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The differences between culinary managers and kitchen 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 kitchen manager. Additionally, a culinary manager has an average salary of $51,100, which is higher than the $50,448 average annual salary of a kitchen manager.
The top three skills for a culinary manager include culinary, food safety and kitchen operations. The most important skills for a kitchen manager are customer service, kitchen equipment, and cleanliness.
| Culinary Manager | Kitchen Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $51,100 | $50,448 |
| Hourly rate | $24.57 | $24.25 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 104,953 | 151,781 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A kitchen manager is responsible for supervising overall kitchen operations duties, checking food storage, and distributing appropriate kitchen staff tasks. Kitchen managers' jobs also include monitoring food preparation, ensuring that all orders and serving portions are correct, organizing menu prices, researching current market trends of the food industry, and maintaining the highest sanitation procedures. Kitchen managers should also assist guests with their inquiries, manage concerns, and handle complaints. They should have excellent communication and leadership skills to lead the kitchen staff in providing the best customer experience.
Culinary managers and kitchen managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Culinary Manager | Kitchen Manager | |
| Average salary | $51,100 | $50,448 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $69,000 | Between $37,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Boston Public Schools | Hillstone Restaurant Group |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a culinary manager and a kitchen manager in terms of educational background:
| Culinary Manager | Kitchen Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Business | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Cornell University | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between culinary managers' and kitchen managers' demographics:
| Culinary Manager | Kitchen Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 72.0% Female, 28.0% |
| 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, 10.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |