When writing your food service cover letter, focus on how you can help provide a great dining experience to guests or customers. Express your interest in the specific role or hiring restaurant, and cite your related skills like payment processing or menu memorization.
This guide will help you write a cover letter that gets you interviews for your next job in food service.
Food Service Cover Letter Templates and Examples
- Entry-Level
- Mid-Career
- Senior-Level
How To Write a Food Service Cover Letter
A great food service cover letter is focused. Even more than the resume (which may have recent non-service industry work), center your cover letter on whatever details most qualify you for the job opening at hand. Below, we outline what to include in a cover letter and explain how you can properly focus each section.
1. Heading
At the top of the page, include:
- Your resume contact header, which should give your full name, address, email, phone number, and LinkedIn or other social accounts if applicable
- The date
- The recipient’s name, title, organization, and contact information (when available)
Note: Consider adding a professional title to your contact header, as in the example below. In many cases, you can copy over the title from your resume profile summary. By including a title you’ll set a clear focus right away and show hiring managers you fall in the category of applicants they’re looking for.
Example
Emina Renate | Server
[email protected] | (876) 543-2109 | 678 My Boulevard, Salt Lake City, UT 89012
February 7, 2024
Rebekah Simon
Senior Hiring Manager
Buffalo Wild Wings
(765) 432-1098
[email protected]
2. Salutation
Address your recipient by name as in the first example below – the fastest way to show you’re sending a job-specific letter and not a boilerplate. If you can’t find the person’s name, use a variation of “Dear Hiring Manager” so your greeting is still tailored somewhat to each job opening.
For traditional job applications, end your salutation line with a colon. But use a comma instead if you know your recipient or the employer has a casual work culture (sometimes revealed by the job posting). In rare cases, you may also trade out the standard “Dear” for a more casual “Greetings,” “Hello,” “Hi,” or even “Good morning.” Use your discretion and take cues from the job posting or company website when possible.
Examples
Dear Mr. Martinez:
Dear Empellon Hiring Manager:
3. “Hook” or introduction
Catch the reader’s attention by citing an achievement from your work history or a key credential the employer seeks in applicants. Feel free to adapt a bullet highlight from your resume, as some repetition across documents is fine and can make your job application more cohesive. But choose carefully. The highlight that opens your letter is often your first impression on employers. Pick one that’s compelling and relevant to the job so managers can quickly envision you adding value to their facility.
As an alternative to the work highlight approach, you can set yourself apart by networking. Begin your letter by citing any personal or professional connections you have with the hiring manager. If someone at the organization alerted you to the job, use a line like “I was excited to hear from your colleague [Name] about [Restaurant’s]’s new food service position.” Or, if you’ve already met your recipient, mention that with a line like “It was great speaking with you at the job fair last week.”
Example
Last year, I launched a diner loyalty program that increased bookings by 45% during quiet periods and grew overall revenue by 32%. I’m excited about the chance to support similar innovation and growth at your restaurant location.
4. Job- or employer-specific paragraph(s)
Here’s where you can bring your candidacy into sharper focus. Read the job posting again closely, then write two or three sentences in response to it. What details about the food service job or employer caught your attention, and why? Consider quoting any text from the job posting that resonates with you. With this targeted approach, you can show the hiring manager you’re interested in their specific job opportunity.
Following this explanation, cite a few more of your skills or achievements, possibly as bullet points.
Example
As a customer-focused server with over two years of experience, I admire Buffalo Wild Wings’s reputation for outstanding service. I’d love to help uphold that reputation while maintaining the promptness required by your fast-paced work environment. My recent work highlights include the following:
- Helping deliver a team training initiative that raised overall guest satisfaction by 43%
- Increasing profits 23% during my shifts by suggesting wines and cocktails to complement dishes
- Driving promotions that increased uptake in the restaurant’s guest loyalty program by 65%
5. Conclusion
Finally, request an interview and thank the hiring manager for their consideration. Consider briefly restating your food service skills to carry the letter’s focus through the last paragraph. To end your cover letter, use a simple closing like “Sincerely” or “Best regards” and then your name.
