Kitchen manager vs general manager

The differences between kitchen managers and general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a kitchen manager, becoming a general manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a general manager has an average salary of $71,581, which is higher than the $50,448 average annual salary of a kitchen manager.

The top three skills for a kitchen manager include customer service, kitchen equipment and cleanliness. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.

Kitchen manager vs general manager overview

	Kitchen Manager	General Manager
Yearly salary	$50,448	$71,581
Hourly rate	$24.25	$34.41
Growth rate	10%	6%
Number of jobs	151,781	442,690
Job satisfaction	-	4.25
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	39	44
Years of experience	4	6

What does a kitchen manager do?

A kitchen manager is responsible for supervising overall kitchen operations duties, checking food storage, and distributing appropriate kitchen staff tasks. Kitchen managers' jobs also include monitoring food preparation, ensuring that all orders and serving portions are correct, organizing menu prices, researching current market trends of the food industry, and maintaining the highest sanitation procedures. Kitchen managers should also assist guests with their inquiries, manage concerns, and handle complaints. They should have excellent communication and leadership skills to lead the kitchen staff in providing the best customer experience.

What does a general manager do?

A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.

Kitchen manager vs general manager salary

Kitchen managers and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Kitchen Manager	General Manager
Average salary	$50,448	$71,581
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $67,000	Between $40,000 And $126,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Hawaii
Best paying company	Hillstone Restaurant Group	NVIDIA
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Manufacturing

Differences between kitchen manager and general manager education

There are a few differences between a kitchen manager and a general manager in terms of educational background:

	Kitchen Manager	General Manager
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	University of Pennsylvania

Kitchen manager vs general manager demographics

Here are the differences between kitchen managers' and general managers' demographics:

	Kitchen Manager	General Manager
Average age	39	44
Gender ratio	Male, 72.0% Female, 28.0%	Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between kitchen manager and general manager duties and responsibilities

Kitchen manager example responsibilities.

Manage the daily operations of the kitchen, providing professional leadership and direction to all personnel.
Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items.
Manage kitchen staff and cook, develop new recipes, inventory and ordering, and fill in for bartending.
Manage kitchen staff, delegates responsibilities, place groceries order, prepare menus and prepare food base on recipes.
Prepare bills for orders, manage cash register, help with accounting using adding machine, POS software and programs.
Manage the daily operation of food production for patients, guests and employees as well as all internal and external catering.

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General manager example responsibilities.

Generate positive EBITDA and improve cash flow by managing costs and inventory.
Manage all recruiting and training efforts, and develop systems to track ROI comparison results.
Work as a FOH AGM and train to manage all staff functions including training, hiring, food and labor controls.
Develop yearly budget for multiple hotels that include revenue, labor, fix and variable costs to achieve overall EBITDA goal.
Task primarily with building logistics infrastructure, managing operational expenses, and supporting start up strategies.
Train and manage FOH staff and improve overall quality, organization and professionalism of restaurant and bakery.

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Kitchen manager vs general manager skills

Common kitchen manager skills

Customer Service, 15%
Kitchen Equipment, 13%
Cleanliness, 9%
Food Handling, 9%
Fifo, 8%
Food Waste, 6%

Common general manager skills

Customer Service, 20%
Cleanliness, 18%
Food Safety, 7%
Guest Service, 4%
Payroll, 4%
Math, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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