Total F&B revenue was £4.2 million annually with a team of 85")
• Clear ownership of financial outcomes ("I took food cost from 34% down to 29.5% over 18 months through supplier renegotiation, menu engineering, and waste reduction - without compromising quality or portion sizes")
• Evidence of managing different service styles and concepts simultaneously ("Each outlet had a distinct identity and target market. The fine dining restaurant required a completely different approach to the all-day dining space - different training, different cost structures, different guest expectations")
• Honest discussion of challenges specific to hotel F&B ("Coordinating between the executive chef's creative ambitions and the hotel's margin requirements is always a balancing act. I've learned to frame menu development in commercial terms that chefs can respect - showing how a well-engineered menu actually gives them more creative freedom within profitable parameters")
• Experience with revenue streams beyond restaurant service - banqueting, events, mini-bars, room service

Red flags to watch for:

• Experience limited to a single restaurant or bar without multi-outlet management complexity
• Cannot discuss food cost, beverage cost, or labour percentage with confidence and specificity
• Focuses entirely on the creative or service side without demonstrating commercial management capability
• No experience with hotel-specific F&B challenges like room service logistics, banqueting coordination, or mini-bar management
• Blames executive chefs for cost overruns without demonstrating how they've built productive chef relationships
• Cannot articulate how they've improved department performance - just maintained it

Customisation tips:

• For luxury properties, probe their experience maintaining premium standards while controlling costs - these are not mutually exclusive but require sophisticated management
• For high-volume operations, focus on their experience with covers management, kitchen throughput, and labour scheduling during peak periods
• For properties with significant banqueting, ask about their experience managing event revenue, group catering margins, and seasonal event pipelines
• For resort properties, explore their experience with pool bars, beach dining, all-inclusive models, or seasonal outlet openings

How to score:

• 5 - Excellent: Extensive F&B management with proven results across multiple outlets of comparable complexity; quantified achievements in revenue growth, cost control, and team development; clear evidence of hotel F&B operational ownership
• 4 - Good: Solid multi-outlet experience with good results; managed relevant operation types with clear examples of financial and operational impact, though scale may be slightly below your requirements
• 3 - Average: Some F&B management experience covering basic operational leadership; may have managed fewer outlets or a smaller operation; results mentioned but not well-quantified or limited to specific areas
• 2 - Below Average: Limited management scope; primarily single-outlet or supervisory experience being positioned as F&B management; difficulty articulating department-wide outcomes
• 1 - Poor: No F&B management experience; confused about the scope of a multi-outlet F&B department; cannot discuss hotel F&B operations meaningfully

Revenue and Cost Management

Why this question matters:

F&B profitability lives and dies in the detail. Food cost, beverage cost, and labour are the three major controllable expenses, and each requires different management approaches. A candidate who can grow revenue but can't control costs will deliver impressive top-line numbers that never reach the bottom line. One who controls costs too aggressively will damage quality, reduce covers, and erode the department's reputation. You need someone who understands both sides of the equation and can drive results on each.

What good answers look like:

• Demonstrates understanding of multiple revenue levers ("I grew F&B revenue 15% through a combination of menu repricing based on popularity-profitability analysis, introducing a Sunday brunch concept that filled a dead trading period, and restructuring our banqueting packages to increase average spend per head from £65 to £82")
• Specific cost control strategies with measurable outcomes ("I implemented weekly stocktakes across all outlets, renegotiated our top 20 suppliers saving £45,000 annually, and introduced yield-based ordering for proteins that reduced waste by 22%")
• Shows understanding of the relationship between cost percentage and gross profit ("Food cost percentage is a guide, not a goal. I'd rather sell a dish at 35% food cost that delivers £18 gross profit than one at 25% that delivers £6. Menu engineering is about maximising total department contribution, not chasing the lowest cost percentage")
• Evidence of labour cost management without damaging service ("I restructured our staffing model to use a core team of strong full-time staff supplemented by a trained casual pool for peaks. This brought labour from 42% to 36% while maintaining service scores because the core team was more skilled and motivated")
• Links revenue and cost decisions to overall departmental profitability rather than treating them in isolation

