Restaurant manager vs catering manager

The differences between restaurant managers and catering managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a restaurant manager and a catering manager. Additionally, a restaurant manager has an average salary of $52,202, which is higher than the $51,962 average annual salary of a catering manager.

The top three skills for a restaurant manager include customer service, guest satisfaction and food handling. The most important skills for a catering manager are customer service, culinary, and food service.

Restaurant manager vs catering manager overview

	Restaurant Manager	Catering Manager
Yearly salary	$52,202	$51,962
Hourly rate	$25.10	$24.98
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	225,340	88,658
Job satisfaction	1	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	4	4

What does a restaurant manager do?

A restaurant manager is responsible for handling the overall restaurant operations. These include monitoring revenues and daily restaurant sales, checking inventories and supplies, negotiating with third-party vendors, and managing customers' inquiries and complaints. Other duties include creating promotional offers, developing and improving sales strategies, organizing staff duties, maintaining the highest sanitary standards for everyone's strict compliance, and controlling operational expenses. A restaurant manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills and exceptional knowledge of food industry management.

What does a catering manager do?

Catering managers are responsible for managing the daily catering operations and services in hotels, restaurants, and resorts. They monitor the quality of food and service provided by their outlets as well as make sure they are presented well. Their goals include achieving high customer satisfaction, producing excellent quality food, and maintaining that sanitary protocols are strictly followed. A degree is not a standard requirement for this job; however, employers do value those who have relevant qualifications with food, home, hotel, and hospitality management.

Restaurant manager vs catering manager salary

Restaurant managers and catering managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Restaurant Manager	Catering Manager
Average salary	$52,202	$51,962
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $69,000	Between $37,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Santa Clara, CA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Nevada
Best paying company	Hillstone Restaurant Group	Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between restaurant manager and catering manager education

There are a few differences between a restaurant manager and a catering manager in terms of educational background:

	Restaurant Manager	Catering Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Restaurant manager vs catering manager demographics

Here are the differences between restaurant managers' and catering managers' demographics:

	Restaurant Manager	Catering Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%	Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 9.4% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between restaurant manager and catering manager duties and responsibilities

Restaurant manager example responsibilities.

Manage staff by teaching them the correct procedures along with making sure they are working up to Marriott standards.
Manage associates while bartending and serving in a family-own restaurant.
Coordinate, communicate and delegate FOH responsibilities to staff to ensure excellent operations are consistently achieve.
Maintain corporate accounts on QuickBooks.
Master QuickBooks to track company expenses and revenue.
Supervise and train dining and in-room dining staff.

Catering manager example responsibilities.

Prepare and manage BEOs to client specifications including auto-visual requirements.
Assist patients by test tasting food for allergies and accuracy.
Design and consult members on d cor, menu and wine selection for private events.
Ensure that those with food allergies or restrict diets have appropriate safe dishes to consume at meal times.
Work closely with culinary, stewarding and banquet department on specialty menus and customize events.
Full responsibility for all operations of several bars during service time including reporting and finance management.

Restaurant manager vs catering manager skills

Common restaurant manager skills

Customer Service, 14%
Guest Satisfaction, 7%
Food Handling, 7%
Cleanliness, 6%
Restaurant Management, 5%
Guest Service, 5%

Common catering manager skills

Customer Service, 25%
Culinary, 10%
Food Service, 10%
Excellent Client, 6%
Booking, 4%
Customer Satisfaction, 4%

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Restaurant Manager vs Catering Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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