We aim to provide a comprehensive mastery of front-of-house operations.

Mastering service techniques is important, but it's not the only thing. With this course, we aim to expand the boundaries of knowledge, offering students insights into psychology, team management, customer experience, dining room technology, communication, and more. In this way, the program cultivates in students the acumen to manage environments that are subject to constant changes, such as the dining room, benefiting both the team and the customer.

Practical information

• Campus-Based Learning at Basque Culinary Center

• Academic Period: february to march 2025

• Schedule: mondays and tuesdays 9:15 AM to 6:30 PM(CEST)

• 20 available spots

• Degree from the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences at Basque Culinary Center

• Inquiries and more information: cursosonline@bculinary.com

Program's objectives

• Develop leadership skills in front-of-house management.

• Refine customer service by teaching students to understand and meet diners' needs, solve problems, and build strong customer relationships.

• Master restaurant floor management by teaching operational management of the dining area, covering aspects such as planning and organization, human resource management, service coordination, and optimizing business profitability.

Career oportunities

We understand that professional opportunities can vary based on geographical location and individual preferences. However, with this program, participants can pursue roles and positions in the following areas:

• Director/Manager of Restaurant Dining Rooms: Graduates may access roles in restaurant management, leading teams, and ensuring excellent service.

• Customer Service and Restaurant Management Consultant: Graduates can provide specialized consulting services in customer service and restaurant management, assisting other establishments in improving their operations and service quality.

• Operations Manager in the Hospitality Industry: Graduates may also aspire to positions as operations managers in the broader hospitality industry, working in hotels, resorts, or other hospitality businesses.

• Trainer in Service and Customer Care: Those interested in education can become trainers or instructors in culinary training institutions, sharing their knowledge and experience in service and customer care with future professionals in the industry.

Are you an international student?

ARE YOU AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT?

Students enrolled in a course with a duration of fewer than 3 months typically do not need to apply for a visa in most cases. You can check the list of countries where citizens do or do not require a visa by referring to the information provided in Annex I (scroll down to find the relevant information).

If your nationality requires a visa, you should apply for a type C (Schengen) visa to enter Spain.

International students should travel with official documentation confirming their enrollment in the course and proof of the medical insurance coverage purchased, which will provide coverage during their stay in Spain.

SEEING IS BELIEVING!

Aimed at/Programme

The program is aimed at individuals with the following profiles:

• Graduates in Restaurant Service Management, Hospitality, or related disciplines.

• Front-of-house professionals such as waiters, maîtres, restaurant managers looking to advance their careers.

• Educators who want to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in front-of-house and customer service.

If you don't see yourself reflected in the points above and are interested in the course, please don't hesitate to contact us. The course coordination team will assess your education and experience and provide you with a response.

Curriculum

Module 1: The Role of the Dining Room in the Contemporary Restaurant

• The Host's Values

• From Social Protocols to Custom Protocols

• Socio-Gastronomic Culture

• Customer Typology in Fine Dining

• Evolution of Dining and the Dining Room

• New Trends and Values in the Dining Room

Module 2: Psychology and Communication Skills Applied to the Dining Room

• Leadership and Management Skills for Teams

• Achieving Efficient Emotion Management in Work Teams

• Talent Recognition and Assessment

• Conflict Management in Work Teams

• Emotional Intelligence Applied to Internal and External Customers

• Communication Techniques in the Dining Room: Oratory and the Art of Storytelling

• Body Language and Non-Verbal Communication in the Dining Room

• Increasing Sales in the Dining Room through Communication

Module 3: Designing Services, Experiences, and Sensory Aspects in the Dining Room

• Customer Experience Management: Managing the Customer's Experience through Service and Experience Design

• The Importance of Space: Interior Design, Architecture, and Decoration

• Sensory Aspects in the Dining Room: The Importance of Materials

Module 4: Management Tools for Improving Comprehensive Dining Room Management

• Labor Relations and People Management

• Purchasing and Supplier Management. Quality and Process Management

• Wine Cellar Management and Efficient Wine List Marketing

• Break-Even Point, Income Statements, and Management Indicators

• Menu Engineering and Clienting: Customer Strategies to Improve Revenue

• Dining Room Operations Manual and Documentation

• Advanced Service Techniques: Preparations and Creativity Visible to the Customer

Module 5: Restaurant Products: Immersion in the World of Wine, Beer, Coffee, Cocktails, and Other Products

• The World of Wine: Wine's Versatility as a Sales Tool

• Beer: Product Application for New Consumption Moments

• Creative and Signature Cocktails: Basic Principles of Mixology and Bartending Applied to the Dining Room

• Introduction to Other Products that Enhance the Dining Experience; Iberian Ham, Cheese, Bread, Spirits, etc.

