Food service director vs catering manager

The differences between food service directors and catering 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 food service director and a catering manager. Additionally, a food service director has an average salary of $53,939, which is higher than the $51,962 average annual salary of a catering manager.

The top three skills for a food service director include customer service, culinary and servsafe. The most important skills for a catering manager are customer service, culinary, and food service.

Food service director vs catering manager overview

	Food Service Director	Catering Manager
Yearly salary	$53,939	$51,962
Hourly rate	$25.93	$24.98
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	136,337	88,658
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	4	4

What does a food service director do?

A food service director is responsible for managing the foodservice operations, achieving the customers' highest satisfaction by supervising the kitchen personnel, monitoring the food distribution, and responding to the guests' inquiries and concerns. Foodservice directors manage the food inventories, ensuring the adequacy of all the ingredients and materials, and keeping the storage safe and clean all the time by enforcing strict sanitary and hygienic procedures. A food service director must be updated with the current food industry trends to update the menu regularly and meet the guests' demands.

What does a catering manager do?

Catering managers are responsible for managing the daily catering operations and services in hotels, restaurants, and resorts. They monitor the quality of food and service provided by their outlets as well as make sure they are presented well. Their goals include achieving high customer satisfaction, producing excellent quality food, and maintaining that sanitary protocols are strictly followed. A degree is not a standard requirement for this job; however, employers do value those who have relevant qualifications with food, home, hotel, and hospitality management.

Food service director vs catering manager salary

Food service directors and catering managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Service Director	Catering Manager
Average salary	$53,939	$51,962
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $82,000	Between $37,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Santa Clara, CA
Highest paying state	California	Nevada
Best paying company	Baptist Health Care	Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry	Health Care	Hospitality

Differences between food service director and catering manager education

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

	Food Service Director	Catering Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Food service director vs catering manager demographics

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

	Food Service Director	Catering Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%	Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.3% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between food service director and catering manager duties and responsibilities

Food service director example responsibilities.

Train and manage countless dishwashers, cooks, servers, and other managers to achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Manage both front of the house (FOH) and back of the house (BOH) operations.
Manage a team of 12 managers and 160 FTE.
Achieve highest level of compliance with CMS and Steritech audits.
Manage departmental budget and payroll for 111 FTE's, service and production of ~ 1200 meals/day.
Manage food services at 142 bed sub-acute rehabilitation and skil nursing facility with a staff of 43 FTE's.

Catering manager example responsibilities.

Prepare and manage BEOs to client specifications including auto-visual requirements.
Assist patients by test tasting food for allergies and accuracy.
Design and consult members on d cor, menu and wine selection for private events.
Ensure that those with food allergies or restrict diets have appropriate safe dishes to consume at meal times.
Work closely with culinary, stewarding and banquet department on specialty menus and customize events.
Full responsibility for all operations of several bars during service time including reporting and finance management.

Food service director vs catering manager skills

Common food service director skills

Customer Service, 13%
Culinary, 9%
ServSafe, 8%
Food Preparation, 6%
Good Judgment, 5%
Cost Control, 4%

Common catering manager skills

Customer Service, 25%
Culinary, 10%
Food Service, 10%
Excellent Client, 6%
Booking, 4%
Customer Satisfaction, 4%

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Food Service Director
Food Service Director vs Catering Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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