Certified dietary manager vs catering manager

The differences between certified dietary managers 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 a certified dietary manager and a catering manager. Additionally, a catering manager has an average salary of $51,962, which is higher than the $45,721 average annual salary of a certified dietary manager.

The top three skills for a certified dietary manager include customer service, healthcare and quality standards. The most important skills for a catering manager are customer service, culinary, and food service.

Certified dietary manager vs catering manager overview

	Certified Dietary Manager	Catering Manager
Yearly salary	$45,721	$51,962
Hourly rate	$21.98	$24.98
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	127,317	88,658
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	4	4

What does a certified dietary manager do?

A certified dietary manager oversees the day-to-day foodservice operations of private or public facilities such as restaurants, hospitals, companies, and even schools. They are in charge of conducting research, developing and implementing meal plans, setting objectives and guidelines, arranging schedules, and coordinating with external parties such as suppliers to order and secure quality ingredients and supplies. In some companies, they usually work alongside nutritionists and handle the recruitment and training of new employees. Moreover, as certified dietary managers, you will be responsible for supervising employees to ensure that all procedures adhere to health standards and regulations.

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.

Certified dietary manager vs catering manager salary

Certified dietary managers and catering managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Dietary Manager	Catering Manager
Average salary	$45,721	$51,962
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $68,000	Between $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 certified dietary manager and catering manager education

There are a few differences between a certified dietary manager and a catering manager in terms of educational background:

	Certified Dietary Manager	Catering Manager
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Food And Nutrition	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Certified dietary manager vs catering manager demographics

Here are the differences between certified dietary managers' and catering managers' demographics:

	Certified Dietary Manager	Catering Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%	Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	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 Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between certified dietary manager and catering manager duties and responsibilities

Certified dietary manager example responsibilities.

Handle USDA reimbursement; attend USDA grant meetings along with monthly monitoring at every site, and manage budgets.
Manage point of sale system and train staff on system's functions, also implement and train on a new POS.
Manage operations and provide support to a team of 245 union employees at various elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.
Serve as an SNF and MDS team member responsible for resident wind, nutritional, and over all care assessment.
Have a weekly culinary meeting with residents to get there input.
Oversee kitchen staff production, maintaining OSHA standards, maintain residents charts.

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.

Certified dietary manager vs catering manager skills

Common certified dietary manager skills

Customer Service, 20%
Healthcare, 19%
Quality Standards, 19%
CMS, 14%
Food Quality, 13%
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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Certified Dietary Manager
Certified Dietary Manager vs Catering Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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