Red flags to watch for:

• Cannot discuss food cost or beverage cost percentages from their current or recent properties
• Focuses only on cost cutting with no revenue growth ideas - signals a defensive manager, not a commercial leader
• No experience with menu engineering or pricing strategy - treats menus as a kitchen responsibility
• Cannot explain how they manage beverage cost across different outlet types (cocktail bar versus wine-led restaurant versus banqueting)
• Discusses cost control in purely theoretical terms without specific examples from their own operations
• No understanding of how F&B revenue supports overall hotel profitability and guest satisfaction scores

Customisation tips:

• For properties with high food costs, probe their specific experience reducing food cost through supplier management, waste reduction, and menu engineering
• For properties with strong beverage programmes, ask about their approach to cocktail costing, wine list management, and beverage inventory control
• For properties where F&B is a loss-leader for rooms, explore how they'd maximise F&B contribution within that strategic context
• For standalone F&B operations within hotels, focus on their experience driving covers and average spend rather than relying on captured hotel guests

How to score:

• 5 - Excellent: Strong revenue growth and cost control track record with specific, quantified examples; demonstrates sophisticated understanding of menu engineering, pricing strategy, and department profitability; balances revenue ambition with cost discipline
• 4 - Good: Good commercial understanding with solid examples of managing both revenue and costs; understands key metrics and has improved performance, though may be stronger in one area than the other
• 3 - Average: Basic P&L management capability; can discuss costs and revenue at a general level but lacks depth in either menu engineering, supplier management, or revenue strategy
• 2 - Below Average: Limited commercial focus; understands food cost as a concept but hasn't actively managed or improved it; no evidence of revenue growth initiatives
• 1 - Poor: No P&L experience; cannot discuss F&B financial metrics meaningfully; shows no understanding of how management decisions affect departmental profitability

Team Leadership

Why this question matters:

F&B teams are among the most diverse in any hotel - executive chefs with creative temperaments, front-of-house staff ranging from fine dining servers to casual bar staff, banqueting teams, stewarding teams, and room service operators. Leading across these groups requires adaptability, credibility in both kitchen and front-of-house environments, and the ability to build a unified culture across outlets that may have very different identities. An F&B manager who can't lead across this range will lose credibility with teams who see them as favouring one outlet or discipline.

What good answers look like:

• Evidence of developing people across different disciplines ("I identified a strong bartender who had management potential and created a development plan that moved them through supervisory responsibility in the lobby bar before promoting them to bar manager. They're now running the entire beverage programme")
• Shows understanding of managing the chef-FOH relationship ("The F&B manager has to be the bridge between kitchen and floor. I hold joint briefings before every service where the head chef walks through specials and the restaurant manager raises any guest feedback. That ten-minute investment eliminates 90% of service friction")
• Demonstrates handling difficult performance conversations ("Our head chef was producing brilliant food but running 33% food cost and bullying junior staff. I had three documented conversations over two months, set clear targets with support, and when behaviour didn't change, I managed them out. We promoted the sous chef, who brought food cost to 28% and built a much healthier kitchen culture")
• Shows ability to build team culture across multiple outlets ("I introduced a monthly F&B team meeting where all outlet managers presented their highlights and challenges. It broke down the silos that had developed between outlets and created genuine peer support")
• References specific retention improvements or engagement initiatives with measurable outcomes

Red flags to watch for:

• Can only discuss leading front-of-house or kitchen teams, not both - suggests limited credibility across the full F&B operation
• No examples of developing staff into more senior roles or building succession plans
• Avoids discussing how they've handled underperformance or conflict within the team
• Describes a top-down management style without evidence of coaching, development, or empowerment
• Cannot explain how they've built culture across multiple outlets with different team dynamics
• Takes credit for team achievements without acknowledging the contributions of specific individuals

Customisation tips:

• For properties with a strong executive chef, ask how they'd build a productive partnership with a chef who has significant creative autonomy
• For properties with high F&B staff turnover, probe their specific strategies for improving retention in a notoriously transient workforce
• For operations running multiple shifts, explore their approach to maintaining consistent standards when they can't be present
• For properties expanding or launching new outlets, ask about their experience recruiting and building teams from scratch

How to score:

• 5 - Excellent: Inspirational leader with development focus; demonstrates credibility across both kitchen and front-of-house teams; specific examples of developing people, managing performance, and building culture across multiple outlets
• 4 - Good: Strong team leadership skills with good examples of developing staff and managing performance; comfortable leading diverse F&B teams, though may have less experience with the largest or most complex team structures
• 3 - Average: Adequate people management that keeps the operation running; can discuss leadership basics but limited evidence of proactive team development, culture building, or handling difficult performance conversations
• 2 - Below Average: Limited leadership capability; comfortable managing one team type but struggles with the breadth of F&B leadership; few examples of developing people or addressing underperformance
• 1 - Poor: Cannot lead teams effectively; no evidence of developing staff, managing performance, or building team culture; leadership style creates rather than resolves friction

Guest Experience

Why this question matters:

F&B is often the most emotionally charged part of a hotel guest's stay. A mediocre room is forgettable - a bad dinner is the story they tell everyone. Your F&B manager sets the standards, builds the systems, and creates the culture that determines whether guests leave your outlets feeling delighted or disappointed. This question reveals whether the candidate thinks about guest experience as a strategic discipline or just reacts to complaints as they arise.

What good answers look like:

• Describes systematic approaches to maintaining standards ("I implemented a service audit programme where each outlet was assessed monthly against 50 service touchpoints. Scores were shared with teams, and we celebrated outlets that hit 90% or above. Average scores rose from 72% to 88% over the first year")
• Shows understanding of how different outlets require different guest experience strategies ("Fine dining guests expect anticipation and subtlety. All-day dining guests want efficiency and warmth. The pool bar is about energy and informality. I trained each team specifically for their outlet's emotional promise, not a one-size-fits-all service standard")
• Evidence of using guest feedback systematically ("I reviewed every TripAdvisor, Google, and internal feedback comment about F&B weekly. I categorised them by outlet, theme, and frequency, then addressed systemic issues rather than chasing individual complaints. Our F&B-specific TripAdvisor score moved from 3.8 to 4.4")
• Demonstrates balancing efficiency with experience ("We reduced breakfast wait times by 35% through better station management and mise en place, but we also added a personal greeting from the host and a juice selection at the table. Faster service with more personal touches - guests noticed both")
• Links guest experience investment to commercial outcomes ("After we redesigned the bar experience and retrained the team, average spend per cover increased 28%. Guests stayed longer because they were enjoying themselves, which naturally drove higher revenue")

Red flags to watch for:

• Discusses guest experience only in terms of handling complaints - no proactive experience design
• Cannot describe specific service standards they've implemented or how they measured compliance
• Treats all outlets the same rather than recognising different guest expectations and emotional contexts
• No awareness of how online reputation drives F&B revenue - doesn't monitor or respond to reviews
• Focuses exclusively on food quality (a kitchen responsibility) without discussing the full service experience
• Dismissive of negative feedback ("Some guests just like to complain") rather than treating it as operational intelligence

Customisation tips:

• For luxury properties, probe their experience creating memorable, personalised moments that guests share publicly
• For high-volume operations, ask how they've maintained service quality during peak periods when the temptation is to prioritise speed over experience
• For properties with poor current F&B reviews, focus on their experience with turnaround - rebuilding reputation from a low base
• For properties with distinctive dining concepts, explore how they've maintained concept integrity while evolving the offering to stay relevant

How to score:

