What does a chef/kitchen manager do?

A kitchen manager or chef is someone who oversees the overall operations in the kitchen as well as the food operations. Kitchen managers make certain that food and related products are well prepared, cooked, and served to customers. They maintain a fully-stocked kitchen inventory and comply with the cleanliness and safety standards. It is their responsibility to manage the kitchen staff and aid them in delivering quality food at the right time. They need to possess management skills, leadership skills, and attention to detail.
Chef/kitchen manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chef/kitchen manager resumes:
- Manage operations, orderings, and inventorying using POS & software programs.
- Train and manage all kitchen personnel and supervise as well as coordinated all relate culinary activities.
- Practice excellent food safety and sanitation practices and comply with HACCP standards.
- Work both saut and roasting stations.
- Clean and maintain kitchen, cooking line and appliances according to ServSafe standards.
- Coordinate and plan seasonal menu s, recipes, and functions within the hotel using POS and software programs
- Develop new BOH setup and service at four stations, reducing ticket times from forty minutes to fifteen.
- Monitor food quality; ensure cleanliness of all facilities to meet or surpass health department and HACCP guidelines.
- Lead the BOH staff through orientation and training, along with corporate trainers from Louisville to ensure brand consistency and excellence.
- Develop meal plans for individuals with dietary restrictions/food allergies.
- Ensure refrigeration temperatures are accurate, maintain a general cleanliness and safety of the kitchen.
- Work all kitchen stations while utilizing a variety of culinary techniques within a fast-pace environment to produce high quality menu items.
- Order food and supplies from Sysco, whileestablishing working relationship with Sysco employees.
Chef/kitchen manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Chef/Kitchen Managers are proficient in Kitchen Operations, Culinary, and Wine. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Chef/Kitchen Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Kitchen Operations, 23%
Increased back of house efficiency while managing regular kitchen operations and catering services.
- Culinary, 20%
Worked all kitchen stations while utilizing a variety of culinary techniques within a fast-paced environment to produce high quality menu items.
- Wine, 8%
Prepared, Wine, Bourbon and Beer Dinners, and have catered for up to 1500 people at a single Dinner.
- Quality Standards, 5%
Developed recipes and standardized production recipes to ensure consistent quality, establish presentation techniques and quality standards.
- Guest Satisfaction, 4%
Deliver high quality guest satisfaction by delivering flawless execution of food and service.
- ServSafe, 3%
Achieved certification by ServSafe National Restaurant Association.
Common skills that a chef/kitchen manager uses to do their job include "kitchen operations," "culinary," and "wine." You can find details on the most important chef/kitchen manager responsibilities below.
Business skills. A commonly-found skill in chef/kitchen manager job descriptions, "business skills" is essential to what chef/kitchen managers do. Chef/kitchen manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "executive chefs and chefs who run their own restaurant need to know how to budget for supplies, set prices, and manage workers so that the restaurant is profitable." You can also see how chef/kitchen manager duties rely on business skills in this resume example: "job responsibilities included food preparation, day to day business operations, customer service, ordering, inventory and product projections. "
Communication skills. Another skill commonly found on chef/kitchen manager job descriptions is "communication skills." It can come up quite often in chef/kitchen manager duties, since "chefs must convey their instructions clearly and effectively to staff so that patrons' orders are prepared correctly." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day chef/kitchen manager responsibilities: "manage boh human resources throughout the kitchen domain by communication, training, and education. "
The three companies that hire the most chef/kitchen managers are:
- Goodwin Recruiting22 chef/kitchen managers jobs
- Farm Burger6 chef/kitchen managers jobs
- Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria
5 chef/kitchen managers jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable chef/kitchen manager resume templates
Build a professional chef/kitchen manager resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your chef/kitchen manager resume.Compare different chef/kitchen managers
Chef/kitchen manager vs. Lead line cook
Typically, lead line cooks work under the supervision of a chef or head cook in a kitchen. Leadline cooks oversee the food preparation process from start to end. Their duties include the supervision of kitchen staff, recruitment and training of new kitchen employees, and monitoring of food quality. They comply with the sanitation and nutrition regulations of food as well as their safety standards. They should be knowledgeable and have skills in food preparation, customer service, attention to detail, and communication.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, chef/kitchen manager responsibilities require skills like "wine," "guest satisfaction," "servsafe," and "labor costs." Meanwhile a typical lead line cook has skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "food handling," "customer service," and "cuisine." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Lead line cooks really shine in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $36,994. Comparatively, chef/kitchen managers tend to make the most money in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $44,258.The education levels that lead line cooks earn slightly differ from chef/kitchen managers. In particular, lead line cooks are 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a chef/kitchen manager. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chef/kitchen manager vs. Lead cook
A lead cook, or lead line cook, is an individual restaurant employee who is in charge of supervising the chain of food preparation done by line cooks. Lead cooks work directly under head cooks or chefs who provide instructions in preparing meals. They are well-versed in the restaurant's food health and safety, such as regular hand washing, utensil sanitizing, and proper garbage disposal. To be a successful lead cook, they must obtain knowledge of various cooking techniques and be passionate about food.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real chef/kitchen manager resumes. While chef/kitchen manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "wine," "guest satisfaction," "servsafe," and "labor costs," lead cooks use skills like "customer service," "food handling," "basic math," and "math."
On average, lead cooks earn a lower salary than chef/kitchen managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, lead cooks earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $35,162. Whereas chef/kitchen managers have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $44,258.lead cooks earn similar levels of education than chef/kitchen managers in general. They're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chef/kitchen manager vs. Food service specialist
The food service specialists monitor food preparation, ensuring that the guests get their correct orders, providing them the best dining experience and satisfaction. A food service specialist takes the guests' orders, processes their payments, and serves their orders timely and efficiently. They also monitor the stock inventories, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for stock requests, and assist with kitchen duties as needed, especially on high volume days. A food service specialist must have a broad knowledge of the food services industry, analyzing the current food trends to make suggestions for menus, and responding to the guests' concerns.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a chef/kitchen manager is likely to be skilled in "kitchen operations," "culinary," "wine," and "quality standards," while a typical food service specialist is skilled in "preventive maintenance," "mos," "customer service," and "cleanliness."
Food service specialists earn the best pay in the government industry, where they command an average salary of $39,427. Chef/kitchen managers earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $44,258.Most food service specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to chef/kitchen managers. For example, they're 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chef/kitchen manager vs. Banquet captain
Banquet captains are responsible for directing each banquet staff in the entire meal service and assign tasks to them as required. Their duties include teaching new staff members how to execute their designated tasks in the banquet. Also, they organize meetings to give updates on service or policy changes as well as administering any staff issues and resolving them in a timely manner. Additionally, they guide the setup of the banquet, preserve stock room supply, and ensure all sanitary regulations and company policies on appropriate and safe food handling are followed by every staff member.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between chef/kitchen managers and banquet captains, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a chef/kitchen manager might have more use for skills like "kitchen operations," "quality standards," "servsafe," and "labor costs." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of banquet captains require skills like "customer service," "cleanliness," "beverage service," and "banquet functions. "
The hospitality industry tends to pay the highest salaries for banquet captains, with average annual pay of $34,190. Comparatively, the highest chef/kitchen manager annual salary comes from the hospitality industry.In general, banquet captains hold similar degree levels compared to chef/kitchen managers. Banquet captains are 1.5% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of chef/kitchen manager
Updated January 8, 2025











