How To Become A Catering Supervisor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a catering supervisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A catering supervisor typically oversees the catering operations of a restaurant, resort, or other foodservice business. If you work as a catering supervisor, you'll also use your sales and marketing skills to persuade new customers to order from your company. You might choose to work in a specific food service area, such as deli or dessert catering.

Employers will typically require you to hold food service training and work experience in the industry if you wish to enter this field. In some businesses, accounting knowledge may also be required. If you were to pursue formal training, you could enroll in a certificate or associate's degree program in catering and foodservice management. Such programs teach you about the foodservice industry, food safety, and catering protocol.

Restaurants that provide catering services hire catering supervisors, but employment isn't limited to just restaurants. Many schools with event-hosting facilities also employ catering supervisors. BLS reports that most catering supervisors earn a yearly salary between $32,000 and $60,000 as of April 2020.

ScoreCatering SupervisorUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,455

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.97%

Asian 6.41%

Black or African American 10.30%

Hispanic or Latino 18.74%

Unknown 5.39%

White 58.19%

Gender

female 55.67%

male 44.33%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a catering supervisor

Explore catering supervisor education requirements

Most common catering supervisor degrees

Bachelor's

53.4 %

Associate

22.6 %

High School Diploma

14.0 %

Start to develop specific catering supervisor skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	16.91%
Food Service	13.30%
HACCP	7.88%
Cleanliness	7.57%
Food Preparation	7.17%

Complete relevant catering supervisor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New catering supervisors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a catering supervisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real catering supervisor resumes.

Gain additional catering supervisor certifications

Catering supervisor certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific catering supervisor certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for catering supervisors include Certified Food Manager (CFM) and Certified Master Safe Technician (CMST).

More About Certifications

Research catering supervisor duties and responsibilities

Manage servers and dishwashers on a daily basis making sure everything are always maintain accordingly.
Train employees on company policy, POS systems.
Take catering orders over the phone and enter them into POS.
Cater to the guest of event as wait staff also bartending for private gatherings.

Prepare your catering supervisor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your catering supervisor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a catering supervisor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable catering supervisor resume templates

Build a professional catering supervisor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your catering supervisor resume.