Food service specialist vs sous chef

The differences between food service specialists and sous chefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sous chef has an average salary of $48,716, which is higher than the $29,286 average annual salary of a food service specialist.

The top three skills for a food service specialist include kitchen equipment, preventive maintenance and MOS. The most important skills for a sous chef are culinary, food handling, and food preparation.

Food service specialist vs sous chef overview

	Food Service Specialist	Sous Chef
Yearly salary	$29,286	$48,716
Hourly rate	$14.08	$23.42
Growth rate	2%	15%
Number of jobs	95,112	22,393
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	Associate Degree, 51%
Average age	37	42
Years of experience	-	6

What does a food service specialist do?

The food service specialists monitor food preparation, ensuring that the guests get their correct orders, providing them the best dining experience and satisfaction. A food service specialist takes the guests' orders, processes their payments, and serves their orders timely and efficiently. They also monitor the stock inventories, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for stock requests, and assist with kitchen duties as needed, especially on high volume days. A food service specialist must have a broad knowledge of the food services industry, analyzing the current food trends to make suggestions for menus, and responding to the guests' concerns.

What does a sous chef do?

A sous chef is responsible for directing food preparation and general kitchen tasks with the supervision of an executive chef. A sous chef duties also include customizing healthy menus, maintaining quality check for foods, adhering to the highest sanitation procedures and standards, monitoring food and equipment supplies, suggesting new specialties, assisting customer's inquiries, and managing client's complaints. A sous chef must have excellent communication and decision-making skills, as well as updated with the current food trends to provide the best services for the customers.

Food service specialist vs sous chef salary

Food service specialists and sous chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Service Specialist	Sous Chef
Average salary	$29,286	$48,716
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $43,000	Between $33,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Atlantic City, NJ
Highest paying state	New York	Hawaii
Best paying company	Brookhaven National Laboratory	RH
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between food service specialist and sous chef education

There are a few differences between a food service specialist and a sous chef in terms of educational background:

	Food Service Specialist	Sous Chef
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	Associate Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	Drexel University

Food service specialist vs sous chef demographics

Here are the differences between food service specialists' and sous chefs' demographics:

	Food Service Specialist	Sous Chef
Average age	37	42
Gender ratio	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 6.7% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 11.3% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	9%

Differences between food service specialist and sous chef duties and responsibilities

Food service specialist example responsibilities.

Regulate temperatures of ovens, broilers, and grills.
Apply a vast number or USDA and USDC Standards/Specifications to determine compliance with contractual requirements.
Maintain a safe work environment for the preparation of food through sanitation and HACCP procedures.
Inspect prepared foods place on the serving line to ensure temperature and quality follow ServSafe protocols.
Utilize the techniques of roasting, broiling, frying, grilling, steaming, and baking.
Ensure that food purchase and procure for multiple units is in accordance with DOD and USDA standards and contractual documents.

Sous chef example responsibilities.

Manage FOH duties, along with customer relations.
Train, mentore, manage and discipline lead chefs, associate chefs, prep cooks, pastry assistants and dishwashers.
Manage a staff of 45 union personnel in preparation of meals for hospital patients and cafeteria patrons for three meals daily.
Control food and payroll costs to achieve maximum profitability.
Manage people and oversee production of high-volume establishment for this upscale restaurant specializing in Mexican cuisine.
Train and manage all culinary personnel, supervise and coordinate all culinary activities, estimate food consumption and manage food cost.

Food service specialist vs sous chef skills

Common food service specialist skills

Kitchen Equipment, 33%
Preventive Maintenance, 24%
MOS, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
Cleanliness, 4%
Patients, 4%

Common sous chef skills

Culinary, 15%
Food Handling, 8%
Food Preparation, 7%
Customer Service, 5%
Fine Dining, 5%
Food Service, 5%

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Food Service Specialist vs Sous Chef

Updated January 8, 2025

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