What is the Salary Range for a Chef Working in New York?

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Working as a chef in a large city such as New York can be a challenging feat. Competition is fierce and only the best chefs make the most money. However, there is a huge benefit to fighting through the competition and rising to the top in a city like New York. The salary of a chef in New York can be astronomical once experience has been gained and the chef has developed a solid reputation.

Of course, no one starts at the top and entry-level chefs in New York generally have to work their way up through a series of lower paying jobs. The question is: what kind of salary expectations should a potential chef in New York have, depending on their experience level?

Entry Level Chef Salary

An entry-level chef (line cook) in New York or anywhere else, for that matter, should not expect to earn a lot of money initially. According to Salary.com, the average (median) salary for a line cook in New York is $26,783. Considering the cost of living in New York, this is barely enough to survive. For that reason, entry-level chefs in New York often have to work more than one job at a time or find other ways to supplement their income while gaining the experience they need to move up the culinary ladder.

Sous Chef Salary

Once an entry-level chef has gained some kitchen experience, the next step is to spend time working as a sous chef under the guidance of a talented executive chef. A sous chef is basically an assistant to the executive chef and assumes the responsibilities of the executive chef when he or she isn’t available. Of course, with the added responsibilities of the title of sous chef comes added expectations and a higher average salary. Salary.com, lists the average salary of sous chef in New York as roughly $52,585.

Executive Chef Salary

After gaining experience and becoming comfortable leading a brigade in a fast-paced kitchen, it is time for a chef to begin pushing to work as an executive chef. An executive chef is the boss of the kitchen. He or she is the one who gets yelled at by the owner when things go wrong and the one who yells at line cooks or sous chefs by the same principle. Working as an executive chef is extremely stressful, but the pay range for a position at the top of the culinary world makes the effort of handling the stress worthwhile. According to Grubstreet.com, an executive chef in New York can expect to earn upwards of $82,291 (median salary) annually.

Summary

The salary of a chef in New York is dependent upon several factors, not the least of which is experience level. Of course, factors such as type of work environment (i.e. fine dining vs. catering) or location also play a part. Luckily, New York is a place filled with opportunity for those who want to pursue a successful, lucrative culinary career. Success is there for the taking for a committed, talented chef. All he or she has to do is be willing to put in the time and effort to go get it.