65200 Food and beverage servers

What this occupation covers

Food and beverage servers take patrons' food and beverage orders and serve orders to patrons. They are employed in restaurants, hotels, bars, taverns, private clubs, banquet halls and similar establishments.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 8 main duties for this code.

• Greet patrons, present menus, make recommendations and answer questions regarding food and beverages
• Take orders and relay to kitchen and bar staff
• Recommend wines that complement patrons' meals
• Serve food and beverages
• Prepare and serve specialty foods at patrons' tables
• Present bill to patrons and accept payment
• May order and maintain inventory of wines and wine glassware
• May perform sensory evaluation of wines.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 8 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 62020 Food service supervisors
• 64300 Maîtres d'hôtel and hosts/hostesses
• 60030 Restaurant and food service managers

Excluded from this code

• Food service supervisors (See 62020 Food service supervisors)
• Maîtres d'hôtel and hosts/hostesses (See 64300 Maîtres d'hôtel and hosts/hostesses)
• Restaurant and food service managers (See 60030 Restaurant and food service managers)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

assistant waiter/waitress - food and beverage services · banquet captain · banquet headwaiter/headwaitress · banquet server · banquet waiter/waitress · bar service waiter/waitress · beer server · buffet waiter/waitress · camp waiter/waitress · captain waiter/waitress · captain waiter/waitress - food and beverage services · captain waiter/waitress - formal service · caterer waiter/waitress · chief wine steward · club car attendant · cocktail waiter/waitress · commissary waiter/waitress · dining car steward · dining car waiter/waitress · dining room captain · dining room steward · food and beverage server · formal service waiter/waitress · headwaiter/headwaitress - food and beverage services

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school may be required.
• Formal waiters/waitresses may require completion of a one- or two-year apprenticeship program or College or vocational school courses.
• An apprenticeship program for food and beverage servers is available, but voluntary, in Quebec and Saskatchewan.
• On-the-job training is usually provided.
• Sommeliers may require courses in wine selection and service or Experience as a formal waiter/waitress.
• Responsible beverage service certification is usually required for employees serving alcoholic beverages.