Culinary chef vs head chef

The differences between culinary chefs and head chefs 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 head chef. Additionally, a culinary chef has an average salary of $49,417, which is higher than the $45,470 average annual salary of a head chef.

The top three skills for a culinary chef include culinary, fine dining and food service. The most important skills for a head chef are kitchen operations, culinary, and dinner service.

Culinary chef vs head chef overview

	Culinary Chef	Head Chef
Yearly salary	$49,417	$45,470
Hourly rate	$23.76	$21.86
Growth rate	15%	15%
Number of jobs	20,066	27,331
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Associate Degree, 43%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

Culinary chef vs head chef salary

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

	Culinary Chef	Head Chef
Average salary	$49,417	$45,470
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $70,000	Between $28,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City	-	Wellesley, MA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between culinary chef and head chef education

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

	Culinary Chef	Head Chef
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Associate Degree, 43%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Boston University	Drexel University

Culinary chef vs head chef demographics

Here are the differences between culinary chefs' and head chefs' demographics:

	Culinary Chef	Head Chef
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%	Male, 79.8% Female, 20.2%
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, 9.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 11.2% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between culinary chef and head chef 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.

Head chef example responsibilities.

Hire, train, and manage a staff of cooks, also train servers and cross train dishwashers.
Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
Supervise, coordinate and direct all culinary activities within the food service department.
Work manned omelet and brunch stations in dining room.
Develop HACCP plans for every fresh item carry on premises.
Assist with setup and break down of equipment for parties, meetings and brunch.

Culinary chef vs head chef skills

Common culinary chef skills

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

Common head chef skills

Kitchen Operations, 27%
Culinary, 9%
Dinner Service, 6%
Food Service, 5%
Cuisine, 3%
Safety Standards, 3%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Culinary Chef
Culinary Chef vs Head Chef

Updated January 8, 2025

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