Culinary chef vs sushi chef

The differences between culinary chefs and sushi 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 sushi chef. Additionally, a culinary chef has an average salary of $49,417, which is higher than the $42,969 average annual salary of a sushi chef.

The top three skills for a culinary chef include culinary, fine dining and food service. The most important skills for a sushi chef are quality standards, cleanliness, and kitchen equipment.

Culinary chef vs sushi chef overview

	Culinary Chef	Sushi Chef
Yearly salary	$49,417	$42,969
Hourly rate	$23.76	$20.66
Growth rate	15%	15%
Number of jobs	20,066	17,846
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

Culinary chef vs sushi chef salary

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

	Culinary Chef	Sushi Chef
Average salary	$49,417	$42,969
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $70,000	Between $27,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	-	Bridgewater, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Sailfish Club of Florida
Best paying industry	-	Construction

Differences between culinary chef and sushi chef education

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

	Culinary Chef	Sushi Chef
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Boston University	Drexel University

Culinary chef vs sushi chef demographics

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

	Culinary Chef	Sushi Chef
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%	Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8%
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, 7.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 26.6% White, 40.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between culinary chef and sushi 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.

Sushi chef example responsibilities.

Skil at managing kitchen operations and complying with culinary standards.
Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
Restock the buffet with the different items as they run low.
Develop variety of menu items catering to customers with food allergies and diet restrictions.
Gain knowledge of all nigiri's, popular rolls, and creation of special rolls.
Mass produce specific sushi rolls as well as specially order individual rolls, hands rolls and sashimi cuts.

Culinary chef vs sushi chef skills

Common culinary chef skills

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

Common sushi chef skills

Quality Standards, 15%
Cleanliness, 14%
Kitchen Equipment, 12%
Food Handling, 10%
Culinary, 8%
Food Storage, 8%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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