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The differences between dietary managers and restaurant 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 dietary manager and a restaurant manager. Additionally, a restaurant manager has an average salary of $52,202, which is higher than the $42,856 average annual salary of a dietary manager.
The top three skills for a dietary manager include kitchen equipment, patients and dietary services. The most important skills for a restaurant manager are customer service, guest satisfaction, and food handling.
| Dietary Manager | Restaurant Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $42,856 | $52,202 |
| Hourly rate | $20.60 | $25.10 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 95,306 | 225,340 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A restaurant manager is responsible for handling the overall restaurant operations. These include monitoring revenues and daily restaurant sales, checking inventories and supplies, negotiating with third-party vendors, and managing customers' inquiries and complaints. Other duties include creating promotional offers, developing and improving sales strategies, organizing staff duties, maintaining the highest sanitary standards for everyone's strict compliance, and controlling operational expenses. A restaurant manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills and exceptional knowledge of food industry management.
Dietary managers and restaurant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Dietary Manager | Restaurant Manager | |
| Average salary | $42,856 | $52,202 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $60,000 | Between $39,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | - | Hillstone Restaurant Group |
| Best paying industry | - | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a dietary manager and a restaurant manager in terms of educational background:
| Dietary Manager | Restaurant Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Business |
| Most common college | Cornell University | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between dietary managers' and restaurant managers' demographics:
| Dietary Manager | Restaurant Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% | Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 9.4% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |