Fast Food and Food Court Crew Course (UK): Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Counter, drive-thru and delivery orders

Quick-service food means fast food restaurants, takeaways, coffee counters and food court outlets. Customers expect two things: speed and getting it right. Good crew members manage both by following the same steps every time.

Serving at the counter

1. Greet the customer as soon as they reach the counter. Look up, smile and say hello, even if you are in the middle of a small task.
2. Take the order on the till (EPOS) screen. Ask about sizes, drinks, dips and anything to leave out.
3. Suggest one relevant extra if it fits, such as a drink or a side. Ask once and accept "no" happily.
4. Read the order back from the screen. This catches mistakes before the food is made.
5. Take payment and tell the customer their order number and where to wait.
6. Check the order against the receipt or screen before you hand it over, and say what is in it.

The drive-thru

• Greet the car as soon as it pulls up to the speaker. Speak clearly and at a steady pace; the customer hears you over engine noise.
• Read the order back and ask the customer to check the screen if there is one.
• At the window, confirm the order number and total, then check the bag against the screen: food, drinks, sauces, straws and napkins.
• Make sure hot drink lids are on firmly and use a carrier for several drinks.
• Never lean out of the window or step into the lane, even if a car leaves without part of its order. Tell your manager.
• Never skip checks to save a few seconds. A wrong order costs more time later.

Delivery apps and collections

• Pack hot and cold items separately and seal bags if your store uses tamper stickers.
• Before handing over, check that the order number or code matches the courier's app.
• Couriers wait in the customer or collection area, never in the kitchen.
• For food sold online or by phone, FSA guidance says allergen information must be available before the purchase is completed and when the food is delivered. Follow your store's system for this, such as labels or notes in the bag.

Calorie labelling in England

In England, out-of-home food businesses with 250 or more employees (full-time and part-time) must show calories in kcal for each portion. This has applied since 6 April 2022. Calories must appear where customers choose their food: menus, menu boards, display cases, online menus and third-party delivery apps. Each menu page must also say "adults need around 2000 kcal a day" (children's menus do not need this statement). These rules apply in England only.

When something goes wrong

• If an item is wrong or missing, apologise and fix it quickly. Do not argue about who made the mistake.
• Food returned by a customer is thrown away. It is never served again.
• Never guess about allergens (see Lesson 2).

Tips and service charges

Since 1 October 2024, employers in England, Scotland and Wales must pass on all tips and service charges to workers without deductions, except in very limited cases such as income tax. Tips must be shared fairly and paid out by the end of the month after the month the customer paid them. Employers that receive tips regularly must have a written tipping policy that workers can see, and keep tipping records for three years. Workers can ask for their tipping record, once in any three-month period.

A cash tip that you receive and keep, with no employer control or involvement, is outside these rules. A pooled tip jar or card tips that the employer collects and shares are covered.

Topic quiz 1: Counter, drive-thru and delivery orders

Lesson 2: Food safety on the line

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) sets food safety guidance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Food Standards Scotland does this in Scotland. Local council food safety officers inspect food businesses.

Training and certificates

FSA guidance says food handlers do not have to hold a food hygiene certificate. However, your employer must be able to show that staff have the right skills and up-to-date training for their role, and should keep a record of it. Staff must also be trained to manage allergies. Many employers ask new crew to complete a food hygiene course. This course is background knowledge only and does not replace the training your employer gives you.

Handwashing

Wash your hands with soap and warm water and dry them properly. Wash them:

• before you prepare food
• after touching raw food
• after handling waste or emptying a bin
• after cleaning
• after blowing your nose or touching your face or hair
• after touching phones, light switches, door handles or the till
• after using the toilet

Personal hygiene

• Wear clean protective clothing provided by your employer.
• Tie hair back and wear a hat or hairnet.
• Do not wear watches or jewellery, except a plain wedding band.
• Do not smoke, spit, sneeze over food, eat or chew gum while handling food.

