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Assistant food service director vs catering manager

The differences between assistant food service directors and catering managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an assistant food service director and a catering manager. Additionally, a catering manager has an average salary of $51,962, which is higher than the $41,871 average annual salary of an assistant food service director.

The top three skills for an assistant food service director include food preparation, cleanliness and servsafe. The most important skills for a catering manager are customer service, culinary, and food service.

Assistant food service director vs catering manager overview

Assistant Food Service DirectorCatering Manager
Yearly salary$41,871$51,962
Hourly rate$20.13$24.98
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs150,17788,658
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

What does an assistant food service director do?

An Assistant Food Service Director supervises and coordinates food preparation and food service activities. They work under the direction of the director of food service.

What does a catering manager do?

Catering managers are responsible for managing the daily catering operations and services in hotels, restaurants, and resorts. They monitor the quality of food and service provided by their outlets as well as make sure they are presented well. Their goals include achieving high customer satisfaction, producing excellent quality food, and maintaining that sanitary protocols are strictly followed. A degree is not a standard requirement for this job; however, employers do value those who have relevant qualifications with food, home, hotel, and hospitality management.

Assistant food service director vs catering manager salary

Assistant food service directors and catering managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Assistant Food Service DirectorCatering Manager
Average salary$41,871$51,962
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $59,000Between $37,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City-Santa Clara, CA
Highest paying state-Nevada
Best paying company-Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry-Hospitality

Differences between assistant food service director and catering manager education

There are a few differences between an assistant food service director and a catering manager in terms of educational background:

Assistant Food Service DirectorCatering Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Assistant food service director vs catering manager demographics

Here are the differences between assistant food service directors' and catering managers' demographics:

Assistant Food Service DirectorCatering Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 50.7% Female, 49.3%Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 7.2% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between assistant food service director and catering manager duties and responsibilities

Assistant food service director example responsibilities.

  • Manage nutrition department of pharmacy and medical home healthcare supply company.
  • Attend food safety classes and complete the Chicago, Illinois and federal ServSafe certifications.
  • Adhere to standard operating procedures for cleanliness of the facility and culinary instruments and utensils
  • Roll out new culinary and nutritional programs in conjunction with Eurest marketing and culinary team.
  • Prepare and research material to become expert on topics ranging from HACCP's, cross contamination, and food borne illness.
  • Facilitate development, implementation and utilization of HACCP.
  • Show more

Catering manager example responsibilities.

  • Prepare and manage BEOs to client specifications including auto-visual requirements.
  • Assist patients by test tasting food for allergies and accuracy.
  • Design and consult members on d cor, menu and wine selection for private events.
  • Ensure that those with food allergies or restrict diets have appropriate safe dishes to consume at meal times.
  • Work closely with culinary, stewarding and banquet department on specialty menus and customize events.
  • Full responsibility for all operations of several bars during service time including reporting and finance management.
  • Show more

Assistant food service director vs catering manager skills

Common assistant food service director skills
  • Food Preparation, 22%
  • Cleanliness, 16%
  • ServSafe, 14%
  • Culinary, 7%
  • Fine Dining, 7%
  • Food Production, 6%
Common catering manager skills
  • Customer Service, 25%
  • Culinary, 10%
  • Food Service, 10%
  • Excellent Client, 6%
  • Booking, 4%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 4%

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