Job Details: Job Location: Catawba Two Kings Casino - Kings Mountain, NC, Position Type: Full Time, Salary Range: Undisclosed, Position Summary
The Food & Beverage Trainer is responsible for designing, delivering, and continuously improving training programs across the entire Food & Beverage and Culinary operation at Catawba Two Kings Casino. This role covers every department within the F&B division — including fine-dining restaurants, the Sports Bar, quick-service and food hall concepts, casino floor beverage service, in-room dining, the Team Dining Room, banquet and event support, and all back-of-house culinary teams.
A core function of this role is serving as a certified ServSafe Proctor, responsible for hosting, administering, and documenting ServSafe Food Handler and ServSafe Alcohol classes and examinations for all F&B and culinary employees property-wide. The F&B Trainer partners closely with outlet managers, the Director of Beverage, and the Property Executive Chef to ensure every team member — from new hire to tenured lead — is equipped with the product knowledge, service skills, systems proficiency, and safety standards necessary to deliver an exceptional guest experience. This is a hands-on, property-wide role that blends curriculum development with live facilitation, floor-level coaching, and ongoing compliance management.
Key Responsibilities & Duties
Training Program Development — FOH & Culinary
- Design, develop, and maintain comprehensive training curricula for all F&B and culinary positions including servers, server assistants, hosts, bartenders, barbacks, beverage servers, QSR attendants, baristas, cashiers, room service attendants, banquet servers, line cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers, and kitchen supervisors.
- Build and maintain role-specific onboarding programs covering service standards, menu knowledge, food safety protocols, POS systems (Agilysys InfoGenesis, IGfly), Smart Bar, FreedomPay, Hoteza, and HotSOS as applicable to each role.
- Develop training materials including SOPs, reference guides, menu study tools, recipe cards, tasting notes, skills checklists, and written certification assessments for all outlets and culinary departments.
- Create and maintain a property-wide F&B and culinary training calendar aligned to hiring timelines, pre-opening milestones, menu rollouts, and ongoing development needs.
- Partner with the Sommelier on wine and beverage education materials for restaurant FOH teams; partner with the Director of Beverage on casino floor beverage server training and BPOD performance tools; partner with the Property Executive Chef on culinary skills, food safety, and kitchen standards training.
ServSafe Proctoring & Certification
- Serve as a certified ServSafe Proctor for Catawba Two Kings Casino; host, facilitate, and administer ServSafe Food Handler and ServSafe Alcohol classes and examinations for all F&B and culinary employees.
- Schedule and coordinate ServSafe class sessions aligned to new hire onboarding waves, pre-opening certification timelines, and recertification requirements.
- Ensure all F&B and culinary team members — FOH, BOH, and beverage — are ServSafe certified prior to deployment in their assigned roles.
- Maintain accurate certification records, exam documentation, and renewal tracking for all employees; coordinate with HR on certification compliance requirements.
- Stay current on ServSafe program updates, proctor requirements, and National Restaurant Association Education Foundation standards.
New Hire Onboarding & Certification
- Lead all F&B and culinary new hire orientation and onboarding sessions; ensure every team member is trained and certified before independent deployment.
- Facilitate hands-on service training, role-plays, and observed skill check-outs for servers, bartenders, beverage servers, line cooks, and all other positions.
- Administer and document skills assessments, menu tests, food safety evaluations, and certification completions for all F&B and culinary team members.
- Coordinate with outlet managers and the Property Executive Chef on new hire training schedules, training shift coverage, and readiness-to-solo sign-off.
Ongoing Training & Performance Support
- Conduct regular observations across all F&B outlets and culinary departments; provide real-time coaching and feedback on service technique, food handling, menu accuracy, and guest engagement.
- Identify performance gaps through observation, guest feedback, and manager input; develop and deliver targeted retraining programs for both FOH and BOH teams.
- Lead ongoing product knowledge sessions including menu updates, seasonal feature rollouts, new cocktail program introductions, wine list changes, and culinary technique refreshers.
- Facilitate recertification training for existing team members on a scheduled and as-needed basis.
- Support outlet managers, kitchen supervisors, and shift leads with coaching tools, performance documentation frameworks, and progressive discipline guidance related to training compliance.
Systems & Compliance Training
- Train all applicable team members on Agilysys InfoGenesis POS, IGfly handheld ordering, Smart Bar cocktail system, FreedomPay payment processing, Hoteza (in-room dining), and HotSOS.
- Ensure all team members complete responsible alcohol service training (Dram Shop Act, ServSafe Alcohol) and food safety certification prior to serving guests or handling food.
- Maintain comprehensive training records, certification logs, ServSafe documentation, and compliance files for all F&B and culinary team members.
- Partner with HR on onboarding compliance, gaming license requirements, and pre-employment checklists for new F&B and culinary hires.
Pre-Opening & Special Projects
- Lead the pre-opening F&B and culinary training effort for the primary Catawba Two Kings Casino property, including mass onboarding and certification of all F&B and culinary staff across every outlet and department.
- Coordinate training timelines, classroom scheduling, ServSafe exam sessions, and trainer resources in partnership with the Director of F&B, Property Executive Chef, and outlet managers.
- Support stress test events, soft opening periods, and grand opening readiness by ensuring all team members are trained, certified, and service-ready.
- Develop and maintain post-opening training standards, onboarding protocols, and continuous improvement frameworks for the long-term operation.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of Food & Beverage.
Qualifications: Qualifications & Skills
- Minimum 3–5 years of food and beverage or culinary experience with at least 2 years in a training, education, or supervisory capacity in a hotel, casino, or multi-outlet restaurant environment required.
- Active ServSafe Proctor certification required, or ability and commitment to obtain certification prior to starting the role.
- Demonstrated experience developing and delivering training programs across multiple F&B and/or culinary formats (fine dining, casual, bar, QSR, beverage service, back-of-house) strongly preferred.
- Strong working knowledge of restaurant service standards, food safety and sanitation requirements, and culinary operations best practices.
- Experience with Agilysys InfoGenesis, IGfly, Smart Bar, or comparable casino F&B systems preferred.
- Must hold ServSafe Food Handler and ServSafe Alcohol Certification prior to starting the position.
- Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid Catawba Gaming License.
- Must adhere to all Catawba Gaming Commission regulations, company policies, and procedures.
- Must have the ability to work flexible schedules across all dayparts including nights, weekends, and holidays to support training coverage across all shifts.
- Must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; proficiency in Microsoft Office or equivalent tools for curriculum development and documentation.
Physical & Work Environment Requirements
- Ability to stand and walk for extended periods across multiple outlets and departments throughout the property.
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
- Work in varied environments including fine-dining restaurants, casino floor, bar areas, kitchen and BOH production spaces, and QSR locations.
- May occasionally be exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke, high noise levels, and kitchen heat environments.
- Must meet all casino employment and background check requirements.