Illness

Tell your manager if you feel unwell, and also if anyone you live with has diarrhoea or vomiting. Staff with diarrhoea, vomiting, infected wounds or skin, fever and similar symptoms must stay out of food areas. After diarrhoea or vomiting, you must not return to work until you have had no symptoms for 48 hours.

Key temperatures

Cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is when bacteria spread between food, surfaces or equipment. Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from ready-to-eat food like salad and cheese. Use separate chopping boards, utensils and cleaning cloths for raw meat, fish and poultry. Keep equipment such as slicers separate too, or thoroughly disinfect it between uses. Wash your hands between tasks, especially before and after handling raw food.

Allergens

UK law names 14 allergens: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, and tree nuts. Food businesses must tell customers when food contains any of them.

• Loose food (served or wrapped when ordered): allergen information must be available for every item. It can be written, or given verbally with a clear written notice telling customers to ask staff. The FSA says written information backed up by a conversation works best.
• PPDS food (prepacked for direct sale): food packed on site before the customer orders, such as cartons of nuggets under a heat lamp or wrapped burgers waiting in a chute. Since 1 October 2021 (Natasha's Law), its label must show the name of the food and a full ingredients list with the allergens emphasised, for example in bold.
• Food put into packaging at the customer's request is not PPDS, and nor is food on an open tray.
• If you cannot avoid allergen cross-contact, tell the customer you cannot provide an allergen-free dish. Never guess.

Hygiene ratings and food safety records

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, inspectors give a food hygiene rating from 0 to 5, where 5 means hygiene standards are very good and 0 means urgent improvement is required. They look at how hygienically food is handled, the condition of the premises, and how food safety is managed (processes, training and systems). Displaying the rating is a legal requirement in Wales and Northern Ireland; in England it is voluntary but encouraged. Scotland uses the Food Hygiene Information Scheme, with results of Pass or Improvement Required.

Small businesses in England and Wales often use the FSA's Safer Food, Better Business pack, with a daily diary of checks. Northern Ireland uses Safe Catering guidance. Fill in any checks you are given honestly and at the time you do them.

Topic quiz 2: Food safety on the line

Lesson 3: Food courts and shared spaces

In a shopping centre food court, many outlets share one seating area. Centre management usually sets rules for every unit: opening hours, delivery times, use of service corridors and waste rooms, and fire exits. Ask your manager for the centre rules and follow them.

Shared seating and customers

• Everyone in the seating area is a centre customer, whichever outlet they bought from. Help them politely with directions, napkins or high chairs if you can.
• Treat all customers fairly. The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination as consumers in England, Scotland and Wales. Protected characteristics include age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. (Northern Ireland has its own equality laws.)
• Keep your counter, frontage and floor area clean. The centre's cleaners may clear tables, but a spill near your unit is everyone's job.

Spills and trips

HSE says slips and trips are the single most common cause of major injury in UK workplaces, and the jobs most affected include kitchen assistants, chefs and waiting staff. Spills from food or cooking are among the main causes of slips in kitchens, and most slips happen on wet or dirty floors.

• Deal with a spill at once: warn people, put out a sign and clean it, or stay with it while you call the cleaners.
• Keep boxes, bags and cables out of walkways and service corridors. HSE warns that unexpected obstacles cause serious trips.
• Report damaged flooring or leaks straight away.

Waste and recycling

Waste rules depend on which UK nation you work in.

Centre security and emergencies

Know how to contact centre security (a phone number or radio channel) before you start your first shift. Call them about:

• a bag or item left alone with no owner (do not touch or move it)
• a lost child or vulnerable adult (keep them with you in a visible place until security arrives; never take them into a back area)
• someone who is unwell or injured
• fights, threats or suspicious behaviour

Call 999 when there is an immediate danger to life or a crime is happening now, such as violence. Call 101 for police matters that are not emergencies, such as reporting a theft that happened yesterday. If the fire alarm sounds, follow your centre's evacuation plan: stop cooking, turn off equipment if it is safe and you are trained, guide customers to the exits and go to the assembly point.

Topic quiz 3: Food courts and shared spaces

Lesson 4: Rush hour, stations and teamwork

Lunch, school finishing time and weekend afternoons can bring long queues. A rush goes well when the team is ready before it starts.

