How to hire a banquet chef

How to hire a banquet chef, step by step

Here's a step-by-step banquet chef hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a banquet chef job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new banquet chef
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a banquet chef do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your banquet chef job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a banquet chef for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A banquet chef's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, banquet chefs from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of banquet chef salaries for various roles:

   Type of Banquet Chef	Description	Hourly rate
   Banquet Chef	Chefs and head cooks oversee the daily food preparation at restaurants and other places where food is served. They direct kitchen staff and handle any food-related concerns.	$13-38
   Head Cook	A head cook is responsible for organizing the food preparation, organizing the kitchen operations, and ensuring the quality of the food presented. Head cooks' duties include monitoring the food inventory, creating new recipes, researching current market trends, responding to guests' inquiries and complaints, distributing kitchen tasks to the staff, and maintaining budget goals while maintaining the highest food quality... Show more	$15-29
   Chef De Cuisine	A chef de cuisine, also known as an executive chef, oversees a kitchen's daily operations in public and private establishments to ensure food quality and efficient services. Their duties require cooking and leadership skills because they involve leading menu development and meal preparation, coordinating staff, delegating responsibilities, selecting and sourcing ingredients, and handling customer issues and concerns promptly and professionally... Show more	$17-35

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Culinary
   • Food Preparation
   • Quality Standards
   • Banquet Kitchen
   • Food Quality
   • Cleanliness
   • Fine Dining
   • BEO
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Sanitation Standards
   • Guest Satisfaction
   • Food Handling
   • Banquet Events
   • Banquet Functions

   Check all skills

   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.

   More banquet chef duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your banquet chef job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A banquet chef can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, banquet chefs' average salary in idaho is 64% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level banquet chefs 65% less than senior-level banquet chefs.
   • Certifications. A banquet chef with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a banquet chef's salary.

   Average banquet chef salary

   $48,026yearly

   $23.09 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level banquet chef salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average banquet chef salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$66,206	$32
   2	Hawaii	$62,484	$30
   3	New York	$59,366	$29
   4	Massachusetts	$59,209	$28
   5	Pennsylvania	$58,450	$28
   6	California	$57,267	$28
   7	Michigan	$52,881	$25
   8	Ohio	$50,376	$24
   9	Florida	$49,868	$24
   10	Illinois	$49,648	$24
   11	Georgia	$47,949	$23
   12	North Carolina	$47,652	$23
   13	Washington	$46,794	$23
   14	South Carolina	$45,955	$22
   15	Texas	$45,804	$22
   16	Colorado	$44,308	$21
   17	Nevada	$42,407	$20
   18	Wisconsin	$42,121	$20
   19	Arizona	$41,165	$20
   20	Louisiana	$36,070	$17

   Average banquet chef salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	J.F. Shea Co	$63,336	$30.45	14
   2	AthleticClubColumbus	$56,710	$27.26
   3	MAJOR FOOD GROUP	$55,403	$26.64	24
   4	Valley Hospitality	$55,137	$26.51
   5	Aimbridge Hospitality	$53,922	$25.92
   6	Sodexo Management, Inc.	$53,892	$25.91	340
   7	Proper Hospitality	$53,880	$25.90	6
   8	HealthTrust	$52,548	$25.26
   9	Goodwin Recruiting	$51,248	$24.64
   10	Gold Key Processing	$51,204	$24.62	2
   11	University of Wisconsin System	$49,603	$23.85
   12	Aspen Meadows Resort	$49,459	$23.78
   13	Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants	$46,173	$22.20	73
   14	Benchmark Group	$46,147	$22.19
   15	Mainsail Lodging & Development	$46,084	$22.16
   16	IHG Owners Association	$45,444	$21.85	29
   17	Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts	$44,632	$21.46	22
   18	HEI Hotels & Resorts	$44,078	$21.19	62
   19	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$44,032	$21.17
   20	Hyatt Hotels	$44,005	$21.16	104

4. Writing a banquet chef job description

   A banquet chef job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a banquet chef job description:

   Banquet chef job description example

   About us
   
   InterContinental Buckhead is one of Atlanta's established Mobil Four Star luxury properties located in the heart of the prestigious Buckhead neighborhood. InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta is a stately and sophisticated hotel that offers premier travel experience with 422 guest rooms, 31,000 square feet of flexible event space including our lavish ballrooms which can host up to 850 guests for a seated dinner and 1500 for a convention, conference or reception. Enjoy local Italian Steakhouse-inspired cuisine at the AMERICANO RESTAURANT & BAR, by Scott Conant - Celebrity Chef, serving lunch and dinner. Meet friends and colleagues at AMERICANO Bar and sip your way through our many handcrafted cocktails & craft bourbons. Or enjoy a workout in our fitness center or a swim in our outdoor saltwater pool. Pamper yourself in our newly-renovated InterContinental Spa at InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta where we combine our expertise in growing and crafting pure and effective skin care with holistic therapies from around the world.
   
   Disclaimer: Not Applicable for Colorado Applicants
   
   Day to day
   
   This challenging position has overall responsibility for overseeing the preparation, plating, and quality of food and beverage items for banquet functions. Responsible for menu planning and development and cost control. Adhere to federal, state and local regulations concerning health safety or other compliance requirements. Additional responsibilties include: • Develop new menu concepts. Prepare, test, and cost out new menu items. Maintain updated and accurate recipes and costing of all dishes prepared for banquet functions. • Oversee methods of preparation, portion sizes, and timeliness of food preparation; control food usage to minimize waste. • Supervise activities of assigned staff, communicate goals, and assign/schedule work to ensure proper coverage. Communicate and enforce policies and procedures. • Recommend and initiate disciplinary or other staffing/human resources-related actions in accordance with company rules and policies. Alert management of potentially serious issues. Assist with employee selection, training and development, and performance coaching. • Promote teamwork and quality service through daily communication and coordination with other departments. Key departmental contacts include Sales and Marketing, Catering, Banquets, Maintenance, and Guest Services.
   
   Requirements
   
   Qualifications include advanced culinary training and three years of experience as a chef, or equivalent combination of education and culinary/kitchen operations experience. Degree or certificate in culinary arts preferred. This job requires ability to perform the following: • Carrying or lifting items weighing up to 50 pounds • Moving about the kitchen • Handling food, objects, products and utensils • Bending, stooping, kneeling
   
   Benefits
   
   In return we'll give you a competitive financial and benefits package which may include healthcare support, dental, vision, disability and life insurance support, and a matching 401k plan. Hotel discounts worldwide are available as well as access to a wide variety of discount programs and the chance to work with a great team of people. Most importantly, we'll give you the room to be yourself. So what's your passion? Please get in touch and tell us how you could bring your individual skills to IHG. IHG is an equal opportunity employer: Minorities / Females / Disabled / Veterans

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right banquet chef for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your banquet chef job on Zippia to find and recruit banquet chef candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit banquet chefs, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new banquet chef

   Once you've decided on a perfect banquet chef candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new banquet chef. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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