Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for culinary managers in the United States
Are culinary manager jobs in demand?
Culinary manager job and salary trends over time
Culinary manager jobs over time
Culinary manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 898 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 840 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 1,004 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 934 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 887 | 0.00% |
Average culinary manager salary over time
Culinary manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $51,100 | $24.57 | +2.3% |
| 2024 | $49,954 | $24.02 | +2.0% |
| 2023 | $48,978 | $23.55 | +4.2% |
| 2022 | $46,983 | $22.59 | +2.4% |
| 2021 | $45,890 | $22.06 | +4.4% |
Culinary manager jobs by state
Most common states for culinary managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 1,293 | 21% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 148 | 21% |
| 3 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,715 | 20% |
| 4 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,231 | 20% |
| 5 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,098 | 20% |
| 6 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 2,186 | 19% |
| 7 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 941 | 19% |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 2,315 | 18% |
| 9 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 804 | 18% |
| 10 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 188 | 18% |
| 11 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,141 | 17% |
| 12 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 1,738 | 17% |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,154 | 17% |
| 14 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 1,136 | 17% |
| 15 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 929 | 17% |
| 16 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 504 | 17% |
| 17 | Delaware | 961,939 | 162 | 17% |
| 18 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 1,078 | 16% |
| 19 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 770 | 16% |
| 20 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 295 | 16% |
Most common cities for culinary managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond | 3 | 8% | $51,485 |
| 2 | Burlington | 2 | 8% | $57,747 |
| 3 | Franklin | 2 | 3% | $38,262 |
| 4 | Malden | 2 | 3% | $57,820 |
| 5 | Boston | 6 | 1% | $57,913 |
| 6 | Miami | 5 | 1% | $42,792 |
| 7 | Orlando | 3 | 1% | $42,613 |
| 8 | Fort Collins | 2 | 1% | $46,718 |
| 9 | Fort Wayne | 2 | 1% | $52,482 |
| 10 | Indianapolis | 4 | 0% | $50,971 |
| 11 | Dallas | 3 | 0% | $45,296 |
| 12 | Denver | 3 | 0% | $46,792 |
| 13 | Austin | 2 | 0% | $45,561 |
| 14 | Colorado Springs | 2 | 0% | $47,025 |
| 15 | Fort Worth | 2 | 0% | $45,441 |
Culinary Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of culinary manager experts
Texas A&M University
Indiana University Kokomo
Texas Tech University
University of San Francisco
University of New Hampshire
Cypress College, School of Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management
Missouri State University
Lynn University
University of Central Florida
Grand Valley State University
University of South Alabama
Po-Ju Chen Ph.D.
Professor & Associate Head of Graduate and Undergraduate ProgramsTexas A&M University
Hospitality Administration/Management
What general advice would you give to a Culinary Manager?
Po-Ju Chen Ph.D.: - Always find opportunities and trainings if offered to enhance your knowledge, skills and abilities needed at the workplace.
- Step up for call for projects - Learning by doing
- Communicate your career aspirations with the Human Resources and your mentors
Mark Meng Ph.D.
Mark Z. Meng, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Hospitality and Tourism ManagementIndiana University Kokomo
Business/Commerce
What general advice would you give to a Culinary Manager?
Mark Meng Ph.D.: Analytical skill comes at the top. The hospitality world has becoming increasingly
dependent on data. Crisis and emergency management demonstrated their importance
in the past three years across all areas of the hospitality industry.
What will help Culinary Managers increase their earning potential?
Mark Meng Ph.D.: Keeping that student mindset may increase your potential. Hospitality is different from
traditional STEM, and that means one still has a lot to learn when practicing in the real-
world business. Four-year higher education will only get your foot in the door. In this
fast-changing industry, keep learning new skills and expending your knowledge base
can push you further.
Charlie Adams Ph.D.
Associate Professor, RHIM Undergraduate AdvisorTexas Tech University
Restaurant, Hotel, & Institutional Management Program
What skills stand out on Culinary Manager resumes?
Charlie Adams Ph.D.: Specific, measurable skills such as certification for specific activities like bartending or Serve Safe. Demonstrate capabilities through past work experience such as waiting tables, hosting, front desk, housekeeping, etc., that show effort and familiarity with the environment. Also, demonstration of marketing, sales, and/or finance are extremely beneficial. These assessable skills should be found on the resume called out in the job descriptions. Additionally, a person's work experience should reflect their career aspirations and goals. The best measure of future performance is past experience!
Thomas Maier Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Hospitality ManagementUniversity of San Francisco
School of Management
What hard/technical skills are most important for Culinary Managers?
Thomas Maier Ph.D.: Financial acumen, technology systems, and data analysis.
Daniel Innis Ph.D.
Professor of Marketing and Hospitality ManagementUniversity of New Hampshire
Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics
What hard/technical skills are most important for Culinary Managers?
Daniel Innis Ph.D.: I think that an understanding of revenue management is key. I tell my students that in every transaction, every party should feel that they made a "profit." The business gets some money. The customer should get more value than the money that they gave up. If that is the case, then they come back. In addition, the ability to spot opportunities for additional revenue is key. We never charge for parking or internet at our properties as that annoys customers. We did, however, offer beer and wine room service (the front desk staff could handle that) at a great price, and we had a gift shop that was right next to the front desk, again staffed when necessary by the front desk. These two moves did not add expenses to our operation, but they did add revenue and profit. Spotting those easy opportunities to add value for guests is key, and it is great when it also adds to the bottom line.