• 5 - Excellent: Obsessive about guest satisfaction with specific metrics showing improvement across outlets; demonstrates systematic approaches, innovative experience design, and clear understanding of how guest satisfaction drives F&B commercial performance
• 4 - Good: Strong guest experience focus with good examples of improvement initiatives across outlets; understands measurement and service design, though may lack experience with the most demanding guest environments
• 3 - Average: Adequate service standards with basic monitoring; can discuss guest experience at a general level but lacks specific metrics, systematic approaches, or evidence of driving significant improvement across multiple outlets
• 2 - Below Average: Limited guest focus; reactive to complaints without proactive experience management; doesn't differentiate service approach across different outlet types
• 1 - Poor: No guest experience systems or philosophy; cannot discuss how they've measured, monitored, or improved F&B guest experience at any property

Strategic Planning

Why this question matters:

An F&B manager who only manages today's operations will watch their department stagnate while competitors innovate. You need someone who can develop and execute an F&B strategy - identifying menu trends, evaluating new concepts, planning seasonal programmes, driving event revenue, and positioning your outlets in the local market. The best F&B managers think like business owners, constantly looking for ways to grow revenue, improve margins, and enhance the department's reputation.

What good answers look like:

• Describes strategic initiatives they've conceived and executed ("I identified that our hotel had zero presence in the local dining market - all our restaurant covers were hotel guests. I developed a local marketing programme, launched a monthly supper club, and partnered with local food producers for seasonal menus. Within a year, 35% of our restaurant covers were external, and average spend was higher because locals traded up")
• Shows understanding of F&B trends and how to apply them commercially ("Plant-based dining isn't a fad - it's a structural shift. I developed a plant-forward menu section that reduced food cost on those dishes by 8 percentage points while attracting a new guest demographic. It also reduced our kitchen's carbon footprint, which resonated with our corporate clients")
• Evidence of building event and banqueting revenue strategically ("I restructured our banqueting packages from fixed menus to modular options, which increased average spend per head by 22% because clients could customise. I also introduced midweek corporate dining events that filled dead trading periods and generated £120,000 in incremental annual revenue")
• Demonstrates long-term thinking about department development ("Our all-day dining outlet was underperforming because the concept hadn't evolved in five years. I worked with the head chef on a complete repositioning - new menu direction, updated interiors, trained service team. We relaunched it as a modern brasserie and increased covers 40% in the first quarter")
• Links F&B strategy to overall hotel positioning and guest satisfaction

Red flags to watch for:

• No evidence of strategic thinking - manages what exists without developing or innovating
• Cannot describe a successful initiative they've led from concept through to measurable results
• Strategic ideas are generic ("We should do more events" or "Social media is important") without specifics
• Focuses only on restaurant operations without considering banqueting, events, or ancillary F&B revenue
• No awareness of industry trends or competitive F&B developments in their market
• All strategic examples involve following directions from the GM rather than proposing and leading their own initiatives

Customisation tips:

• For properties with untapped banqueting potential, probe their experience developing event programmes and building local corporate relationships
• For properties in competitive local dining markets, ask how they'd position hotel outlets to attract non-resident diners
• For properties considering new F&B concepts, explore their experience with concept development, feasibility analysis, and launch management
• For seasonal properties, focus on their experience developing off-peak programming and managing seasonal menu transitions

How to score:

• 5 - Excellent: Visionary with proven strategic execution; has conceived and delivered initiatives that materially improved F&B revenue, reputation, or positioning; thinks about the department as a strategic business unit within the hotel
• 4 - Good: Good strategic planning skills with evidence of successful initiatives; understands how to develop F&B beyond daily operations, though may lack experience with the most ambitious strategic programmes
• 3 - Average: Can implement strategy provided by others; understands that F&B needs to evolve but limited evidence of personally driving strategic change or innovation
• 2 - Below Average: Reactive rather than strategic; focused on managing today's operation without forward planning, market awareness, or department development ambition
• 1 - Poor: No strategic thinking; cannot discuss how they'd develop an F&B department beyond maintaining current operations; entirely operational focus

Practical Trial

Why practical trials matter:

F&B management is visible work. How a candidate moves through your outlets, how they interact with kitchen and front-of-house teams, what they notice about your operation, and how they respond to real-time service situations reveals more about their capability than an hour of interview questions. A structured operational walkthrough gives you direct observation of their leadership presence, commercial eye, and operational instincts.

What to observe:

Demonstrated leadership presence across outlets - Walk them through each outlet and watch how they engage. Do they adapt their communication style between the kitchen brigade and the front-of-house team? Do they show genuine interest in both environments, or gravitate toward their comfort zone?

Engaged professionally with team members - Do they make eye contact with staff, ask their names, show interest in their work? An F&B manager who ignores junior team members during a walkthrough will do the same when they're running the operation.

Identified operational improvements - Without prompting, what do they notice? A strong candidate might comment on a mise en place issue, a table layout that reduces covers, a bar back-bar that's poorly merchandised, or a service flow bottleneck. What they see tells you what they'll prioritise.

Showed commercial awareness - Do they think about what they're seeing in revenue and cost terms? "That dessert trolley - what's your dessert take-up rate?" or "How do you manage beverage wastage at the pool bar?" shows commercial wiring. Commenting only on aesthetics suggests someone who manages service, not the business.

Maintained guest focus throughout - Do they view each outlet through the guest's eyes? Do they notice the guest journey from arrival through service to departure, or do they focus only on back-of-house operations?

Setting up an effective trial:

• Schedule the walkthrough during an active service period if possible - even a quiet one shows more than an empty outlet
• Visit all F&B outlets including back-of-house areas, stores, and kitchen
• Brief your head chef and outlet managers that you'll be walking through with a candidate
• Let the candidate lead the conversation in each outlet - what they ask about is as revealing as what they comment on
• Allow 20-30 minutes for the walkthrough and 10 minutes for them to share their observations afterward

How to score the trial:

• 5 - Exceptional: Outstanding F&B leadership demonstrated; moved naturally between outlets with credible engagement across kitchen and FOH, identified significant opportunities, and showed genuine commercial and guest-focused thinking
• 4 - Strong: Good management capabilities; comfortable across outlets, engaged well with teams, and made relevant operational observations with commercial awareness
• 3 - Adequate: Shows potential at this level; professional during the walkthrough but observations were mostly surface-level; may have been noticeably more comfortable in one outlet type than others
• 2 - Below Standard: Not ready for senior F&B role; uncomfortable in certain environments, limited observations, or struggled to engage naturally with diverse team members
• 1 - Inadequate: Not suited for F&B Manager position; demonstrated insufficient operational awareness, leadership presence, or commercial understanding during the walkthrough

Cultural Fit Assessment

Beyond skills and experience, cultural fit determines whether an F&B manager will elevate your operation or create friction. Select all indicators that genuinely apply based on your observations throughout the interview and trial.

Shows passion for F&B excellence - Do they genuinely love food, beverage, and service? Can you feel their enthusiasm when discussing menu concepts, wine programmes, or guest experiences? F&B management is demanding work - passion sustains motivation through 14-hour days and difficult service periods.

Demonstrates commercial mindset - Do they naturally connect operational decisions to financial outcomes? An F&B manager who discusses staff training in terms of both team development and revenue per cover improvement understands that great hospitality and strong business performance reinforce each other.

Leads by example - Do their stories involve being present during challenging services, working alongside their team during peak periods, or personally resolving guest issues? F&B teams respect managers who share the workload, not those who manage from an office.

Shows team development focus - Do they talk about people they've developed who've moved into bigger roles? An F&B manager who builds supervisors, assistant managers, and outlet managers creates a self-sustaining operation. One who keeps all the knowledge and authority themselves creates a department that collapses when they're absent.

Interest in industry trends - Do they stay current with dining trends, beverage innovation, and hospitality developments? An F&B manager connected to the broader industry brings fresh ideas and competitive awareness that benefits your operation.