Example
I hope to speak with you soon about how I can help your restaurant deliver high-quality service to guests. Please call or email me to schedule an interview. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Allison Rosenberg
Food Service Cover Letter Tips
1. Show you can ensure positive dining experiences
Start your letter strong with a detailed example of your success in food service. For instance, maybe you recently earned a near-perfect guest feedback score. Or maybe you helped a restaurant manager streamline the preparation of large food orders.
Example
As a waitress at an upscale Mexican restaurant, I’ve won multiple service awards and found ways to enhance collaboration between the front-of-house and back-of-house staff. I believe my fine dining experience will allow me to thrive in Empellon’s advertised waitress position.
2. Tell why you’re a good fit
Write about how your work background compares to the position and to the hiring restaurant’s size, cuisine, clientele, or business model. For example, maybe the role is in room service for a large hotel, similar to one of your favorite recent jobs. Or perhaps the restaurant has a customer service philosophy that aligns with your own.
Example
Your restaurant’s reputation for food and service quality aligns with my four years of waitress experience. Throughout my career to date, I’ve gained advanced skills in team training, product promotions, and system improvement.
3. Highlight your other strengths
Add a short list of bullet points on your other key food service skills, like teamwork, payment processing, or menu memorization. With each bullet point, show how you applied your skills to elevate guests’ dining experience. For instance, you could show leadership skills by describing a service training program you created and how that raised customer satisfaction scores.
Example
My recent achievements include the following:
- Raising guest satisfaction from 78% to 92% by enhancing communication protocols and training servers on how to use the point-of-sale (POS) system for custom items
- Generating 130% of sales goals by successfully promoting daily specials and upselling menu items to guests
- Training over 15 new servers on restaurant standards, menu items, and daily operations
Food Service Text-Only Cover Letter Templates and Examples
- Example #1
- Example #2
- Example #3
Allison Rosenberg | Waitress
[email protected] | (123) 456-7890 | 123 Bedford Avenue, New York, NY 12345
November 7, 2024
Mr. Hector Martinez
Hiring Manager
Empellon
(987) 654-3210
[email protected]
Dear Mr. Martinez:
As a waitress at an upscale Mexican restaurant, I’ve won multiple service awards and found ways to enhance collaboration between the front-of-house and back-of-house staff. I believe my fine dining experience will allow me to thrive in Empellon’s advertised waitress position.
Your restaurant’s reputation for food and service quality aligns with my four years of waitress experience. Throughout my career to date, I’ve gained advanced skills in team training, product promotions, and system improvement. I’ve demonstrated these skills through my recent achievements, which include the following:
- Raising guest satisfaction from 78% to 92% by enhancing communication protocols and training servers on how to use the POS system for custom items
- Generating 130% of sales goals by successfully promoting daily specials and upselling menu items to guests
- Training 15+ new servers on restaurant standards, menu items, and daily operations
I hope to speak with you soon about how I can help your restaurant deliver high-quality service to guests. Please call or email me to schedule an interview. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Allison Rosenberg
Food Service Cover Letter Frequently Asked Questions
What traits are useful to highlight on my cover letter?-
Desired qualities in food and beverage serving and related workers include attentiveness, collaboration, reliability, and a service mindset. Consider which of these traits best describe you, then give an example or two of how you’ve shown them in a work setting.
What’s the difference between a resume and a cover letter? -
A resume may show you’re qualified for the job, but a cover letter shows you want it. More than just repeating resume points, your cover letter should explain why the job caught your eye or why the organization strikes you as a great fit, setting the stage for a positive interview. In this way, a good cover letter sharpens your application by letting you say directly what your resume can only indicate.
How long should my cover letter be?-
No more than one page, or around 250 words. Resist the urge to tell your whole career story, even if you have an extensive background in food service. Give just enough detail to pique hiring managers’ interest so they look closely at your resume.
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