While the standards and dangers of improper food and alcohol service differ greatly—nobody’s going to get plastered on a wine-based sauce nor get food poisoning from vodka—the responsible service of alcohol and of food (RSA and RSF) really are two sides of the same coin. After all, most places that serve drink also serve food and vice versa, so most people working in the hospitality industry need to know how to responsibly serve them both.
Know How To Serve Food and Drink the Right Way
The primary concern of RSA and RSF courses is to teach students how to serve food and drink safely. RSF courses cover every aspect of food service from storage to handling—pretty much anything that doesn’t actually have to do with preparing the food. There are a lot of concerns that a good food server needs to be aware of, ranging from food handling to awareness of food allergies and how to minimise the risk of food-borne illness.
Alcoholic drinks don’t carry the same risk of disease and allergy that food does, although some allergies certainly do exist. Rather than protecting customers from potentially getting sick from kitchen-side mistakes, the most critical part of the responsible service of alcohol is to limit the damage when customers make their own mistakes.
Lots to Learn, But We Break it Down
In our RSA class listings you’ll find bartending courses where you can learn how to make all the classic cocktails and create new ones, too. You’ll also find courses that cover the “responsible” side of RSA: ones that teach you the alcohol-related laws of the nation of Australia and the state of Victoria as well as how to spot and deal with troubling developments. For instance, you’ll learn how to spot when a customer has had too much to drink and what can be done to prevent them from driving drunk. You’ll get tips on how to deal with problematic drunks, as well as when and how you should refuse service to a customer.
There’s a lot to know when it comes to RSA and RSF, but it’s far from impossible. Our courses teach valuable and widely applicable skills, and like any type of skill, the best way to learn these is to practice. Recognising this, the individual courses at RSA Melbourne are short and to the point, and each covers a very specific set of skills so that you can learn the principles of the course and get right on to applying them to your work.
By learning everything that you need to about both RSA and RSF, you’ll be well prepared to fulfil any role as a food and drink server, and having the RSF and RSA courses and certifications under your belt will also make you look more employable in food service. Bartenders serve plenty of food, even though drink is their main concern, and waiters serve alcohol just as frequently. RSA and RSF go hand in hand because almost no jobs deal only in food or drink.
