F&B Operations Manager
Radisson Blu
Total years of experience :16 years, 6 Months
adisson Hotel Group as Food & Beverage Operations Manager
01/2019 - Current
Responsible for managing overall operations of all the F&B outlets (Larder Restaurant all day dining, Lounge Bar, Filini Italian Bar & Restaurant, Mazaj Sheesha Bar, The Deck Pool Bar, Almas Coffee Shop, Room Service) and Supporting the Banquet Department.
In charge of Filini evening operations with an increment of 25% of the revenue vs Last Year and a growth on Tripadvisor from the 22nd position to the top 10th with all 5 stars reviews and only 2, 4 stars reviews.
Responsible for the effective and successful management of labor, productivity, quality control and safety measures as established and set for the F&B Department.
Enhance the operational procedure, systems and principles in the areas of information flow and management.
Highly involved in the selection and hiring process. Training new and existing employees, planning, assigning and directing work, authoring and discussing with employees performance appraisals, addressing employee performance and corrective action plans, employee motivation and rewards.
Producing individual outlet reports in order to track outlet maintenance and SWOT analysis and action plans in order to create yearly promotion calendar to boost outlets imagine and revenue.
Responsibilities also include rostering, inventory, breakage, menu engineering, guest complain handlining, elaborating new budget, forecast, attending the revenue generating meetings, marketing meetings.
Contribution to the implementation of the bounce back vouchers and invitation cards which allowed a growth of revenue in all the F&B outlets.
Focusing on menu engineering for each outlet in order to rotate the food items and keep the menus always fresh, neat and clean.
Attending daily HOD’s meeting communicating and discussing all operating policies or issues in every department. Sharing all the guests reviews on ReviewPro. Discuss and coordinate each other for special Banquet Event or in case of 100% occupancy.
Daily collaboration with the cost controller and the store keeper in order to monitor the slow-moving items and clear them, keeping the beverage cost always low.
Weekly active participation to the P&L meetings (focusing on managing the manning costs and other general savings like water and electricity consumption).
Fully in charge of the overall operations in the Tomato Italian Restaurant, Tiki Hut Garden Kiosk and the service all around the splash Pool area.
Managing multicultural team made of 18 service staff, 2 casuals and 6 kitchen staff.
Full in charge for the rostering, vacation plan, inventory, breakage, requisitioning, menu planning, maintenance report, annual FF&E, new bar layout, new micros station allocation, new service stations.
Daily F&B briefing, reporting directly to the Director F&B or Assistant F&B, regarding daily F&B overall revenue, promotions and special events operations and issues, reviewing Medalia, Tripadvisor (from the 27th position until the 14th position) and the daily Heartbeat score.
Organizing pool parties, theme nights, special events in our garden such as birthday parties or wedding anniversary ceremony.
Successfully embrace and implemented the R&B program created by the new IHG R&B Director of Africa, India and Middle East Mr. Marvin Alballi consisting in monitoring daily service and kitchen operations reducing costs, manning and wastage.
Six year as Restaurant and Bar Manager and Event Organiser at Royal Caffè Lounge Bar near Rome. Here at the very beginning in order to make some relevant changes I focused on the luxury lounge and fine dining style, giving to the place an innovative brand new imagine.
Since I settled myself up in the company my in depth skills included to make an accurate analysis of the competitors around the business area focussing on the SWOT analysis taking into consideration strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company in order to develop a short term project plan as well as a long term plan trying to turns weaknesses into strengths and overtake competitors taking the right decisions and using the appropriate marketing strategies. To do so, spreading all over the company a positive approach to problems solving (solutions instead of complaints) was a relevant step in order to build up a good, strong, professional and respectful system based on a friendly relationship within staff and customers. This positive approach is a crucial step to produce an extraordinary customer service and very positive feedback. That is why, recruiting new staff loyal to the new Manager and training them accordingly to his new method is fundamental to work efficiently during the daily procedures, mainly under pressure. Moreover, today encouraging the staff to learn how to make a great presentation of the food and all the abilities to build up a professional and friendly relationship with customers in order to positively influence their final decision is a must.
Organising special events and happy hour during some particular day of the week in order to improve the incoming customers flow is also something that is cannot be missed. Furthermore a careful and detailed analysis of the correct food & beverage costs, and a specific analysis of those direct and indirect costs whose weights on the company are fundamental in order to turn out the final price of each course meal and estimate the margin of profitability. To do so it is essential to give a particular attention to the raw material prices, to lower the inventory as much as possible and operate an accurate selection of a wide range of high quality food, drinks & coffees in order to distinguish itself from the mass.
