Job Description

Located at the head of Lake Ontario and within the municipalities of Burlington and Hamilton, Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) is the largest botanical garden in Canada and one of the nation’s earliest nature sanctuaries. Comprising some 2700 acres of protected wetlands, botanical collections, parkland and display gardens, and within easy access of millions of nature-starved urban citizens, RBG dedicates its expertise in horticulture, conservation, science and education to connect people, plants and place for the purpose of nurturing and preserving healthy growing life on our planet. RBG directs its efforts, and seeks the support of individuals and organizations, to realize its vision of a world in which everyone is awake to the beauty, diversity and necessity of plants, and from that consciousness more actively works together to protect and preserve plant species and habitats and, by extension, our planet.

Summary

The Maitre D’ is a client-facing supervisory position supporting RBG’s Food and Beverage and Rentals teams. Reporting to the Food and Beverage Director, the Maitre D’ works with clients in the lead up to their event to plan the details of their day. On event day, the Maitre D’ supervises service staff, facilitates communication between the Front-of-House and Back-of-House, and ensures the success of each event.

Responsibilities

Pre-Event:

• Meet with event clients to discuss and select catering menu options, prepare floor plans, event and food service schedule, and additional event details as related to venue, catering, and event execution (such as tasting events).
• Tracking of all communications and event details in RBG’s CRM (Ungerboeck)

Event Execution:

• Ensure that venue and equipment has been set up according to floor plan and event order, including set-up of dining ware and service and storage areas, and placement of décor and all special requests from client
• Take responsibility for inventory and cash handling; ensuring that RBG’s cash handling protocols are followed.
• Act as liaison for client and point of contact for all third-party vendors, anticipating and addressing client and vendor needs, and supporting as needed with load-in, load-out, and wayfinding
• Supervise bar and serving staff: Hosting a pre-event meeting for all serving staff, assigning specific responsibilities for servers, monitoring workload and supporting in various roles as required
• Ensure event runs to schedule, overseeing key event activations (entrances, speeches) and leading the troubleshooting effort should issues arise
• Directing food and beverage service in accordance with the event order and meal selection plan; expediting and adjusting meal service and clean-up as required, and ensuring clear communication between kitchen and servers at all times
• Ensuring post-event load-out is completed, and securing venue.

Post-Event:

• Post-event follow-up with client and reporting to RBG staff as necessary

General:

• Follow all company safety and security policies and procedures at all times
• Follow food and beverage handling policies at all times