Kitchen crew vs kitchen lead

The differences between kitchen crews and kitchen leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a kitchen lead has an average salary of $35,678, which is higher than the $29,874 average annual salary of a kitchen crew.

The top three skills for a kitchen crew include food handling, safety standards and cleanliness. The most important skills for a kitchen lead are customer service, culinary, and food products.

Kitchen crew vs kitchen lead overview

	Kitchen Crew	Kitchen Lead
Yearly salary	$29,874	$35,678
Hourly rate	$14.36	$17.15
Growth rate	14%	10%
Number of jobs	166,944	56,300
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 37%
Average age	23	37
Years of experience	-	-

Kitchen crew vs kitchen lead salary

Kitchen crews and kitchen leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Kitchen Crew	Kitchen Lead
Average salary	$29,874	$35,678
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $37,000	Between $27,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Redmond, WA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Washington
Best paying company	McCalls Catering & Events	Zoës Kitchen
Best paying industry	Retail	Manufacturing

Differences between kitchen crew and kitchen lead education

There are a few differences between a kitchen crew and a kitchen lead in terms of educational background:

	Kitchen Crew	Kitchen Lead
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 37%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Kitchen crew vs kitchen lead demographics

Here are the differences between kitchen crews' and kitchen leads' demographics:

	Kitchen Crew	Kitchen Lead
Average age	23	37
Gender ratio	Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2%	Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 7.0% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	8%	10%

Differences between kitchen crew and kitchen lead duties and responsibilities

Kitchen crew example responsibilities.

Manage facility/workers, close drive-thru, enter information into computer, make hamburgers.
Employ to cook product in the kitchen (on the grill and deep fryers) and clean kitchen equipment when necessary.
Wait on customers, run drive-thru, clean bathrooms, clean lobby, and close front line after closing.
Provide total operational oversight, customer service, and business management through proven leadership and management experience.
use chemical substance to clean stoves.
Process orders by punching them into the POS database and handle cash or credit cards transactions.

Kitchen lead example responsibilities.

Manage grill area and demonstrate leadership.
Can work without supervision in BOH, prepping and organizing.
Filter all fryers, change oil, and run dishwashers.
Involve in revamping standardize recipes, and teaching staff consistent culinary techniques.
Assign and check completion of side and/or cleaning tasks throughout BOH positions.
Start as p.m. dishwasher, and with no prior culinary experience work to kitchen lead.

Kitchen crew vs kitchen lead skills

Common kitchen crew skills

Food Handling, 28%
Safety Standards, 19%
Cleanliness, 18%
Culinary, 8%
Food Quality, 8%
Food Products, 5%

Common kitchen lead skills

Customer Service, 21%
Culinary, 21%
Food Products, 14%
Food Service, 13%
Food Safety, 5%
Quality Food, 5%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Kitchen Crew
Kitchen Crew vs Kitchen Lead

Updated January 8, 2025

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