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Studies & Degrees in Restaurant Service and Management

On this site, Restoration is the English label for the Spanish subject Restauración: the restaurant and food service trade. It covers the service side of hospitality, from waiting tables and bar work to running the dining room, the wine list, banqueting and catering operations. Cooking is taught alongside it, but as a separate qualification.

The same Spanish word is also used for the conservation and restoration of works of art, which is a different field taught in art schools and fine arts faculties. Most schools listed under this subject are hotel and culinary schools, and this page deals with food service.

What students learn

Training at the first level is practical. TodoFP, the vocational training portal of the Spanish education ministry, describes the intermediate course in restaurant services as learning to choose the type of food and beverage service for each occasion, prepare the room, equipment and tools, serve food and drinks, prepare drinks and simple dishes at the bar, and deal with customers. Food hygiene, wine and beverage knowledge and a foreign language are part of the course.

At the higher level the focus moves to management. Students learn to define the products and services of a restaurant business, design production and service processes, organise staff and purchasing, control costs and plan events and banquets.

Qualifications and levels

In Spain the subject is mainly taught through vocational training (FP) in the hospitality and tourism family:

  • Basic level: Título Profesional Básico en Cocina y Restauración
  • Intermediate level (grado medio): Técnico en Servicios en Restauración. TodoFP lists jobs such as waiter or waitress in a bar, café or restaurant, section head waiter, bartender and assistant sommelier.
  • Higher level (grado superior): Técnico Superior en Dirección de Servicios de Restauración, which prepares for posts such as food and beverage manager, maître, head of the dining room, head of catering operations and sommelier. A parallel qualification, Técnico Superior en Dirección de Cocina, covers kitchen management.
  • University degrees: bachelor's degrees in hotel management, tourism or culinary and gastronomic sciences include food and beverage management. A Spanish bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits and an official master's degree 60, 90 or 120.
  • Short courses and private diplomas: many hotel schools run their own programmes in sommelier studies, bar work or restaurant management. Ask the school what recognition the qualification has.

Where to study it

SpainExchange lists 15 active schools for this subject. Ten are in Spain, and there is one each in the United Kingdom, Italy, Uruguay, Bulgaria and the United States. In Spain most of the listed schools are in Catalonia, where several hotel schools run their own training restaurants.

  • CETT in Barcelona lists an intermediate vocational course in cooking, gastronomy and restaurant services taught in Spanish and Catalan, a bachelor's degree in Ciencias Culinarias y Gastronómicas and a bachelor's degree in Dirección Hotelera Internacional taught in Spanish and English.
  • The Escola de Hoteleria JOVIAT in Manresa teaches the intermediate courses in cooking and in restaurant and bar services together, so that students complete both in three years and obtain both qualifications.
  • The Escuela Universitaria de Hostelería y Turismo de Sant Pol, in Sant Pol de Mar, offers an intermediate vocational course in gastronomy and restaurant services, an official bachelor's degree in Gestión Hotelera y Turística and a Master in Hospitality Management taught in English.

Vocational courses in Spain are taught in Spanish or in the co-official language of the region, so international students need a working level of the language before they start. University programmes and master's courses in hotel management are more often available in English. When comparing schools, look at the hours spent in a real restaurant or hotel, the work placements, the language of instruction and whether the qualification is an official one.

Careers

Graduates work in restaurants, hotels, catering and banqueting companies, cruise ships and other transport, and institutional food service. With the higher qualification they can supervise a dining room or manage food and beverage operations, and some open their own business.

Official Spanish employment figures for these qualifications were not found, so the outlook here is for the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes food service managers as responsible for the daily operation of restaurants or other establishments that prepare and serve food and beverages. It projects that their employment will grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year, and notes that managers typically need several years of work experience in the industry. For waiters and waitresses it projects growth of 2 percent, with about 423,100 openings a year.

Frequently asked questions

Is restauración the same as cooking?

No. In Spanish vocational training, cooking and restaurant service are separate qualifications: Cocina y Gastronomía for the kitchen and Servicios en Restauración for the dining room and bar. Some schools, such as JOVIAT, let students take both.

Do I need a degree to work in a restaurant?

Not for entry-level service jobs. A vocational qualification or a hospitality degree helps with supervisory and management posts, which BLS says also require several years of experience.

Can I study restaurant management in English in Spain?

Vocational courses are taught in Spanish or a regional language. Some university and master's programmes are in English, for example the Master in Hospitality Management at Sant Pol and the bachelor's degree in Dirección Hotelera Internacional at CETT, which is taught in Spanish and English.

Does this subject include art restoration?

No. Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage is a separate field. This page covers restaurant and food service only.