Amanda Gargano
ProfessorCypress College, School of Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management
Hotel, Restaurant & Culinary Arts
What skills will help Culinary Managers earn the most?
Amanda Gargano: A combination of soft skills, interpersonal skills, and technical skills is ideal. Oftentimes, hiring managers in hospitality are very willing to onboard a new employee with strong, soft skills, knowing that the technical skills can be taught through on-the-job training and mentoring. Continuing education, participating in networking opportunities, and industry-focused workshops and conferences are all good ways to continue to learn and add to your resume.
What technical skills for a Culinary Manager stand out to employers?
Dr. Liza Cobos: Employers are looking for transferable skills, skills like critical thinking and technical skills (i.e. excel) are in demand. Having the technical skills to analyze data and critical thinking skills to generate and provide solutions. The industry is always looking for ways to improve sales and pricing strategies to help the bottom line. Being able to demonstrate these skills will with career advancement.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Culinary Managers?
Amanda Main Ph.D.: I believe there will be an enduring impact of the pandemic on graduates, and I believe it will be composed of both disadvantages and advantages. Obviously, we have seen a decline in employment across almost all sectors, which has reduced opportunities for post-graduation employment. The safety restrictions are also making it difficult for many students to find internships while in the final years of study, and that is a real disadvantage because it is depriving them of invaluable real-world experience that will help them succeed in the workplace, and that employers are looking for.
Unfortunately, the pandemic is also going to have deleterious effects for many female graduates, as job sectors that have heavy female representation such as hospitality, retail, and education have been disproportionately impacted, and we may see the wage gap returning to be more of an issue than we have seen in recent years. On the other hand, graduates will be entering the job market with coping skills that are going to be incredibly valuable in the coming times.
Students have had to adapt, integrate new technologies, and learn new ways of doing things in response to this event, and college graduates have the advantage of being trained in this, as colleges and universities have been very intentional about not throwing their students into the deep end of the pool without support and guidance. This should make them an asset to the workforce as industries begin to rebuild and continue to look forward with an innovative mindset.
What soft skills should all Culinary Managers possess?
Amanda Main Ph.D.: This is a great question because there has actually been an increasing call for colleges and universities to enhance their curriculums because organizations are finding recent graduates lacking in soft skills that are necessary for success. In addition to the skills I mentioned above, The National Association for Colleges and Employers released a list of critical competencies to ensure career readiness, which includes skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, oral and written communication, teamwork and collaboration, leadership, professionalism and work ethic, career management, and global/intercultural fluency.
This should be a bare minimum that graduates are striving for. I would also suggest having a strong focus on increasing emotional intelligence (EQ), which will really help at several career stages including promoting oneself in a job search, negotiating employment offers, advancing and maturing through the arc of one's career, and even exiting from the workforce at retirement.
There are a lot of ways to obtain these skills, and it is important to really give them attention and practice when opportunities arise in the classroom, such as writing papers and giving presentations, to learning from podcasts and reading books and attending open webinars by experts and influencers. These skills are very attainable, but I have found that few graduates take the opportunities to develop them, but by putting forth that extra effort, a graduate can really stand out.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Culinary Manager job market given the pandemic?
Jessica Wickey-Byrd: In regards to the job market in the hospitality and tourism industry, the biggest trend we are seeing is the ability to pivot into other industries while ours is rebuilding. Hospitality students have excellent transferable skills that translate across multiple industries. They have guest service skills, marketing skills, financial skills, and human resource skills that are applicable in retail, real estate, financial services, healthcare, senior living, marketing and more. Hospitality students are trained with servant leadership, and have the soft skills to be leaders across all careers.
Amanda Stansbie
Internship CoordinatorGrand Valley State University
Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management
What experience really stands out on Culinary Manager resumes?
Amanda Stansbie: -Career progression and development within said career.
-A purpose to the resume-the appropriate steps have seemingly been followed to reach the individual's 'dream goals.'
-Loyalty and commitment to a desired career path.
-Hard work and [relatively] consistent employment.
-Your areas of interest and what you do in your own time; volunteer work, hobbies etc., indicators of the type of person you are and how you might 'fit in' with the organization you are applying to work for. Many organizations are becoming more 'invested' in corporate social responsibility, thus working with your local community through volunteerism shows high character traits, selflessness and humility.
Evelyn Green Ph.D.
Director, Hospitality & Tourism Workforce Innovation Alliance, Asst. Professor, Department of Hospitality & Tourism ManagementUniversity of South Alabama
Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Culinary Manager job market given the pandemic?
Evelyn Green Ph.D.: Given the pandemic, the transition to virtual communication, from remote learning to virtual job interviews and the creation of new remote jobs or positions that never existed before, are some of the biggest trends that are likely to become a mainstay of our job market. I will use the analogy of the introduction of microwave cooking: once launched, it became a mainstay of our day-to-day lives. It never truly replaced oven or stove-top cooking, but it carved a place of importance, value, and relevance in our daily need for quick and instantaneous gratification. With the creation and rise of remote job opportunities, the job market is now truly global. Remote job opportunities allow for mobility. One can work anywhere, anytime. This broadens the job market, while simultaneously increasing its competitiveness. There's a trending demand for technical skills which may increase demand for career and technical programs offered by community colleges. Technology and practical skills, such as software programming and culinary arts, are great skills to acquire if your passion resides in these areas.