Positive about strategic challenges - Do they embrace the complexity of managing multiple outlets with different identities, or do they seem overwhelmed by the scope? The best F&B managers find multi-outlet management energising rather than exhausting.

Weighted Scoring

The weighted scoring system reflects what matters most for F&B manager success. Leadership and commercial acumen carry equal weight because the role demands both - exceptional food and service culture without financial discipline destroys margins, while aggressive cost management without strong leadership drives away the talent that delivers quality.

Leadership carries the highest joint weight because the F&B manager must build and lead teams across multiple outlets with different cultures and service styles. Rate 1-5 based on their team leadership responses and operational walkthrough observations, then multiply by 0.30.

Commercial acumen is equally weighted because the F&B manager owns the department's P&L and must deliver profitable results. Rate 1-5 based on their revenue and cost management discussion and overall financial literacy, then multiply by 0.30.

Guest experience carries significant weight because F&B quality directly affects hotel reputation, guest satisfaction scores, and repeat business. Rate 1-5 based on their guest experience philosophy and evidence of systematic improvement, then multiply by 0.25.

Cultural fit affects whether the F&B manager will thrive in your environment and build on your operation's existing strengths. Rate 1-5 based on the cultural fit assessment indicators and their alignment with your property's values, then multiply by 0.15.

Add all weighted scores together for the final result. Maximum possible is 5.0.

Interpretation:

• 4.0 and above: Strong hire - offer position with confidence; this is a capable F&B leader who can drive your department forward
• 3.5 to 3.9: Hire with development plan - good candidate who may need support in specific areas (a particular outlet type, cost management, or strategic planning)
• 3.0 to 3.4: Consider second interview - potential but significant questions remain; consider a working trial during a busy service period or deeper financial discussion
• Below 3.0: Do not proceed - fundamental gaps in F&B management capability that will create problems across the department

Customisation tips:

• Properties with high F&B revenue contribution might increase Commercial Acumen to 0.35 and reduce Cultural Fit to 0.10
• Operations with significant quality issues might increase Guest Experience to 0.30 and reduce Commercial Acumen to 0.25
• Properties launching new F&B concepts might weight Strategic Planning separately at 0.15, adjusting other categories down proportionally
• Small operations with hands-on F&B managers might increase Leadership to 0.35 to ensure the candidate can manage service directly

Final Recommendation

Based on all assessments, select your hiring decision:

• Strong Hire - Offer position immediately: Exceptional F&B candidate with proven operational leadership and commercial results; move quickly - good F&B managers are always in demand
• Hire - Good candidate, offer position: Solid choice who meets your requirements and brings relevant multi-outlet experience; may need time to learn your specific outlets and team dynamics
• Maybe - Conduct second interview or check references: Potential but need more information; consider a working trial during service, a meeting with your executive chef, or thorough reference checks with previous GMs
• Probably Not - Significant concerns, unlikely to hire: Gaps in either commercial management or leadership capability that would take too long to develop; only reconsider if no stronger candidates emerge
• Do Not Hire - Not suitable for this role: Clear misfit with your operation's needs; don't compromise - a weak F&B manager creates problems across every outlet simultaneously

Additional Notes

Record any observations, concerns, or follow-up actions that don't fit elsewhere. This might include:

• Specific reference check questions (speak to previous GMs and executive chefs about their working relationship and financial performance)
• Chemistry with your executive chef if they met during the walkthrough - this partnership is critical
• Notice period and availability - F&B managers in active roles during peak season may need flexibility
• Salary expectations and any bonus structure discussions linked to F&B targets
• Their knowledge of your local market, suppliers, and competitive dining scene
• Menu or concept ideas they mentioned that showed either strong potential or concerning disconnect with your positioning
• Training or development needs if hired (specific outlet experience, financial systems, etc.)

What's next

Once you've selected your food and beverage manager, proper onboarding is essential for rapid impact across all outlets. See our guide on Food & Beverage Manager onboarding to ensure your new hire understands your outlets, team dynamics, supplier relationships, and commercial targets from day one.