Director of food and beverage vs kitchen manager

The differences between directors of food and beverage 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 director of food and beverage and a kitchen manager. Additionally, a director of food and beverage has an average salary of $88,654, which is higher than the $50,448 average annual salary of a kitchen manager.

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

Director of food and beverage vs kitchen manager overview

	Director Of Food And Beverage	Kitchen Manager
Yearly salary	$88,654	$50,448
Hourly rate	$42.62	$24.25
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	130,685	151,781
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Associate Degree, 31%
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 kitchen manager do?

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.

Director of food and beverage vs kitchen manager salary

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

	Director Of Food And Beverage	Kitchen Manager
Average salary	$88,654	$50,448
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $124,000	Between $37,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Nevada	Rhode Island
Best paying company	MUFG EMEA	Hillstone Restaurant Group
Best paying industry	Real Estate	Hospitality

Differences between director of food and beverage and kitchen manager education

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

	Director Of Food And Beverage	Kitchen Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Associate Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Director of food and beverage vs kitchen manager demographics

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

	Director Of Food And Beverage	Kitchen Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 80.9% Female, 19.1%	Male, 72.0% Female, 28.0%
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, 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%

Differences between director of food and beverage and kitchen 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.

Kitchen manager example responsibilities.

Manage the daily operations of the kitchen, providing professional leadership and direction to all personnel.
Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items.
Manage kitchen staff and cook, develop new recipes, inventory and ordering, and fill in for bartending.
Manage kitchen staff, delegates responsibilities, place groceries order, prepare menus and prepare food base on recipes.
Prepare bills for orders, manage cash register, help with accounting using adding machine, POS software and programs.
Manage the daily operation of food production for patients, guests and employees as well as all internal and external catering.

Director of food and beverage vs kitchen 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 kitchen manager skills

Customer Service, 15%
Kitchen Equipment, 13%
Cleanliness, 9%
Food Handling, 9%
Fifo, 8%
Food Waste, 6%

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Director Of Food And Beverage
Director Of Food And Beverage vs Kitchen Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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