What Should I Expect for a Salary as a Culinary Chef in Texas?
Nov 9, 2014 | 12:00 pm
Working as a chef can be a challenging, but a rewarding endeavor. Chefs are asked to dedicate a lot of time and effort toward their craft, often with little or no recognition for their efforts. However, for those with a passion for the culinary arts – recognition isn’t really what it’s all about.
True chefs are passionate about food and can’t imagine life outside a kitchen. Often, that passion has to be a strong enough motivation to keep a chef going. This is especially true considering the salary of a culinary chef can be less than ideal depending on factors such as location, education, and experience. For those living in a large, rural state like Texas – a high salary of a culinary chef often isn’t what brings chefs into the culinary world. For Texas chefs, it’s something a lot more personal.
Tradition and Heritage
“Everything is bigger in Texas”. Anyone who has ever visited the Lone Star State can attest to this fact. Of course, this includes the expectations surrounding chefs and the food they produce. Diners in Texas expect satisfactory portions, bold flavors, and a quality dining experience overall. Because Texas has such a rich, colorful history – visitors and residents alike expect to have a dining experience that matches their expectations of what Texas dining really means.
Traditionally, Texas dining is bold and ‘in your face’ with spicy, explosive flavors and solid portion sizes fit for hungry cowboys. Any chef thinking of working as a culinary chef in Texas should be aware of the history and expectations associated with traditional Texas dining.
Salary Ranges & Statistics of Texas Chefs
The average salary of a culinary chef in Texas ranges from $26,000 (entry level chef) to $44,000 (executive chef), according to the website, Culinarysalary.org. The median annual salary for a chef with mid-level experience (sous chef) is roughly $37,938. According to the same website, the average percentage of male chefs (40%) in Texas is 20% less than female chefs (60%) and the average age of a Texas chef is 36.
Highest Paying Areas to Work as a Culinary Chef in Texas
The salary of a culinary chef in Texas is dependent upon a lot of factors, not the least of which is location within the state. The highest paying area to work as a culinary chef in Texas is Beaumont-Port Arthur, with an average annual salary of $59,310. This above average area for the salary of a culinary chef in Texas is also the fifth highest paying area in the entire United States.
Summary
Anyone considering a career as a chef in the state of Texas should expect a lower than average annual salary in comparison to other states. However, Texas chefs have a unique opportunity to carry on a colorful and traditional heritage by promoting the rich history of the state through food. Texas chefs may have to work a little harder for recognition, but most aren’t in the game for that reason anyway. Most chefs living and working in Texas are there because they are more concerned with producing bold, flavorful food than getting their name and photo on the cover of a culinary magazine.