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The differences between culinary managers and executive chefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a culinary manager, becoming an executive chef takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an executive chef has an average salary of $59,416, which is higher than the $51,100 average annual salary of a culinary manager.
The top three skills for a culinary manager include culinary, food safety and kitchen operations. The most important skills for an executive chef are culinary, food preparation, and customer service.
| Culinary Manager | Executive Chef | |
| Yearly salary | $51,100 | $59,416 |
| Hourly rate | $24.57 | $28.57 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 104,953 | 83,085 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Associate Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
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.
Executive chefs are considered the lead chefs in a restaurant. They manage the restaurant's kitchen, including all other chefs employed by the restaurant. Executive chefs are in charge of creating menu items and ensuring that the restaurant's menu is in line with the restaurant's identity. They handle the management of the pantry and ensure that it is well-stocked. They also ensure that all kitchen equipment and fixtures are working well. Executive chefs are responsible for training new chefs on the job to ensure consistent food quality.
Culinary managers and executive chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Culinary Manager | Executive Chef | |
| Average salary | $51,100 | $59,416 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $69,000 | Between $40,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Boston Public Schools | Bridgewater Associates |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a culinary manager and an executive chef in terms of educational background:
| Culinary Manager | Executive Chef | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Associate Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Cornell University | Drexel University |
Here are the differences between culinary managers' and executive chefs' demographics:
| Culinary Manager | Executive Chef | |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5% |
| 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, 10.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 10.8% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 9% |