How to Record a Maître d' Video Job Ad

Date modified: 2nd June 2025 | This article explains how you can record a maître d' video job ad inside the Pilla App which you can share with external candidates. You can also check out the Job Ads Guide for more info on other roles or check out the docs page for Managing Videos in Pilla.

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The maître d' sets the tone for everything. They're the first face guests see and the last impression they leave with. They control the floor, manage the team, handle complaints before they escalate, and somehow make a fully-booked Saturday night look effortless. Finding someone who can do all this—while embodying your restaurant's specific personality—is genuinely difficult. Your video job ad needs to show not just what the role involves, but what kind of presence you're looking for. A formal fine-dining maître d' and a warm neighbourhood restaurant host are different people with different skills.

Step 1: Open with the Opportunity

Experienced maître d's have options. They've built reputations, regular guest relationships, and industry networks. They need to understand why your restaurant is worth leaving their current position for.

Ownership and autonomy: How much control will they have? Do they set floor standards, design service sequences, hire and train their own team? Or is this an execution role within established systems? Experienced maître d's often want to shape operations, not just run someone else's playbook.

The restaurant's position: Where does your restaurant sit in the market? New opening with something to prove? Established institution with legacy to maintain? Expansion of a successful group? Each context appeals to different candidates. A maître d' who wants to build something won't be excited by maintaining someone else's creation; someone who values stability won't want the chaos of a launch.

Guest profile and relationships: Fine dining regulars who expect to be remembered by name? Business entertaining where discretion matters? Special occasion guests who come once a year? Neighbourhood locals who come twice a week? The guest profile shapes the role entirely. Some maître d's thrive on building deep relationships with regulars; others prefer the variety of constantly new faces.

Career context: Is this a step toward general management? Restaurant director? Operations roles across a group? Or a destination role for someone who loves the floor and wants to stay there? Both are legitimate, but attract different candidates.

Step 2: Show Your Restaurant's Personality

Film the dining room during service. The maître d' will spend every working hour in this space—they need to see it, feel it, imagine themselves commanding it.

The room itself: Layout and table configuration. Sightlines from the host position. How the space flows—is it one room or multiple areas requiring different management? The aesthetic and formality level. A maître d' who's spent years in white-tablecloth dining will read your exposed brick and casual seating differently than someone from bustling brasseries.

Service style in motion: Capture your team during actual service. The pace, the choreography, the level of formality. How do runners and waiters move? What's the interaction style with guests—warm and conversational, or precise and unobtrusive? The maître d' needs to see what they'd be orchestrating.

The team they'd lead: How many front-of-house staff? What's the experience level—seasoned professionals or young team needing development? Current team dynamic—tight-knit or high turnover? The maître d' inherits this team; they should see who they'd be working with.

Kitchen relationship: Show the pass area if possible. Is there visible chef interaction with the floor? What's the kitchen-to-floor communication like during service? The maître d' position sits between kitchen and guest; understanding that relationship matters.

Step 3: Paint a Picture of the Role

"Maître d'" means different things in different contexts. A hotel restaurant, a neighbourhood bistro, and a Michelin-starred dining room all use the title but require different skills.

Floor command during service: Table allocation and management—the art of seating that keeps service smooth while maximising covers. Reading the room's rhythm and adjusting pace. Identifying problems before they become complaints. Managing the door when you're overbooked and the 8pm reservation is 20 minutes late.

VIP and regular guest handling. Who gets the best tables? How do you remember faces, preferences, allergies from six months ago? This is relationship management at speed.

Team leadership: Pre-service briefings. Standards enforcement during service. Real-time coaching and problem-solving. Post-service debriefs. The maître d' is a manager who manages while simultaneously performing—there's no back office to retreat to.

Staff scheduling and rota management. Hiring involvement—do they select their own team? Performance management and difficult conversations. Training programme development or delivery.

Guest recovery: Complaints happen. The maître d' is usually the first escalation point. How much authority to comp, discount, or resolve issues? What's the relationship with management for bigger problems? Guest recovery skill is what separates good maître d's from great ones.

Administrative reality: Reservation system management. Cover forecasting and staffing decisions. Inventory awareness if responsible for front-of-house supplies. Event coordination for private dining. Reporting to management on covers, complaints, team issues.

