8 Book Recommendations for Food Service Management Majors

Book Recommendations for Food Service Management Majors

Interested in majoring in the food service management field? In addition to successful completion of your coursework, you may find that broadening your knowledge base will not only help you in your schoolwork, but could also help you during networking or even interviews. The more industry knowledge you have, the more talking points you have!

Sure, you can expand your knowledge by watching television shows and YouTube videos, as well as surfing the web. If you haven't gotten into reading books pertaining to your major, maybe you should. Books give you a depth of topic that you won't find in videos or short web pieces.

As the culinary field has begun to expand, along with our nation's fascination with good food and the people who create it, the written offerings about personalities, restaurants, food, and the trade in general have also grown. You might want to delve into autobiographies about famous chefs or the beginnings of fabulous restaurants. You'll probably also want to peruse instructional guides about the industry.

Following are some suggestions for your reading list that should help enrich your understanding of your chosen field.

Instructional Guides

1. Food Service Management: How to Succeed in the High-risk Restaurant Business by Someone Who Did - by Bill Wentz | Atlantic Publishing Group

For those planning to go into the fast-paced food management field, this book offers sound advice on the fundamentals of food preparation, from predicting food costs, to achieving profit goals, conducting recipe cost analysis, and pricing a menu.

Bill Wentz writes from experience. He also discusses labor costs and controls, accounting systems, sanitation, profit and loss statements, inventory, and how to communicate effectively. He provides several dollops of wisdom on ethics, hospitality, and performance. The potential food service manager needs to know how to nurture customer relationships so people keep coming back. Wentz can show you how.

2. Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers - by Patti J. Shock | Wiley Restaurant Basics Series, Publisher

As anyone who's ever dreamed of starting up their own restaurant knows, the start-up itself is the easy part. You'll also have to ensure that people know about you and keep coming to eat at your establishment. Learn how to link your location and design with menu and pricing, all while you're developing your marketing plan and budget.

3. The Non-Commercial Food Service Manager's Handbook: A Complete Guide for Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Military, Prisons, Schools and Churches - by Douglas R. Brown and Shri Henkel | Atlantic Publishing Group Inc.

Douglas Brown has worked for national chains and independent restaurants, and is a noted author of several books on food service management. This award-winning, comprehensive book reveals just about everything you'll ever want to know about the non-commercial food service industry. It covers setting up accounts, equipment, hiring employees, statutes you should know, and marketing.

4. Managing Food and Nutrition Services for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professions. By Sari Edelstein, editor. Jones and Bartlett Learning, publisher.

This book offers case studies about real situations that will help students better understand food service theory and practice in culinary, hospitality, and nutrition settings. The editor provides assignments that help develop problem solving and critical thinking. Among the topics that are dealt with:

  • Food-service disaster and bioterrorism planning
  • Sanitation, food safety and HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points)
  • The latest techniques for assessing and improving quality in nutrition and food services
  • The latest software for food-service operations, including production, inventory, menu ticket generation, and patient information

Famous Chefs and Culinary Personalities

Your food-service industry reading list doesn't have to be limited to instructional material. You can have some fun and develop a wider appreciation for the opportunities offered in your chosen profession by also reading books penned by some of the most illustrious personalities in the culinary field. Biographies and classic cooking books written by and about famous chefs abound, such as these:

  1. Kitchen Confidential, by world-traveling chef Anthony Bourdain
  2. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by the late Julia Child, American chef and TV star
  3. Roasting in Hell's Kitchen, autobiography by British chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay
  4. Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line, by Michael Gibney. Witty account of what it takes to deliver a superior plate of food in an upscale New York restaurant.

8 Book Recommendations for Food Service Management Majors

Are you ready to take the first step towards your Bachelor of Science in Food Service Management? If you're interested in a future in food service management, ECPI University's Culinary Institute of Virginia could be the opportunity you've been waiting for. Connect with a friendly admissions advisor today to discuss your options.

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