Brian Switala

Managing a team of 34 staff. Waiters, hostesses, runners. Managing 3 restaurants and 1 hotel.

Food and Beverage Operations Manager / General Manager - Private entity (Grand Pavilion and Harry's) - Seapoint

(2020-08 - 2025)

Managing a team of 34 staff. Waiters, hostesses, runners. Managing 3 restaurants and 1 hotel.

• Interacting with guests on a personal level
• Rostering of staff
• Working breakfast, lunch and dinner shifts and seeing to each guests personal needs
• Ordering of stock
• Maintaining par levels of all OE equipment and minimize breakages
• Handling guest complaints
• Training of all staff
• Attending a monthly profit and loss meeting monthly with exec management
• Making sure that the staff are properly trained according to leading hotels of the world standards (LQA)
• Time keeping of all staff to submit to HR at month end
• Disciplining staff in a fair manner and hold disciplinary enquiries when necessary
• Attend daily F&B meetings
• Attend weekly meetings with our banqueting co-ordinators to ensure the forecasting of staff are correct for the following week
• Conduct a 1on1 with each staff member every 3 months to discuss their strengths and areas that they need to improve on and then every 3 months do a follow up on how they are progressing
• Train our hostesses on how to do cash ups at the end of every work shift

Growing Business Assistant - ENSafrica

(2019-07 - 2020-03)

Responsible for a large part of communications while communications team leader was on maternity leave.

• Responsible for ENSights, Newsflashes, inbriefs, loading articles onto website
• Proof read and updated the company's PDF's so on the website
• Compiling contact lists for client events
• Up dating firm information on interaction

Events and Restaurant Manager - ENSafrica

(2018-09 - 2019-06)

• Managing the front of house staff
• Event planning
• Ensure that outside guests were taken care of and given an excellent experience at ENSafrica
• Send out quotes for clients
• Follow up on bank statements
• Dealing with complaints
• Meeting with clients before and on the day of the event
• Ensure all menus were up to date on a daily basis
• Updating the point of sales system
• Compiling detailed handovers
• Prepare budgets for the team
• Responding to emails within a 15 minute time frame
• Worked with outsourced companies if we could not supply what was needed

Events and Restaurant Manager - ENSafrica

(2018-09 - 2020)

Azure Fine Dining Restaurant Manager / Acting Assistant F&B Manager - The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa

(2013-02 - 2018-04)

Managing a team of 26 staff. Waiters, hostesses, runners.

• Interacting with guests on a personal level
• Rostering of staff
• Working breakfast, lunch and dinner shifts and seeing to each guests personal needs
• Ordering of stock
• Maintaining par levels of all OE equipment and minimize breakages
• Handling guest complaints
• Training of all staff
• Attending a monthly profit and loss meeting monthly with exec management
• Making sure that the staff are properly trained according to leading hotels of the world standards (LQA)
• Time keeping of all staff to submit to HR at month end
• Disciplining staff in a fair manner and hold disciplinary enquiries when necessary
• Attend daily F&B meetings
• Attend weekly meetings with our banqueting co-ordinators to ensure the forecasting of staff are correct for the following week
• Conduct a 1on1 with each staff member every 3 months to discuss their strengths and areas that they need to improve on and then every 3 months do a follow up on how they are progressing
• Train our hostesses on how to do cash ups at the end of every work shift
• Arrange wine and dine dinners once a month with prestigious wine farms

Acting Assistant Food and Beverage Manager - The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa

(2013-02 - 2018-04)

Overseeing the efficient running of the Azure restaurant while the supervisors were running the shift

• Ordering of stock
• Maintaining par levels of all OE equipment and minimize breakages
• Handling guest complaints
• Training of all staff
• Attending a monthly profit and loss meeting monthly with exec management
• Making sure that the staff are properly trained according to leading hotels of the world standards (LQA)
• Time keeping of all staff to submit to HR at month end
• Disciplining staff in a fair manner and hold disciplinary enquiries when necessary
• Attend daily F&B meetings
• Attend weekly meetings with our banqueting co-ordinators to ensure the forecasting of staff are correct for the following week
• Conduct a 1on1 with each staff member every 3 months to discuss their strengths and areas that they need to improve on and then every 3 months do a follow up on how they are progressing
• Train our hostesses on how to do cash ups at the end of every work shift
• Arrange wine and dine dinners once a month with prestigious wine farms

Room Service Manager - The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa

(2013-02 - 2018-04)

Manage a staff team of 1 HOD, 2 supervisors, 4 waiters in room service

• Over see that orders were being done correctly and that they were maintaining OE equipment
• Do regular floor checks to ensure no dirty trays were left outside rooms
• To ensure that all breakfast trays in the morning were going out on time
• Sitting in on their daily briefings to ensure everyone knew what to do during the course of the day and follow up
• To ensure that all gifting was going to the correct rooms
• To do walk arounds around the pool and terrace and interact with guests to find out what their plans were for the day

Leopard Bar Manager - The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa

(2013-02 - 2018-04)

We had a very strong HOD in the bar with 3 supervisors, 5 barmen, 6 waiters and 3 mini bar attendants. I would oversee that to make sure that everything ran smoothly during the day.

• Issue all stock needed with the storeman and make sure that par levels were correctly checked
• Would do room checks with the mini bar attendants to ensure that mini bar items were being charged to the correct rooms

Banqueting Manager - The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa

(2013-02 - 2018-04)

• Welcoming guests when they arrived
• Ensuring that all food was out on time for coffee breaks and lunch
• Would have a meeting with our very experienced Banqueting Manager every morning just to ensure he has all the correct information for the day

Floor Services Manager HOD - Mount Nelson Hotel

(2009-12 - 2013-02)

See to the efficient running of The Terrace Restaurant as well as room service and The Lounge

• Manage a guest seating of 120pax for lunch and dinner
• Manage the staff team of 12 waiters and 2 supervisors for the efficient running of service during lunch and dinner
• Ordering of stock
• Stock take and stock control of department
• Rostering and forecasting
• Attend profit and loss meetings
• All training of staff on LQA standards
• General staff training
• One on one interaction with guests
• Handling guest complaints and queries
• Cash up system and banking
• Ordering of Beverages and OE
• The efficient running of the Afternoon tea
• Clearing and replenishing the buffet
• Socializing with guests

Floor Services Manager - Room Service - Mount Nelson Hotel

(2009-12 - 2013-02)

Manage a staff team of 3 supervisors, 5 waiters and 3 mini bar attendants.

• Ordering of stock for minibars and stock control
• Regular stocktakes
• Gifting in rooms before guest arrived
• Controlling all F&B requirements in the rooms
• Training staff on LQA standards
• Cash up and banking
• Rostering and forecasting
• Attend budget meetings for forth coming year
• Handle all guest queries and complaints
• Manage the checkin of group bookings

Assistant Banqueting Manager - Mount Nelson Hotel

(2009-12 - 2010-12)

Seeing to the effective running of all functions and events at the Hotel.

• Managing a staff team of 30 employees
• Managing events such as weddings, corporate events and conferences
• Control of staffing costs to maximize and forecast profits
• Purchasing of stock
• Managing stock control
• Training of new employees
• Manage the cash up system
• Handle all customer complaints and queries
• Setting up of events
• Meeting with clients to plan their events
• Setting up of marquee tents, bars, dancefloors, tables and chairs and flowers
• Attend profit and loss meetings of the hotel
• Manage and run the famous High Tea at the hotel
• Stocking up bars
• Arranging all staff for functions

Matric - Pretoria Boys High School (1999 - 2003)

Diploma - Hotel and Catering Management - Damelin College (2005 - 2007)