Director of food and beverage vs food service manager

The differences between directors of food and beverage and food service 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 director of food and beverage and a food service manager. Additionally, a director of food and beverage has an average salary of $88,654, which is higher than the $43,564 average annual salary of a food service manager.

The top three skills for a director of food and beverage include wine, customer service and culinary. The most important skills for a food service manager are customer service, sanitation standards, and cleanliness.

Director of food and beverage vs food service manager overview

	Director Of Food And Beverage	Food Service Manager
Yearly salary	$88,654	$43,564
Hourly rate	$42.62	$20.94
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	130,685	160,740
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	4	4

What does a director of food and beverage do?

A director of food and beverage is responsible for ensuring the quality of foods and services to maintain the guests' overall satisfaction on their dining experience. Food and beverage directors manage menu selections, analyzing current food trends to meet guests' demands. They also handle budget allocation, negotiating with reliable suppliers for high-quality materials and ingredients for minimal costs. A director of food and beverage must have excellent leadership and communication skills, observe strict sanitary standards and hygienic regulations for adherence of all personnel during operations.

What does a food service manager do?

A food service manager's role is to oversee and supervise all operations in a restaurant or a similar setting. They are primarily responsible for ensuring customer satisfaction through optimal foodservice, an efficient workforce, and a safe and healthy environment. A food service manager must also greet customers, escort them to their tables, handle any issues and concerns, manage the employees, train new hires, manage the payroll and budget, and coordinate with all restaurant personnel. Furthermore, a food service manager must delegate tasks among employees and assign their schedules accordingly.

Director of food and beverage vs food service manager salary

Directors of food and beverage and food service managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Food And Beverage	Food Service Manager
Average salary	$88,654	$43,564
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $124,000	Between $28,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Nevada	Rhode Island
Best paying company	MUFG EMEA	Kern Community College District
Best paying industry	Real Estate	Government

Differences between director of food and beverage and food service manager education

There are a few differences between a director of food and beverage and a food service manager in terms of educational background:

	Director Of Food And Beverage	Food Service Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Director of food and beverage vs food service manager demographics

Here are the differences between directors of food and beverage' and food service managers' demographics:

	Director Of Food And Beverage	Food Service Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 80.9% Female, 19.1%	Male, 45.8% Female, 54.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 8.5% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between director of food and beverage and food service manager duties and responsibilities

Director of food and beverage example responsibilities.

Achieve established individual catering sales goals and assist team in achieving departmental booking goals.
Lead the implementation of a POS system that integrate mission-critical corporate data to achieve improve planning and management.
Lead development of catering programs for Marriott's full service brands.
Create reports, budgets and revenue forecast in Delphi in order to maintain and manage an efficient department.
Used Marriott computer applications to manage and administer events.
Manage and monitor daily operational duties of full service dining room for patients including creating and maintaining department budget.

Food service manager example responsibilities.

Manage all aspects of the human resources task, including hiring, training, payroll, and the negotiated contract.
Manage operations and provide support to a team of 245 union employees at various elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.
Manage inventory, ordering and delivery of groceries.
Train food & nutrition team in SERVSAFE, HACCP, knife skills and environmental safety.
Maintain all Intel, Aramark and ServSafe safety, sanitation and security guidelines.
Review and complete adequate weekly sales projections, with mastery of using POS system

Director of food and beverage vs food service manager skills

Common director of food and beverage skills

Wine, 10%
Customer Service, 7%
Culinary, 5%
BARS, 5%
Beverage Operations, 5%
Guest Service, 4%

Common food service manager skills

Customer Service, 27%
Sanitation Standards, 10%
Cleanliness, 7%
Patients, 6%
Kitchen Equipment, 5%
Food Handling, 4%

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Director Of Food And Beverage
Director Of Food And Beverage vs Food Service Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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