Personal chef vs caterer

The differences between personal chefs and caterers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a personal chef has an average salary of $47,681, which is higher than the $28,891 average annual salary of a caterer.

The top three skills for a personal chef include plan menus, in-home and culinary. The most important skills for a caterer are food service, kitchen equipment, and food delivery.

Personal chef vs caterer overview

	Personal Chef	Caterer
Yearly salary	$47,681	$28,891
Hourly rate	$22.92	$13.89
Growth rate	15%	10%
Number of jobs	30,092	1,648
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	42	37
Years of experience	6	-

Personal chef vs caterer salary

Personal chefs and caterers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Personal Chef	Caterer
Average salary	$47,681	$28,891
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $72,000	Between $22,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	-	Beverly, MA
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	The College of St. Scholastica
Best paying industry	-	Hospitality

Differences between personal chef and caterer education

There are a few differences between a personal chef and a caterer in terms of educational background:

	Personal Chef	Caterer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Business
Most common college	Drexel University	-

Personal chef vs caterer demographics

Here are the differences between personal chefs' and caterers' demographics:

	Personal Chef	Caterer
Average age	42	37
Gender ratio	Male, 49.4% Female, 50.6%	Male, 43.0% Female, 57.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 11.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 6.1% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	9%	10%

Differences between personal chef and caterer duties and responsibilities

Personal chef example responsibilities.

Travel and manage additional kitchens & staff at estates in Hamptons, NJ & NYC.
Cook and manage daily household functions for a large extend family in the Amagansette and NYC.
Manage the kitchens, purchase groceries, supplies and equipment; prepares invoicing, and handles receipts receivable.
Control food and payroll costs to achieve maximum profitability.
Prepare and package scratch-made, healthy meals, while consider allergies and personal taste.
Shop for client's groceries, and prepare weekly meals in the clients home while maintaining ServSafe health standards.

Caterer example responsibilities.

Help serve foods from buffet to ADM employees.
Plan and prepare meals for the local Headstart program.
Set up's and breaking down of parties, service, bartending
Set up tables, action stations, buffets, service carts, dessert table/carts and cordial carts.
Serve and wait on diners in traditional sit-down meal settings as well as buffets and drink bars.
Perform bartending for many events, often individually.

Personal chef vs caterer skills

Common personal chef skills

Plan Menus, 19%
In-Home, 18%
Culinary, 16%
Food Preparation, 6%
Meal Planning, 6%
Meal Prep, 4%

Common caterer skills

Food Service, 28%
Kitchen Equipment, 20%
Food Delivery, 8%
Banquet Service, 7%
Bartending, 5%
Fine Dining, 4%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Personal Chef
Personal Chef vs Caterer

Updated January 8, 2025

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