Alex Susskind is a Professor of Food and Beverage Management and is currently serving as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Professor Susskind earned his Ph.D. in Communication from Michigan State University with a specialization in organizational communication and his MBA with a concentration in personnel and human relations. He earned his undergraduate degree at Purdue University in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management and is also a trained chef with a degree in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Prior to starting his career in academia, Professor Susskind was a chef and restaurant operator for both independent and multi-unit restaurant companies in the Northeastern and Southeastern United States.
Food and Beverage ManagementCornell Certificate Program
Overview and Courses
In this certificate program, you’ll learn key concepts, strategies, and practical skills necessary for managing, owning, and operating a successful restaurant, bar, or other food and beverage business.
Develop confidence in your ability to manage your business’s finances and learn key operational functions like menu design, income statement analysis, pricing, margin analysis, supply chain management, guest service processes, and employee engagement and performance.
This program includes a year of free access to Symposium! These events feature several days of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore the Hospitality industry’s most pressing topics. Symposium events are held several times throughout the year. Once enrolled in your program, you will receive information about upcoming events.
Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
For the best experience in this program it is recommended to take these courses in the order that they appear.
Course list
Amid the swirl of activity in food and beverage service, financial management is a function that loses priority sometimes, despite its crucial function.
Understanding and managing your food and beverage operation's income statement (profit and loss statement) can lead to better decision making and can position you to succeed. Learn how to get a hold on your organization's finances and make informed decisions based on profit and performance.
Your menu does much more than inform guests about what you offer. It helps to create and communicate your food and beverage operation's identity, and influences your guests' choices.
This course will enable you to evaluate menus and identify changes that will optimize the value and profitability of your food and beverage operation.
Your operation's brand is like a contract with the customer, and the expectation is that value will be delivered in relative accordance with price and quality of service. But keeping food costs down is no easy task. In fact, it's one of the most detail-oriented, scientific processes that go into running a restaurant and there are many challenges with keeping food costs controlled.
In this course, you'll learn to optimize your operation's profits by effectively managing your selection, procurement, receiving, storage, and inventory management processes.
Loyal repeat customers are key to the success of any food and beverage operation. They represent recurring revenue and are a great source for feedback and gauging customer sentiment. They can also be your greatest evangelists, recommending you to friends and colleagues, even giving favorable online reviews.
Through careful design, meticulous attention to service processes, and a way to gauge customer sentiment, you can play to your team's strengths and identify opportunities for improving the guest experience to grow your business.
Your employees are the heart of every food and beverage operation and your most valuable resource, yet so many operators fail to focus attention on employee satisfaction and engagement.
Understanding your role in managing and leading employees can help you to reduce costly turnover, safety incidents, theft, and absenteeism, and can improve your operation's quality, productivity, guest satisfaction, and profitability.
Symposium sessions feature two days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Hospitality Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.
Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll discuss how both day-to-day operations and strategic goal setting in the hospitality sector have rapidly evolved over the past two years, opening up new space for real-time conversations about the future of the industry. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to various areas of the industry, examining the innovations and accommodations you have all had to make throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and strategizing on future directions. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.
All sessions are held on Zoom.
Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.
Whether you are a restaurant, coffee house, even a cocktail bar, your beverage program can have a big impact on your profitability, but it comes with a good deal of risk.
Understanding everything that is involved in offering wine, beer, spirits, and nonalcoholic beverages and applying discipline to your product selection, pricing, list design, and rigorous controls can minimize certain risks and position you for financial success.
How It Works
- View slide #1
- View slide #2
- View slide #3
- View slide #4
- View slide #5
- View slide #6
- View slide #7
- View slide #8
- View slide #9
Faculty Authors
Cheryl Stanley is a Senior Lecturer in food and beverage management at the Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University. She has been involved with food since the age of ten, when she started her own chocolate business, Cheryl’s Chocolates. Following her interest in food, Ms Stanley attended the School of Hotel Administration and graduated in 2000.
While at Cornell, Ms. Stanley discovered her passion for beverages through the courses “Introduction to Wines,” “Food and Wine Pairing,” and “Beverage Management.” Upon graduation, she continued this enthusiasm for beverages and food service in both hotel and restaurant operations on the West Coast, where she worked for the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach and the Wine Cask in Santa Barbara.
Continuing her entrepreneurial journey, Ms. Stanley started her own restaurant consulting company specializing in beverages and service in 2008. During this time, she was also presented an opportunity to become an adjunct instructor at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), where she taught courses that included gastronomy, food, wine, and (agri)culture. Falling in love with teaching, Ms. Stanley decided to pursue her Master’s degree in hospitality and retail management from Texas Tech University. Heading back north, she returned to CIA prior to joining the food and beverage operations area back at her alma mater.
Ms. Stanley teaches courses on specific elements within the field of food and beverage operations, including “Introduction to Wines,” “Catering and Special Events,” and “Beverage Management.” She combines theoretical education with practical operational applications.
Certified through multiple wine organizations, Ms. Stanley has conducted research on beverage costing in hotels, bars, and restaurants, as well as hospitality education, and she has presented at beverage-related conferences. In 2015, she was awarded the Ted Teng ’79 Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award. Ms. Stanley is a member of the Society of Wine Educators and the United States Bartenders’ Guild. She is the faculty advisor for Cornell Cuvée, the blind wine tasting competition team, which has won first place at multiple international wine competitions. In 2017, Ms. Stanley was selected as one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Tastemakers.
Key Course Takeaways
- Evaluate and design menus that will improve your customer satisfaction and profitability
- Optimize your selection, procurement, receiving, storage, and inventory management processes
- Define, measure, and improve the guest experience
- Analyze your income statement to make informed decisions and optimize your operational processes
- Reduce costs and improve quality, productivity, guest satisfaction, and profitability
JOIN A HOSPITALITY SYMPOSIUM!
Download a Brochure
Not ready to enroll but want to learn more? Download the certificate brochure to review program details.
What You'll Earn
- Food and Beverage Management Certificate from Cornell's Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration
- 60 Professional Development Hours (6 CEUs)
Watch the Video
Who Should Enroll
- General managers and line-level employees involved in the operation and financial performance of a restaurant or food and beverage service
- Managed service contractors for stadiums, arenas, hospitals, airlines, franchises, and catering
- Professionals new to the food and beverage industry
- Non-restaurant professionals looking to be conversant in operations of food and beverage providers
- Caterers, restaurateurs, event space managers, property managers, corporate event managers
“Earning my Food and Beverage Management Certificate from Cornell University was something I only dreamed of being able to accomplish. The knowledge gained from this program has helped me excel in my role, and I look forward to the next program! eCornell is the perfect fit for any busy professional.”
“The Food and Beverage Management program was amazing and it helped me excel in my current career! Ten out of ten.”
- View testimonial #1
- View testimonial #2
Request Information Now by completing the form below.
Food and Beverage Management
| Select Payment Method | Cost |
|---|---|
| $3,699 | |