Culinary manager vs dietary manager

The differences between culinary managers and dietary 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 culinary manager and a dietary manager. Additionally, a culinary manager has an average salary of $51,100, which is higher than the $42,856 average annual salary of a dietary manager.

The top three skills for a culinary manager include culinary, food safety and kitchen operations. The most important skills for a dietary manager are kitchen equipment, patients, and dietary services.

Culinary manager vs dietary manager overview

	Culinary Manager	Dietary Manager
Yearly salary	$51,100	$42,856
Hourly rate	$24.57	$20.60
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	104,953	95,306
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 30%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	4	4

What does a culinary manager do?

Culinary managers oversee the organization's, institution's, or restaurant's foodservice operations. They ensure food service operations meet the federal requirements and state requirements and follow the required procedures and policies. Besides planning for and purchasing the required food, culinary managers also keep the required records like personal records, meal counts, income or expense, food production, and inventory. Other duties performed by culinary managers include planning menus, preparing and serving food, planning budgets for future food, hiring, recruiting, and training employees.

What does a dietary manager do?

A dietary manager oversees the food service operations of a company or institution's kitchen facilities, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction. They are primarily in charge of developing dietary programs and meal plans, coordinating with nutritionists, setting daily objectives, establishing food preparation standards and protocols, managing budgets and employee schedules, and monitoring overall operations, solving issues and concerns if any arise. They also supervise the recruitment and training of staff, monitor inventories, purchase supplies, and interact with customers. Moreover, a dietary manager leads employees to reach goals and implements industry standards and company policies.

Culinary manager vs dietary manager salary

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

	Culinary Manager	Dietary Manager
Average salary	$51,100	$42,856
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $69,000	Between $30,000 And $60,000
Highest paying City	Newark, NJ	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Boston Public Schools	-
Best paying industry	Hospitality	-

Differences between culinary manager and dietary manager education

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

	Culinary Manager	Dietary Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 30%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Culinary manager vs dietary manager demographics

Here are the differences between culinary managers' and dietary managers' demographics:

	Culinary Manager	Dietary Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6%	Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 8.8% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between culinary manager and dietary manager duties and responsibilities

Culinary manager example responsibilities.

Manage front-end operations to ensure friendly and efficient customer service and manage culinary to ensure product quality and waste management.
Oversee total operation of BOH including production, receiving, cleanliness, and presentation of food from truck to plate.
Monitor operational efficiency and profitability of culinary operations.
Supervise the cleanliness, presentation, and operation of food production of the buffet tables.
Work closely with management to coordinate monthly in store trainer meetings and recognize and celebrate hourly associates performance contributions.
Monitor operational efficiency and profitability of culinary operations.

Dietary manager example responsibilities.

Manage operations and provide support to a team of 245 union employees at various elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.
Review records and assess the nutritional condition of at risk residents, including unplan weight changes, charting and MDS reporting.
Analyze diet requirement of patients and prepare nutritional balance menus accordingly.
Refer patients to appropriate outpatient settings for additional diet education and support.
Communicate effectively in medical charts, and complete MDS assessments for Medicare reimbursement with proficiency.
Increase student participation by overseeing and implementing marketing brands in school cafeterias.

Culinary manager vs dietary manager skills

Common culinary manager skills

Culinary, 24%
Food Safety, 9%
Kitchen Operations, 7%
Food Preparation, 6%
Kitchen Equipment, 6%
Cleanliness, 5%

Common dietary manager skills

Kitchen Equipment, 11%
Patients, 9%
Dietary Services, 6%
Infection Control, 5%
Food Preparation, 5%
Federal Regulations, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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