Food service director vs food service manager

The differences between food service directors 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 food service director and a food service manager. Additionally, a food service director has an average salary of $53,939, which is higher than the $43,564 average annual salary of a food service manager.

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

Food service director vs food service manager overview

	Food Service Director	Food Service Manager
Yearly salary	$53,939	$43,564
Hourly rate	$25.93	$20.94
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	136,337	160,740
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
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 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.

Food service director vs food service manager salary

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

	Food Service Director	Food Service Manager
Average salary	$53,939	$43,564
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $82,000	Between $28,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	California	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Baptist Health Care	Kern Community College District
Best paying industry	Health Care	Government

Differences between food service director and food service manager education

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

	Food Service Director	Food Service Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Food service director vs food service manager demographics

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

	Food Service Director	Food Service Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%	Male, 45.8% Female, 54.2%
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, 11.5% 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 food service director and food service 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.

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

Food service director vs food service manager skills

Common food service director skills

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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