Before the rush

• Stock your station: cups, lids, straws, bags, napkins, sauces and packaging.
• Check prep levels and holding cabinets against the forecast your manager gives.
• Empty bins and clean as you go, so you are not cleaning during the busiest minutes.
• Know your station and who is covering breaks.

Stations and calls

Most outlets split the work into stations, such as front counter, drive-thru, grill, fryer, assembly, runner and seating area. Stay at your station unless your shift lead moves you. If you are quiet and others are busy, ask your lead where to help.

Priorities when it is busy

When everything feels urgent, use this order: safety first, then food safety, then accuracy, then speed. Speed comes from good habits, not from shortcuts.

• Wash your hands when moving from raw food to ready-to-eat food, however busy it is.
• Follow hold times. Food that has passed its time is thrown away and cooked fresh.
• Be careful with shortcuts that change the law. For example, FSA guidance says drinks poured and lidded before customers order are PPDS and need a full label.
• If a customer is waiting a long time, acknowledge them and give an honest time.

Stress and teamwork

Rushes are stressful. Take a breath, focus on one order at a time and tell your shift lead early if you are falling behind.

Rest breaks

GOV.UK sets out these usual rest rights. Your contract may give more. Northern Ireland has its own guidance on nidirect.

Whether the break is paid depends on your contract. HSE says young people are at more risk of injury in their first six months of a job and may need more supervision, so ask questions whenever you are unsure.

Lifting deliveries

Boxes of frozen food and drink syrup are heavy. The law does not set fixed weight limits; instead, employers must avoid, assess and reduce manual handling risks. HSE's good handling tips: plan the lift, keep the load close to your waist with the heaviest side next to you, keep your feet apart, do not twist your back, keep your head up, move smoothly, do not lift more than you can easily manage, and put the load down before adjusting it.

Topic quiz 4: Rush hour, stations and teamwork

Lesson 5: Hot equipment, difficult customers and late shifts

Fryers and hot surfaces

• Follow the manufacturer's instructions when emptying a fryer, as HSE advises, and only filter or empty a fryer when you are trained.
• Shake ice off frozen food and lower baskets slowly. Water makes hot oil spit and bubble.
• Never leave a fryer unattended, and never throw water on burning oil. Raise the alarm, turn off the heat if it is safe, and only use a fire blanket or the right extinguisher if you are trained.
• Use oven gloves and warn people with "Hot!" when carrying trays.

Burns

NHS advice: cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes as soon as possible. Do not put creams, oils or butter on it. Afterwards, lay cling film over it without wrapping it around. Large or deep burns, and burns from chemicals or electricity, need A&E or 999. Report every burn to your manager.

Knives

Carry knives point down, close to your side. If a knife falls, step back and let it land; never try to catch it.

Difficult customers

HSE defines work-related violence as any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work. This includes verbal abuse and threats in person, online or by phone, as well as physical attacks.

1. Stay calm and listen without interrupting.
2. Acknowledge the feeling: "I can see this is frustrating."
3. Explain what you can do, such as remaking the order, and offer a choice where you can.
4. Keep your voice low and steady. Do not argue, and do not touch the customer.
5. Call your manager if the customer stays angry or asks for someone senior.
6. Step away to safety and call 999 if there is a threat of violence or someone is hurt.

Report every incident to your employer, even if you feel fine, so they can support you and improve safety. HSE expects employers to assess the risks, put controls in place, plan for incidents, record and learn from them, and support workers afterwards, including people who saw what happened.

Late shifts and working alone

HSE says employers must manage the risks before anyone works alone, and make sure lone workers can get help quickly if they are hurt or ill. HSE also notes that lone workers and new or vulnerable workers may be at greater risk of violence.

• Lock customer doors at closing time and do not open them for anyone after hours.
• Keep cash in the safe and follow your cash-up procedure.
• Leave with a coworker if you can, and use well-lit routes to transport or your car.
• Make sure someone knows when you have finished and left.

Topic quiz 5: Hot equipment and tough customers