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Banquet chef vs cooking chef

The differences between banquet chefs and cooking chefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a banquet chef and a cooking chef. Additionally, a banquet chef has an average salary of $48,026, which is higher than the $34,973 average annual salary of a cooking chef.

The top three skills for a banquet chef include culinary, food preparation and quality standards. The most important skills for a cooking chef are food service, food handling, and kitchen equipment.

Banquet chef vs cooking chef overview

Banquet ChefCooking Chef
Yearly salary$48,026$34,973
Hourly rate$23.09$16.81
Growth rate15%15%
Number of jobs23,474136,558
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 59%Associate Degree, 31%
Average age4242
Years of experience66

What does a banquet chef do?

Banquet Chefs are responsible for preparation, planning, and kitchen management as a culinary expert. They work in hotels, resorts, clubs, and other facilities.

What does a cooking chef do?

A cooking chef oversees all people performing kitchen duties under their mandate. These professionals oversee timeliness, sanitary issues, ingredient preparation, meal preparation, and final presentations. Besides engaging in menu planning and creating recipes, a cooking chef also performs several administrative tasks from one day to another. They place supply orders, track inventory, calculate payroll, calculate costs, and handle complaints from the employee or customer. Moreover, a cooking chef trains the kitchen staff to ensure they perform their duties correctly.

Banquet chef vs cooking chef salary

Banquet chefs and cooking chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.

Banquet ChefCooking Chef
Average salary$48,026$34,973
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $80,000Between $24,000 And $49,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCTeaneck, NJ
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyJ.F. Shea CoMemphis Country Club
Best paying industryHospitalityHealth Care

Differences between banquet chef and cooking chef education

There are a few differences between a banquet chef and a cooking chef in terms of educational background:

Banquet ChefCooking Chef
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 59%Associate Degree, 31%
Most common majorCulinary ArtsCulinary Arts
Most common collegeCornell UniversityDrexel University

Banquet chef vs cooking chef demographics

Here are the differences between banquet chefs' and cooking chefs' demographics:

Banquet ChefCooking Chef
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 84.9% Female, 15.1%Male, 76.3% Female, 23.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 11.2% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 12.0% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between banquet chef and cooking chef duties and responsibilities

Banquet chef example responsibilities.

  • Manage cold kitchen production for a luxury hotel with a Michelin star restaurant
  • Design and execute stunning, delicious, but simplistic breakfast and lunch buffets in meeting rooms.
  • Design and prepare decorated foods and arrangements for buffets.
  • Maintain an excellent level of professionalism and cleanliness to meet state and company regulations.
  • Contribute vision and creativity developing and directing culinary operations supporting a wide range of art shows and gallery events.
  • Direct a high-performing team of culinary associates in ensuring the seamless delivery of all production activities for upcoming functions.
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Cooking chef example responsibilities.

  • Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
  • Assist culinary instructor in food preparation.
  • Cook foods by baking, roasting, broiling, frying, saut? ing, steaming, grilling.
  • Travel to various locations throughout the city to perform culinary task.
  • Obtain in-depth experience working on grills, ranges, and steamers.
  • Experience with baking, broiling, frying, roasting and grilling.
  • Show more

Banquet chef vs cooking chef skills

Common banquet chef skills
  • Culinary, 14%
  • Food Preparation, 8%
  • Quality Standards, 7%
  • Banquet Kitchen, 6%
  • Food Quality, 4%
  • Cleanliness, 4%
Common cooking chef skills
  • Food Service, 23%
  • Food Handling, 19%
  • Kitchen Equipment, 16%
  • Culinary, 10%
  • Cleanliness, 9%
  • Dishwashers, 7%

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