Hospitality and Catering: an Introduction for New Starters

Every day, hospitality staff cook breakfasts, pour coffee, make beds, carry luggage and check that a customer is old enough to buy a drink. This course is a short introduction for anyone starting out: how the industry works, the jobs and careers in it, and what employers expect from you on your first shifts.

Who this course is for

• Job seekers looking for their first hospitality job
• School and college leavers, and people changing career
• New starters in kitchens, restaurants, cafés, bars, hotels and catering
• Employers who want a short induction course for new staff

What you’ll learn

• The hospitality industry: places to stay, places to eat and drink, and catering away from the high street
• Jobs in kitchens, front of house, bars and hotels, career routes, apprenticeships, and the basic rules on hours, breaks and pay
• Uniform, dress codes, personal hygiene and the habits to avoid around food
• Being reliable: time-keeping, reporting absence, planning tasks, teamwork and asking for help
• Customer service, disabled customers and assistance dogs, dealing with requests and barriers to communication
• The law when serving food and drink: licensing, age checks, measures, prices, honest descriptions, smoke-free premises and personal data

How it works

Six lessons, each split into short topics with a “Remember” box at the end. Every lesson finishes with its own assessment of 10 questions drawn at random from its question bank, so no two attempts are the same. The course ends with a final exam of 20 questions drawn from a bank of more than 40 covering everything. The pass mark is 80% and you get three attempts at each assessment. Finish the course and your certificate, with your name and a reference anyone can check, is issued to My Account → Certificates.

12 months’ access · any device · certificate the moment you pass

Worth being clear about: this is a short introduction for people starting work in hospitality. It is not a school course, it is not a regulated qualification, and it does not teach cooking, serving or alcohol licensing skills. It points you to our full Food Hygiene Awareness, Food Allergy Awareness and Health and Safety courses for those subjects.

Course content

• Before you startLesson
• The hospitality industry: where people eat, drink and stayLesson
• What “hospitality” meansTopic
• Places to stayTopic
• Places to eat and drinkTopic
• Catering away from the high streetTopic
• What hospitality businesses offerTopic
• Scenario: One street, many outletsTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Stay, eat and drink, or away from the high street?Topic
• Lesson Assessment: The hospitality industry: where people eat, drink and stayQuiz
• Jobs, careers and ways of workingLesson
• Jobs in the kitchenTopic
• Jobs front of house and behind the barTopic
• Jobs in hotelsTopic
• Where a hospitality career can leadTopic
• Working patterns, hours and payTopic
• Where to find information on training and careersTopic
• Scenario: Sam changes careerTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Kitchen, front of house or hotel?Topic
• Lesson Assessment: Jobs, careers and ways of workingQuiz
• Looking the part: uniform, presentation and hygieneLesson
• Why uniform mattersTopic
• Dress codes for different jobsTopic
• Looking after your uniformTopic
• Personal hygiene and a professional appearanceTopic
• Poor practices to avoidTopic
• Scenario: Jamie’s first shiftTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Ready for a kitchen shift?Topic
• Lesson Assessment: Looking the part: uniform, presentation and hygieneQuiz
• Being reliable: time, attendance and teamworkLesson
• Why being on time mattersTopic
• If you are going to be late or absentTopic
• Planning your tasks and working to timeTopic
• Communicating in a teamTopic
• Know your limits and ask for helpTopic
• What makes a good teamTopic
• Scenario: A short-staffed SaturdayTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Doing a task wellTopic
• Lesson Assessment: Being reliable: time, attendance and teamworkQuiz
• Customer service and communicationLesson
• What good customer service isTopic
• Why good customer service mattersTopic
• Different customers, different needsTopic
• Communicating with customersTopic
• Dealing with requests and problemsTopic
• Barriers to communicationTopic
• Scenario: A busy morning at the caféTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Putting a problem rightTopic
• Lesson Assessment: Customer service and communicationQuiz
• The law when serving food and drinkLesson
• Who is responsible, and what happens if the law is brokenTopic
• Alcohol licensing in outlineTopic
• Who must not be sold alcoholTopic
• Measures and pricesTopic
• Describing food and drink honestlyTopic
• Fair treatment, smoke-free premises, personal data and drugsTopic
• Scenario: Friday night at the barTopic
• 🎮 Practice: Serve or refuse?Topic
• Lesson Assessment: The law when serving food and drinkQuiz
• Course summaryLesson
• Final examQuiz