Personality and Personal Growth:
​Traits for Food Service Workers

If you work in food service, you already know that you have to be on top of your game to be successful. You have to be able to make excellent food and keep all of the people happy at the same time. You need certain traits that will ensure your success. Explore your personality type and make sure that it includes certain traits. If you do not have these traits, you can create a personal development plan that will help you to create them. You will notice a positive difference in your food service abilities once you have these traits.

You Are Punctual

When you work in food service, you are expected to be on time so that all of the food is prepped and ready before the next service. Being even 10 minutes late can put you behind. Plus, being late can make you rush and rushing when you work in this industry can lead to injuries and mistakes.

You Are Safe

When it comes to the food, yourself and the people around you, you have to put a lot of stock into safety. You have to make sure that the food is properly prepared and that you are paying close attention to the tools that you use. This will make sure that everyone is completed in a safe manner.

You Pay Attention to Detail

The smallest details have a major impact in the food service industry. You have to be able to do all of the little things to ensure that the food that you are responsible for is tasty and safe for everyone that eats it. You also need to make sure that all of the equipment is working properly or else this can hinder your ability to make great food and run an efficient kitchen.

You Work Independently

You are going to do have to do a lot of the work in the kitchen on your own, especially when it comes to do the prep work. You have to be able to get this done without someone being over your shoulder and telling you what to do. You must be able to come to work and get started on what you need to get done.

You Work with a Team

Parts of food service require that you are working with a team of people to get the food out in a timely manner. You have to be able to get the food out for a specific table at the same time so you must work with the other cooks in the kitchen to make sure that you are all timing things properly. You must also be able to delegate whenever necessary to get the job done.

You Are Precise

When you work in food service, you have to do things like measure ingredients and these have to be measured exactly to make sure that the dishes come out exact as they are supposed to. You must be precise or else you cannot make the dishes properly.

You Are Very Clean

You know that working in a kitchen means that you have to want things to be clean and orderly. You have to take great pride in constantly cleaning and making sure that you are clean. You also have to know that when you are sick, you should not be at work because this puts your coworkers and all of the people you serve at risk for being sick.

You Are Very Creative

You will get opportunities in a kitchen to be creative and you need to take advantage of them. For example, you have to be creative with combining foods to make new and exciting dishes. You also have to be creative when it comes to solving problems that can occur. A kitchen environment is fast-paced and you have to be creative in being able to quickly take care of any issues that might occur.

As you can see, there are a number of personality traits that are important when you work in food service. Your personality type might already have these traits ingrained into your personality. However, if this is not true, you can create a personal development plan to work in them. When you are working on your personal development plan, make sure that you are taking your overall personality type into consideration. This will increase your chances of successfully being someone who has what it takes to be great in the food service industry.

References:

http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/64653.htm

www.temperaturealert.com