Culinary chef vs chef manager

The differences between culinary chefs and chef managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a culinary chef and a chef manager. Additionally, a chef manager has an average salary of $53,470, which is higher than the $49,417 average annual salary of a culinary chef.

The top three skills for a culinary chef include culinary, fine dining and food service. The most important skills for a chef manager are culinary, fine dining, and customer service.

Culinary chef vs chef manager overview

	Culinary Chef	Chef Manager
Yearly salary	$49,417	$53,470
Hourly rate	$23.76	$25.71
Growth rate	15%	15%
Number of jobs	20,066	22,346
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Associate Degree, 49%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

Culinary chef vs chef manager salary

Culinary chefs and chef managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Culinary Chef	Chef Manager
Average salary	$49,417	$53,470
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $70,000	Between $36,000 And $78,000
Highest paying City	-	Cherry Hill, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Alameda Health System
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between culinary chef and chef manager education

There are a few differences between a culinary chef and a chef manager in terms of educational background:

	Culinary Chef	Chef Manager
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Associate Degree, 49%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Boston University	Boston University

Culinary chef vs chef manager demographics

Here are the differences between culinary chefs' and chef managers' demographics:

	Culinary Chef	Chef Manager
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%	Male, 77.5% Female, 22.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 11.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 10.4% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between culinary chef and chef manager duties and responsibilities

Culinary chef example responsibilities.

Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
Provide informative culinary instruction and product knowledge to create exceptional customer experiences.
Balance emerging trends and culinary creativity with cost, utilization and operational execution.
Develop seasonal menus focusing on classical French cuisine with consideration to customer base, product availability and cost.
Develop and open a USDA inspect production facility.

Chef manager example responsibilities.

Manage day to day operation and supervise the staff FOH & BOH.
Manage the daily activities and schedules of the other cooks, dishwashers, and prep support.
Manage kitchen staff, delegates responsibilities, place groceries order, prepare menus and prepare food base on recipes.
Supervise and train all.associates in food preparation, HACCP in-service training and sanitation and safety procedures.
Maintain FIFO, daily account of labor vs sales.
Receive orders/check invoices, rotate according to FIFO and organize walk in/freezer.

Culinary chef vs chef manager skills

Common culinary chef skills

Culinary, 30%
Fine Dining, 10%
Food Service, 8%
Cuisine, 7%
Kitchen Equipment, 6%
Recipe Development, 4%

Common chef manager skills

Culinary, 19%
Fine Dining, 14%
Customer Service, 8%
ServSafe, 8%
Quality Standards, 8%
HACCP, 6%

Culinary Chef vs. similar jobs

Culinary Chef related careers

Culinary Chef related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Culinary Chef
Culinary Chef vs Chef Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse food preparation and restaurant jobs