Module 6: Technology in the Dining Room: An Approach to the Digital Era

• Digital Branding

• Digital Marketing

• Reservation Management and New Service Systems: POS, Handhelds, Electronic Menus, and Payment Systems

Module 7: Final Course Project

• Internal Analysis of a Business Model from a 360° Dining Room Perspective.

Calendar

• Academic Period: february to march, 2025

• Schedule: mondays and tuesdays, 9:15 AM to 6:30 PM (CEST)

Methodology

The program is delivered using the "learning by doing" methodology, which is based on the idea that the best way to learn is through practical experience and direct action. Instead of focusing solely on theory and passive instruction, this methodology promotes students acquiring knowledge and skills by actively participating in practical activities and real projects.

In line with this approach to learning, the course features the following components:

• Theoretical-practical sessions

• Practical exercises and cases applied to the restaurant and service

• Workshops on experience design, sensory aspects, and operations management

• Exercises and readings to activate knowledge

• Wine tasting sessions and pairings, beer pouring, perfect coffee preparation, mixology, and more.

• Masterclasses with industry professionals who share real and inspiring experiences

• Learning visits to restaurant establishments.

• This hands-on approach aims to provide students with valuable practical experience and skills in addition to theoretical knowledge.

Teachers and guests

Learn from Industry Experts with Experience!

Students will have the opportunity to learn from accomplished professionals in the field, recognized for their academic, intellectual, and social influence, as well as their impactful contributions. The program features a panel of instructors composed of experienced culinary experts with specialized knowledge in the field of Gastronomy.

Our program boasts an exceptional team of educators, encompassing highly skilled teaching staff and esteemed guest experts, each a luminary in their respective areas of program knowledge:

• F&B and Restaurant Management: Visionaries who have shaped the culinary landscape.

• Occupational Safety, Food Safety, and Sustainability: Guardians of well-being and environmental stewardship.

• Professionals: Oenologists, sommeliers, bartenders, and more: Masters of their craft.

• Emotional Intelligence, Psychology, Team Management, and Leadership: Guides to personal and professional growth.

• Customer Experience Managers: Pioneers in creating memorable dining experiences.

• Interior and Tableware Design: Artisans who craft the ambiance.

• Sensory Perception: Connoisseurs of taste, aroma, and presentation.

• Highly Regarded Maîtres and Sommeliers: Seasoned experts who elevate dining to an art form.

Fees / Grants

The total cost of the course is €3.090, which will be paid as follows:

• €150 upon application (fully refundable in case of non-admission).

• 40% of the total amount, which is €1.176, upon confirmation of admission, as a reservation fee.

• The remaining amount, which is €1.764, two weeks before the start of the program.

The course fee includes:

• Academic materials.

• Educational visits (transportation to the destination, visit arrangements, accommodation, and breakfast).

• Seminars and masterclasses included in the curriculum.

• Issuance and delivery of the diploma.

• Enrollment in the Basque Culinary Center alumni service: Bculinary Alumni.

Bank Financing options

We have financing agreements with Banco Sabadell, Caixa Bank, and Caja Rural. Please request more information at cursos@bculinary.com.

*Offers are valid for residents in Spain. Please check with the candidate's home country for financing options with trusted entities.

Bonification options

This course, offered by Basque Culinary Center, is partially eligible for funding through FUNDAE. For more information, please contact cursos@bculinary.com.

Refund and cancellation policy

Please refer to the detailed information regarding the refund policy.

Admission

THE COURSE WILL START IN FEBRUARY

The Basque Culinary Centre has a system of admissions that aims to ensure that our students have the academic level and personal competences required to complete the study plan successfully.

