Food service supervisor vs food service worker

The differences between food service supervisors and food service workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food service supervisor has an average salary of $32,763, which is higher than the $28,753 average annual salary of a food service worker.

The top three skills for a food service supervisor include good judgment, safety practices and food production. The most important skills for a food service worker are food handling, safety standards, and customer service.

Food service supervisor vs food service worker overview

	Food Service Supervisor	Food Service Worker
Yearly salary	$32,763	$28,753
Hourly rate	$15.75	$13.82
Growth rate	10%	2%
Number of jobs	139,403	169,323
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	39	37
Years of experience	4	-

What does a food service supervisor do?

A Food Service Supervisor oversees employees engaged in serving food. They establish quality standards for foods and keep facilities clean in accordance with state and local regulations.

What does a food service worker do?

Foodservice workers are employees at restaurants, food trucks, or any outlet that provides food to customers. They may be assigned to welcome customers, take food orders, prepare food orders in the kitchen, serve food, handle customer payments, clean up the tables once the guests leave, or maintain the whole store's cleanliness. They may also be assigned to manage inventories, handle stocks and deliveries, and other activities related to the restaurant's successful operations. Foodservice workers must always be hygienic and maintain the sanitation of the area to ensure food safety.

Food service supervisor vs food service worker salary

Food service supervisors and food service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Service Supervisor	Food Service Worker
Average salary	$32,763	$28,753
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $41,000	Between $22,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	Minnesota	Hawaii
Best paying company	Ncar - The National Center For Atmospheric Research	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Retail

Differences between food service supervisor and food service worker education

There are a few differences between a food service supervisor and a food service worker in terms of educational background:

	Food Service Supervisor	Food Service Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	-

Food service supervisor vs food service worker demographics

Here are the differences between food service supervisors' and food service workers' demographics:

	Food Service Supervisor	Food Service Worker
Average age	39	37
Gender ratio	Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8%	Male, 36.6% Female, 63.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 8.5% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	10%	6%

Differences between food service supervisor and food service worker duties and responsibilities

Food service supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage inventory, ordering and delivery of groceries.
Icomply to all HACCP standards and is ServSafe certify.
Compile staff schedules, prepare money for cash drops, operate register and POS.
Perform culinary decision making as it pertain to food inventory, menus, and production methods.
Facilitate training on production equipment and GMP's travele to multiple sites with employees to complete training.
Monitor and document HACCP sanitation standards.

Food service worker example responsibilities.

Volunteer at rehabilitation center/ nursing home escorting and communicating with the patients.
Learned how to do math quickly and efficiently.
Demonstrate money-handling and math skills in processing payments for orders.
Prepare all food stuffs, roasting meats, baking cookies, preparing salads.
Work in full compliance with values of compassion, dignity, excellence, integrity, and team work.
Install and maintain HVAC systems which include walkin coolers and freezers, reach-ins and pass thru and a/c systems

Food service supervisor vs food service worker skills

Common food service supervisor skills

Good Judgment, 15%
Safety Practices, 11%
Food Production, 10%
Customer Service, 8%
Food Handling, 8%
Patients, 7%

Common food service worker skills

Food Handling, 22%
Safety Standards, 9%
Customer Service, 9%
Patients, 7%
Cash Control, 4%
Rehabilitation, 4%

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Food Service Supervisor
Food Service Supervisor vs Food Service Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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