Therefore, after having introduced all this changes and having quadrupled year after year the sales volume and halving costs, the candidate is now looking for something more tempting, enhancing his experience and developing his career internationally.
To evaluate the current staff, employee new staff wherever need it and training them through dvd sessions and briefings creating the good working team, well prepared, educated, presentable and skilled, in order to produce top quality customer service and enable to manage difficult situations with customers before involving Supervisors or Managers.
To understand the right number of employees the restaurant needs in order ensure always the best service especially in those very busy moments. Great ability to establish an agreement with a prime vendor establishing respectful, good and long lasting relationship to get always the cheapest price and the best payment formula. On the other hand looking always very attractive to new suppliers in order to get the best products at the cheapest price. A good talent to find the right balance between the usual suppliers and the new and random vendors is relevant for managing every company. Particular attention has been spent on the detailed selection of raw materials, as a matter of fact it is essential to create divine dishes and always a fresh menu. Effectively it can be extremely resourceful to have a winter menu and a summer menu due to the availability of the fresh raw materials.
Creating together with the Chef a very diverse menu making a distinction for each season or at least for winter and summer season, it is very influential in order to give to customers always fresh seasonal products. This kind of strategy is quite favorable for the company because it is a very good way of savings in terms of money while on the other hand it is a very strong point because this let the company to establish a very loyal relationship with the customer that he/she feels always important and curious but mostly he/she is willing to come again and again different time of year due to the ability of the company to delight him/her always with diverse divine specialities.
Managing floor operations as well as in the kitchen. First of all the entire crew must be able to enjoy while are working, to cooperate and perform as a big family like one big hand which goes in just one direction in order to run the entire restaurant operations smooth, high, fast and unique every day and night 365 day a year. To do so, it is crucial during the every day process, giving to the crew suggestions and encourage them to give every day 100%.
Doing briefings and short meetings at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day in order to get a feedback from the staff explaining them what our mission is and establish a trustable and long lasting relationship. Understand staff needs it is a key factor of the management in order to let them understand the company needs and find the best compromise. Finally, organising special events and unique nights it is essential to promote the company name, draw people attention, beat competitors and shows to the external environment that the company is always very dynamic, very attractive, young and professional.
Dealing with customers, e-mailing, answering on the telephone, making reservations, undertaking relationships with agencies and managing the financial sector of the hotel evaluating investments do to. Target selection, and food&drink price list, dealing with suppliers, providing to order food&drinks, staff manager, dealing with the e-agencies, reservations, welcome customers, checking the cleanings, checking the breakfast operations, providing to pay staff and suppliers, coffè and food selection Successfully undertook relationships with significant online travel agencies. Provided a professional level of support to team members. Analysing competitors. Welcome customers, showing them the hotel facilities, taking them to the room, booking the breakfast time, make them to feel like at home, e-mailing, answering on the telephone, making reservations, undertaking relationships with agencies, staff shifts and holiday, report revenues, managing the financial sector of the hotel, focus investments on those old part of the hotel in order to renew it and stay attractive at the customer’s sight.
University Studied modules including General Marketing and Tourism Marketing and Management. Dissertation title “Branding strategies in a time of economic crisis: a case study of the Hotel sector in Southern England”. Nowadays to be a leader in the Food and Beverage industry an upper level International Company must be able, in order to clearly distinguish itself, to reconsider the traditional way of cooking excellent food, by using exclusively extraordinary biological products. The quality of the raw material will reflect all its characteristics in the final course. Exactly the same thing it is possible to do with drinks, replacing those modern ultra sparkle energy drinks, with a variety of daily fresh biological squeezed fruits and vegetables. All these elements can be underlined by the use of technology that can be added value helping job operations to go smooth and clear. Passing from the fast food concept to the new low food method will be the key to turn the normal circle of life of a company into limitless. In this case the relationship with customers is fundamental in order to teach him/her the new taste to prefer biological quality food in order to feel a new taste a live a better healthy life. The ability of this young, good looking, well prepared and open mind candidate is to quickly understand the financial situation and the goals the company wants to achieve and manage it like if it would be his own one. Establishing immediately a very close, trusted and professional relationship with the staff, the candidate with his experience and his international point of view is able to quickly enhance to standards of the place combing basic products presented in a very characteristic style.