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.
Kitchen manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real kitchen manager resumes:
- 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.
- Practice and oversee FIFO food management including inventory reporting and food orders.
- Establish HAACP systems, used FMS for production and recipes.
- Create and respond to all USDA corrective actions resulting in a positive relationship with USDA.
- Plan theme meals to coordinate with camp themes and holidays and plan menus for campers with allergies.
- Oversee and train new employees in food preparation and production, including cooking, garnishing, and presentation.
- Monitor and train all on food safety, prepare for FDA & health department inspection at all times.
- Estimate food, liquor, wine, and other beverage consumption to anticipate amounts to be purchase or requisition.
- Ensure storage and on-line organization in accordance to FIFO (first-in, first-out) to maximize efficiency and regulate overproduction.
- Order all wine, food and supplies including high-end items from specialty vendors (e.g., seafood from Maine).
Kitchen manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Kitchen Managers are proficient in Customer Service, Kitchen Equipment, and Cleanliness. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Kitchen Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 15%
Created critical measurement customer service strategies, which implemented change and resolved customer problems by redefining quality and productivity standards.
- Kitchen Equipment, 13%
Planned/prepared NEW daily and special menu items, ordered inventory, managed budget, performed minor maintenance/repair on kitchen equipment.
- Cleanliness, 9%
Ensured and maintained cleanliness and hygiene of the production environment utilizing proper safety cleaning procedures.
- Food Handling, 9%
Supervised all other aspects of Restaurant operation including Staff Development* Ensures proper food handling practices, Safety, and Sanitation
- Fifo, 8%
Practiced and oversaw FIFO food management including inventory reporting and food orders.
- Food Waste, 6%
Coordinate assignments of cooking personnel to ensure minimal food waste and timely preparation.
Common skills that a kitchen manager uses to do their job include "customer service," "kitchen equipment," and "cleanliness." You can find details on the most important kitchen manager responsibilities below.
Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a kitchen manager to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "food service managers must understand all aspects of the restaurant business, including how to budget for supplies, comply with regulations, and manage workers." Kitchen managers often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "fast-paced, very intense during peak business hours, cleanliness and organization is a must at all times. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform kitchen manager duties is communication skills. Kitchen managers responsibilities require that "food service managers must give clear orders to staff and be able to convey information effectively to employees and customers." Kitchen managers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintained control of targeted cost of goods & labor budgets through consistent communication & follow up w/ boh management teams. "
Customer-service skills. kitchen managers are also known for customer-service skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to kitchen manager responsibilities, because "food service managers must be courteous and attentive when dealing with patrons." A kitchen manager resume example shows how customer-service skills is used in the workplace: "maintain cleanliness, executing productivity during every shift and ensure guest satisfaction. "
Leadership skills. Another common skill required for kitchen manager responsibilities is "leadership skills." This skill comes up in the duties of kitchen managers all the time, as "managers must establish good relationships with staff to maintain a productive work environment." An excerpt from a real kitchen manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a kitchen manager does: "demonstrate leadership through managing restaurant cooks by holding them accountable to food handling policy. "
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what a kitchen manager does. Kitchen manager responsibilities require this skill because "managers have many different responsibilities, including scheduling and overseeing staff, budgeting, and maintaining financial records." This resume example highlights how kitchen manager duties rely on this skill: "conducted daily pre shift and weekly boh meetings to ensure organizational efficiency. "
The three companies that hire the most kitchen managers are:
- Texas Roadhouse305 kitchen managers jobs
- Goodwin Recruiting292 kitchen managers jobs
- Verano94 kitchen managers jobs
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Compare different kitchen managers
Kitchen manager vs. Food and beverage manager
A food and beverage manager is an individual responsible for ensuring that quality food and drinks are being served at a restaurant or hotel. Food and beverage managers are required to be excellent with customers and should have great management skills to meet the organization's labor and financial goals. They create food and drink menus and guarantee customers that they comply with their food and safety regulations. They are also required to negotiate with suppliers to arrange the delivery of food and beverage products.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a kitchen manager are more likely to require skills like "kitchen equipment," "fifo," "food waste," and "food safety." On the other hand, a job as a food and beverage manager requires skills like "wine," "guest service," "payroll," and "excellent time management." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Food and beverage managers tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $56,929. In contrast, kitchen managers make the biggest average salary, $48,707, in the hospitality industry.food and beverage managers tend to reach similar levels of education than kitchen managers. In fact, food and beverage managers are 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen manager vs. Assistant manager/shift manager
An assistant manager/shift manager assists managers in maintaining an establishment's smooth workflow. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their company or industry of employment, it usually includes participating in setting goals and guidelines, establishing budgets and schedules, delegating tasks among staff, and monitoring operations, solving issues should there be any. They also perform administrative support tasks such as coordinating with internal and external parties, preparing and processing documents, handling calls and correspondence, organizing files, and implementing policies and regulations. In the absence of the manager, an assistant manager assumes their responsibilities to maintain efficient operations.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real kitchen manager resumes. While kitchen manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "kitchen equipment," "food handling," "fifo," and "food waste," assistant manager/shift managers use skills like "employee engagement," "customer satisfaction," "guest service," and "payroll."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Assistant manager/shift managers tend to reach similar levels of education than kitchen managers. In fact, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen manager vs. Restaurant/bar manager
An hourly manager will lead and supervise a team of employees. As an hourly manager, you will maintain the shift operations you are assigned to and keep staff informed of operational issues. You will be responsible for the employees' health and safety and support their professional and personal growth. Other duties include providing employee direction and oversight, coaching and mentoring staff, and maintaining transparent communication. Additionally, you are also responsible for maintaining the work schedules of employees and managing the organization's budgetary and operational activities.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from kitchen manager resumes include skills like "kitchen equipment," "fifo," "food waste," and "food safety," whereas a restaurant/bar manager is more likely to list skills in "wine," "restaurant operations," "guest service," and "bars. "
Restaurant/bar managers earn the best pay in the media industry, where they command an average salary of $52,593. Kitchen managers earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $48,707.Most restaurant/bar managers achieve a similar degree level compared to kitchen managers. For example, they're 1.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen manager vs. Hourly manager
Even though a few skill sets overlap between kitchen managers and hourly managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a kitchen manager might have more use for skills like "kitchen equipment," "food handling," "fifo," and "food waste." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hourly managers require skills like "management," "guest service," "quality service," and "cash handling. "
Hourly managers reach similar levels of education compared to kitchen managers, in general. The difference is that they're 1.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of kitchen manager
Updated January 8, 2025
