Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between restaurant managers and chefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a restaurant manager, becoming a chef takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a restaurant manager has an average salary of $52,202, which is higher than the $46,824 average annual salary of a chef.
The top three skills for a restaurant manager include customer service, guest satisfaction and food handling. The most important skills for a chef are customer service, food handling, and culinary.
| Restaurant Manager | Chef | |
| Yearly salary | $52,202 | $46,824 |
| Hourly rate | $25.10 | $22.51 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 225,340 | 65,737 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
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.
A chef is the master of the kitchen--someone who is creative and innovative with food. Chefs are the pride and reputation of each restaurant or dining establishments. They make sure every meal served is fresh and oversees the kitchen operation. They also create recipes, study menus, and prepare significant-high-quality dishes that represent the restaurant. They say academic requirements aren't needed, but anyone who has a passion for food and cooking can be a chef.
Restaurant managers and chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Restaurant Manager | Chef | |
| Average salary | $52,202 | $46,824 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $69,000 | Between $31,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Hillstone Restaurant Group | Bridgewater Associates |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a restaurant manager and a chef in terms of educational background:
| Restaurant Manager | Chef | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Cornell University | Drexel University |
Here are the differences between restaurant managers' and chefs' demographics:
| Restaurant Manager | Chef | |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5% | Male, 74.8% Female, 25.2% |
| 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, 10.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 11.4% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 9% |