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The differences between kitchen supervisors and kitchen leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a kitchen supervisor has an average salary of $40,520, which is higher than the $35,678 average annual salary of a kitchen lead.
The top three skills for a kitchen supervisor include culinary, cleanliness and food service. The most important skills for a kitchen lead are customer service, culinary, and food products.
| Kitchen Supervisor | Kitchen Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $40,520 | $35,678 |
| Hourly rate | $19.48 | $17.15 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 66,303 | 56,300 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 34% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A kitchen supervisor is responsible for managing the overall kitchen operations, ensuring that the kitchen employees follow sanitary procedures while doing their high-quality and maximum productivity tasks. Kitchen supervisors manage inventories, checking the adequacy of food supplies and kitchen equipment, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and third-party vendors. They also help develop marketing strategies, research the latest food trends, update menus, and create financial reports and expense forecasting. A kitchen supervisor must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially with responding to customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints.
A kitchen manager acts as the overseer of food preparation and cooking. They ensure that all staff are working efficiently. They maintain the cleanliness of workstations and monitor all supplies used. To avoid lapses, they monitor the staff during cooking to ensure that the kitchen serves the best quality of food. Also, they create reports on the monthly expenses of supplies.
Kitchen supervisors and kitchen leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Kitchen Supervisor | Kitchen Lead | |
| Average salary | $40,520 | $35,678 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $58,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Redmond, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | GoodCents | Zoës Kitchen |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a kitchen supervisor and a kitchen lead in terms of educational background:
| Kitchen Supervisor | Kitchen Lead | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 34% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between kitchen supervisors' and kitchen leads' demographics:
| Kitchen Supervisor | Kitchen Lead | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.0% Female, 35.0% | Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 6.8% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | 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 | 10% | 10% |