Catering assistant vs culinary assistant

The differences between catering assistants and culinary assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a culinary assistant has an average salary of $33,149, which is higher than the $32,101 average annual salary of a catering assistant.

The top three skills for a catering assistant include patients, food service and customer service. The most important skills for a culinary assistant are culinary, meal service, and kitchen equipment.

Catering assistant vs culinary assistant overview

	Catering Assistant	Culinary Assistant
Yearly salary	$32,101	$33,149
Hourly rate	$15.43	$15.94
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	10,042	56,153
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 29%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

Catering assistant vs culinary assistant salary

Catering assistants and culinary assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Catering Assistant	Culinary Assistant
Average salary	$32,101	$33,149
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $38,000	Between $26,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Worcester, MA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Massachusetts General Hospital	The Walt Disney Company
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Media

Differences between catering assistant and culinary assistant education

There are a few differences between a catering assistant and a culinary assistant in terms of educational background:

	Catering Assistant	Culinary Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 29%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Catering assistant vs culinary assistant demographics

Here are the differences between catering assistants' and culinary assistants' demographics:

	Catering Assistant	Culinary Assistant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8%	Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 7.6% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between catering assistant and culinary assistant duties and responsibilities

Catering assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and prioritize restaurant reservations.
Monitor patients who cannot receive anything by mouth (NPO) or on liquid diets.
Assist dieticians with monitoring of patients who are NPO, on liquid diets or need to have intake record.
Run POS for student payments, including meal cards and cash.
Comply with regulator agency standards, including federal, state and JCAHO.
Adhere to HIPAA guidelines while processing menu orders with the patient information.

Culinary assistant example responsibilities.

Rotate food for students (FIFO).
Prep, cook and serve for buffets.
Follow HACCP policies and procedures to ensure the safe preparation of all food items.
Prepare a variety of foods using techniques such as baking, grilling, saut ing, roasting, and frying.
Mark a variety of meats, chicken, tri-tip, beef roasts, and hamburger patties for later roasting and service.
Work closely with the culinary manager to ensure quality food preparation.

Catering assistant vs culinary assistant skills

Common catering assistant skills

Patients, 25%
Food Service, 21%
Customer Service, 12%
Food Safety, 7%
Food Delivery, 6%
Beverage Service, 4%

Common culinary assistant skills

Culinary, 20%
Meal Service, 15%
Kitchen Equipment, 12%
Food Handling, 11%
Customer Service, 10%
Compassion, 10%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Catering Assistant
Catering Assistant vs Culinary Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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