Chef Salary Information

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Wearing the Chef’s Jacket

It’s a special accomplishment for the person who trades in the cook’s jacket for that of a chef. It generally means years of commitment to the food service industry, learning the trade from the ground up, as master potato peeler and vegetable slicer to soup and sauce preparations, then assistant cook for the main dishes. Restaurants like to groom their chefs. Chain restaurants concentrate on cooks who are able to execute the platters for the menu with a consistency that trademarks their items as the type of flavor the customers have come to expect. Country clubs, lodges and independent restaurants have limited staff, but an unlimited appetite for chefs who are able to bring the cooking experience to a new level.

Corporate restaurants generally pay the highest salary for a chef. While independent restaurants, grossing one million dollars, pay an average of $40,000 a year for their executive chef, five million dollar grossing corporate restaurants pay their chefs upward to as much as $120,000 a year. Country club executive chefs fit comfortably in the middle of these two pay scales, but their hours are long and hard; often, working twelve hour a day shifts. Country club members like to see a familiar face as their chef, so much of the chef’s time is split between serving fabulous cuisine and the fine arts of hospitality.

From Station Chef to Executive Chef

Wearing a chef’s jacket means you are an expert at the special food services that comes from your particular station. You work with the executive chef in planning the menu and coordinating desserts, beverages, entrees and appetizers. You manage a team of assistant cooks and servers. Your salary as a chef might be that of a head cook, pastry chef or sous chef. Your income in one of these categories will average between $31,000 and $41,000 a year, depending on the restaurant or hospitality industry.

The executive chef works in an administrative position. The job duties entail reviewing food and beverage purchases, developing new recipes and improving the standardized ones, maintaining the safety, sanitary and health standards of the kitchen, food design aesthetics, planning and preparing special menu items, choosing menu designs and determining menu prices. Their job often involves the hiring, training, and promotion of employees.

The Personal Chef

An excellent cook gains a reputation rapidly in the food industry. After working for a few years as a head cook or chef, some people skilled in the culinary arts choose to work independently as a personal chef. Personal chefs may offer their services to special functions, such as weddings, conventions and special events. They may cater to home-based entertainment, producing special meals and banquets for family or business affairs. They may also contract with busy families, producing and packaging meals to be served on a weekly basis. The best salaries for chefs who choose an independent career in catering are found in the metropolitan areas where a personal chef has the potential to make as high as $100,000 a year.

The salary for a chef will vary greatly, depending on the type of food industry and chef position. It takes a lot of hard work, many hours worth of experience and an industrious, adventurous mind to succeed as a chef, but there are some perks. Chefs might receive discount on club, hotel or other company services, professional development opportunities and a number of employee benefits. A good chef is an asset to the company, creating the fabulous meals that keep customers coming back and helping the business thrive.