Sommelier to restaurant host/restaurant hostess
A sommelier already meets 19% of what the restaurant host/restaurant hostess role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
72.8/ 100
1 How much of what a restaurant host/restaurant hostess is expected to do is already part of a sommelier’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the restaurant host/restaurant hostess role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A restaurant host/restaurant hostess role treats 3 of its required skills as things a sommelier already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist customers
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- maintain customer service
What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 3 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A restaurant host/restaurant hostess role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a sommelier background worth leading with.
- already held assist customers assisting and caring
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene assisting and caring
- already held maintain customer service communication, collaboration and creativity
All 3 carried skills, including the 3 the restaurant host/restaurant hostess role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn seat customers according to the waiting list required
- still to learn arrange tables required
- still to learn assist VIP guests required
- still to learn welcome restaurant guests required
- still to learn accommodate special seating required
- still to learn assist guest departure required
- still to learn present menus required
- still to learn handle customer complaints required
- optional, not held advise guests on menus for special events optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held take food and beverage orders from customers optional
- optional, not held work in a hospitality team optional
- optional, not held assist clients with special needs optional
- still to learn check dining room cleanliness required
- still to learn process reservations required
- optional, not held clean surfaces optional
- optional, not held devise special promotions optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a restaurant host/restaurant hostess role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 seat customers according to the waiting list practise this
- 02 arrange tables practise this
- 03 assist VIP guests practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 3 skills that carry over
- already held assist customers skill
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise guests on menus for special events optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held take food and beverage orders from customers optional
- optional, not held work in a hospitality team optional
- optional, not held assist clients with special needs optional
- optional, not held clean surfaces optional
- optional, not held devise special promotions optional
14 held skills the restaurant host/restaurant hostess role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply foreign languages in hospitality skill
- not needed by the target role check wine quality skill
- not needed by the target role compile wine lists skill
- not needed by the target role decant wines skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role organise wine cellar skill
- not needed by the target role prepare alcoholic beverages skill
- not needed by the target role recommend wines skill
- not needed by the target role select glassware for serving skill
- not needed by the target role serve wines skill
- not needed by the target role sparkling wines knowledge
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role upsell products skill
- not needed by the target role wine characteristics knowledge
Common questions about this move
Can a sommelier become a restaurant host/restaurant hostess?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A sommelier already covers 19% of what a restaurant host/restaurant hostess is expected to do: 3 skills carry over, 3 of which the restaurant host/restaurant hostess role treats as required.
What skills does a sommelier need to become a restaurant host/restaurant hostess?
10 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is seat customers according to the waiting list.
How hard is the move from sommelier to restaurant host/restaurant hostess?
Its learning distance is 72.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.