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Kitchen chef vs sous chef

The differences between kitchen chefs and sous chefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a kitchen chef and a sous chef. Additionally, a sous chef has an average salary of $48,716, which is higher than the $37,579 average annual salary of a kitchen chef.

The top three skills for a kitchen chef include culinary, food handling and quality standards. The most important skills for a sous chef are culinary, food handling, and food preparation.

Kitchen chef vs sous chef overview

Kitchen ChefSous Chef
Yearly salary$37,579$48,716
Hourly rate$18.07$23.42
Growth rate15%15%
Number of jobs33,78522,393
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 34%Associate Degree, 51%
Average age4242
Years of experience66

Kitchen chef vs sous chef salary

Kitchen chefs and sous chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.

Kitchen ChefSous Chef
Average salary$37,579$48,716
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $57,000Between $33,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City-Atlantic City, NJ
Highest paying state-Hawaii
Best paying company-RH
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between kitchen chef and sous chef education

There are a few differences between a kitchen chef and a sous chef in terms of educational background:

Kitchen ChefSous Chef
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 34%Associate Degree, 51%
Most common majorCulinary ArtsCulinary Arts
Most common collegeStanford UniversityDrexel University

Kitchen chef vs sous chef demographics

Here are the differences between kitchen chefs' and sous chefs' demographics:

Kitchen ChefSous Chef
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 70.0% Female, 30.0%Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 12.7% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between kitchen chef and sous chef duties and responsibilities

Kitchen chef example responsibilities.

  • Integrate key culinary leaders into casino and food and beverage operations, achieving positive results and industry awards.
  • Create and prepare international cuisine for executive clientele by using ingenuity, organization, efficiency in production and attention to detail
  • Cook menu items on a grill, broiler, and used a deep fryer, oven, stove, and toaster.
  • Monitor the buffets, organize inventory, purchase orders, record temperatures, make chocolate sculptures, and sugar sculptures.

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.
  • Show more

Kitchen chef vs sous chef skills

Common kitchen chef skills
  • Culinary, 16%
  • Food Handling, 13%
  • Quality Standards, 11%
  • Kitchen Equipment, 6%
  • Fine Dining, 5%
  • Food Storage, 5%
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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