The hours: Every service, usually. Split shifts or straight through? Days off during the week, rarely weekends. Late nights after closing—cash-up, team debrief, preparation for tomorrow. Holidays are your busiest periods. Be honest about the lifestyle impact.

Step 4: The Profile You're Looking For

Maître d' hiring is about finding the right combination of technical skill, personality, and cultural fit.

Experience calibration: Years on the floor in progressively senior roles. But context matters: five years as restaurant manager in a chain teaches different skills than three years as head waiter in fine dining. Be specific about what experience translates to your environment.

Previous maître d' or similar roles—head waiter, restaurant supervisor, floor manager. Have they actually run a floor, or always worked within someone else's structure?

Technical competencies: Reservation system proficiency—which systems have they used? Floor plan management and table-turning strategy. Wine knowledge sufficient to support the sommelier or handle basic recommendations. Menu knowledge to answer guest questions and manage allergies.

Leadership style: How do they manage a team under pressure? Service is high-stakes, real-time performance. Some maître d's lead through calm authority; others through energy and visible presence. Some are teachers who develop staff; others expect professionals who don't need hand-holding. What fits your team?

Guest-facing presence: This is the hardest thing to assess from applications. Do they have the warmth that makes guests feel welcomed? The authority that makes entitled guests behave? The memory for faces and details that makes regulars feel valued? The composure when everything goes wrong?

Different restaurants need different presence. Formal dining needs polish and restraint. Neighbourhood spots need warmth and approachability. Trendy venues need someone who embodies the brand's energy.

Cultural match: A maître d' sets front-of-house culture. Their standards become team standards. Their attitude toward guests becomes the restaurant's attitude. Hiring someone whose instincts don't match your values means constant friction.

Step 5: Make the Offer Compelling

Senior front-of-house roles command proper compensation. Candidates at this level know the market and won't respond to vague promises.

UK compensation context:

  • Maître d' (independent): £35,000-45,000 base plus service charge
  • Maître d' (fine dining/luxury): £42,000-55,000 base plus service charge
  • Restaurant Manager (comparable): £38,000-50,000 base plus service charge

Service charge typically adds £8,000-18,000 annually in established restaurants. Be transparent about structure and realistic totals.

Beyond salary: Meals on shift—obvious but mention it. Staff discount for personal dining. Industry pricing or partnerships. These are expected at this level.

Schedule and lifestyle: Be honest about hours. How many services per week? Split shifts or straight through? Which days off, and how consistent? The reality of hospitality management is demanding; pretending otherwise creates turnover.

Holiday allowance and when it can actually be taken—not Christmas, not Valentine's Day, probably not summer weekends. Candidates appreciate honesty over discovering conflicts later.

Development and progression: Is this role a ceiling or a stepping stone? General manager pathway? Multi-site operations? Group-level roles? Or is this a long-term floor position with depth rather than upward movement?

Training budget for wine certifications, management courses, industry events. Conference attendance. What investment does the company make in senior staff development?

Autonomy and authority: Decision-making scope. Hiring and firing authority. Budget control. Ability to make guest recovery decisions without approval. Experienced maître d's want to know they'll be trusted to run the floor, not micromanaged.

Step 6: The Application Process

Maître d' candidates expect a process that reflects the seniority of the role.

What to request: CV with specific focus on floor leadership experience. References from previous employers—ideally restaurant owners or general managers who can speak to performance under pressure. A cover letter explaining interest in your specific restaurant.

Don't require excessive documentation upfront. Senior candidates are busy and employed; lengthy applications lose them.

Interview structure: Initial conversation to establish fit and interest. Floor observation during actual service—watching how they read the room, interact with guests, move through space. Trial service in a supervisory capacity. Meeting with ownership or general management.

Multiple touchpoints are appropriate at this level. Rushing to hire the wrong maître d' is more expensive than a thorough process.

What you're assessing: Presence and command—do they naturally take ownership of a room? Guest instinct—can they read tables and anticipate needs? Leadership under pressure—how do they respond when things go wrong? Cultural alignment—do they share your service philosophy?

Timeline transparency: How long will your process take? When do you need someone to start? Are you hiring urgently or building a pipeline? Respect for candidates' time—they're likely managing their own service schedules while interviewing—demonstrates the professionalism you expect them to bring.

The maître d' community is small at the senior level. How you treat candidates in the hiring process becomes your reputation. A professional, respectful process attracts better candidates for future roles, regardless of this hire's outcome.