Student service

Accommodation

More information about accommodation here

Other accommodation options

Religious residences

These types of residence are small and have restricted entrance times. The rooms can be single or double and they do not always have an ensuite bathroom. Those that offer full board may not offer all the meals at weekends. Admission to these residences entails a personal interview with the families. The prices given below are approximate.
 

Female residences

Male residences

Secular residences

These are mixed and are larger than the religious residences. As a general rule, they do not have entrance times.

Mixed residences

Accommodation in shared flats

Prior authorisation from interested parties, the BCC Students'Office favours contact among admitted students so that they can organise themselves to share flats. Traditionally, students have created groups in social media to contact each other. The BCC also informs students about rented flat offers that the owners send us. The average price per student in a shared flat in Donostia-San Sebastian is around €300 per month.

Procedures before travelling

Students from European Union member countries, Norway, Switzerland. Liechtenstein and Iceland will not require a visa to reside in Spain.

Other international students will have to request a long-term student visa which will allow them to reside in Spain for a period longer than 180 days.

Visas should be requested from, and issued by the Diplomatic Missions and Spanish Consul Offices abroad.  It is important to obtain information on the required documentation and gather it as soon as possible, since the relevant authorities may take up to two months to notify that visas will be granted.

Once students have arrived in Donostia-San Sebastian, they have one month from the time of their arrival to request the foreign students’ card at the Foreign Residents Office in Donostia-San Sebastian. The students’ office of the BCC will provide the necessary information to students in this matter.

Sport service

Through the MU Sports Service, students can access team sports as well as individual sporting activities and Group trips (weekend skiing, surfing trips….).

Donostia-San Sebastian also has an extensive offer of municipal sporting facilities. The Kirol Txartela (sport card) permits access to all the city’s municipal facilities at a very economical price. For more information, go to the following link.

Cost of living info

Information on the COST OF LIVING in San Sebastian is given below:

Donostia - San Sebastián

Donostia-San Sebastian is the administrative capital of Gipuzkoa, one of the territories that integrates the Basque Country. There are two official languages: Spanish and Basque.

On the banks of the Bay of Biscay,, Donostia-San Sebastián is a small town within a natural framework of incomparable beauty. A holiday destination for monarchs and nobles during the Belle Epoque, Donostia-San Sebastian arose as a lordly city where tradition and modernity exist side by side.

If there is something that can compete with its spectacular beauty that is its gastronomy: cradle of the “new Basque cuisine”, Mecca of culinary avant-garde and the world capital of the pintxo, Donostia-San Sebastian is the city with the most Michelin stars per square metres in the world. The importance of its restaurants, its famous gastronomic societies and the quality of its raw material convert Donostia-San Sebastian into a gastronomic reference in the world. Not in vain, the British magazine, “Which”, chose Donostia-San Sebastian as the best gastronomic destination in the world.

Over the last few years, innovation and sustainability have been the two main pillars for the development of Donostia-San Sebastian, which has fostered an ideal city of pedestrians and bicycles.

Why study gastronomy in Donostia-San Sebastian?:

• ecause in Donostia-San Sebastian, as in the rest of the Basque Country, gastronomy forms part of society and good food is present at any event and celebration. Donostia-San Sebastian, a city of 185,000 inhabitants, has 120 gastronomic societies.
• Because four of the eight restaurants with three Michelin stars in Spain are in the Basque Country, three of them in Donostia-San Sebastian.
• Because of its cultural offer, which includes internationally renowned film and jazz festivals. Donostia-San Sebastian has been named as European Capital of Culture for 2016.
• Due to its beaches, ideal for practicing surf all year round.
• Due to its mountains, just 2.5 hours from the Pyrenees.
• Because it is a safe, accessible and welcoming city.

How to reach Donostia-San Sebastian

Donostia-San Sebastian is connected to the main Spanish cities by bus, train and plane. The airport of Donostia-San Sebastian is 20 kilometres from the city. It is a small airport with direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona. It has a bus service to the city centre. The international airport of Bilbao is one hour from Donostia-San Sebastian, and it is connected to the city with a frequent bus service from the actual airport. The international airport of Biarritz is 45 minutes away although it only offers a direct bus to Donostia-San Sebastian once a day. DISTANCE IN KMS.

• Bilbao – 99 km
• Biarritz – 50 km
• Madrid – 450 km
• Barcelona – 570 km

BCulinary Alumni

You can access all the information in the following link.