What Is the Average Salary for Someone in Culinary Management?
Would you like to oversee a restaurant and help ensure that it serves quality meals? Culinary managers make sure that a food service establishment operates efficiently. Read on to learn what you could earn working in this field, as well as the factors that affect your salary. Schools offering Hotel & Restaurant Management degrees can also be found in these popular choices.
Job Description
Culinary management (also known as food service management) involves the maintenance and running of a restaurant or food service organization. If you become a culinary manager, you'll be involved in a variety of tasks, including ordering and organizing food supplies, overseeing employees, interacting with restaurant patrons, completing general accounting duties and assisting in the dining area and kitchen.
Important Facts About Culinary Management
| Required Education | High school diploma, or equivalent; but, post-secondary degree is preferred |
| Professional Certification | Not required; the Food Protection Managers Certification (FPMC) is provided by the American National Standards Institute |
| Key Skills | Organization, attention to detail, critical thinking, observation, time management, good judgment and decision making, management, reading comprehension |
| Similar Occupations | Bartender, chef, head cooks, lodging manager, sales manager, waiter and waitress |
Salary Overview
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the mean yearly salary of food service managers was $53,500 as of May 2014 (www.bls.gov). The 10% of managers with the lowest pay earned $29,920 a year or less, while the 10% with the highest pay made $82,360 a year or more. Several factors determine how much you'll make as a culinary manager, including your location, the industry that you work in and your job experience.
Salary by Location
Based on September 2015 figures from PayScale.com, the 10th-90th percentile salary range for food service managers who worked in Dallas, Texas, was $17,160-$52,000, while the wage for the same range of workers in Atlanta, Georgia, ranged from $23,193-$45,196. According to the BLS, managers in New York, Rhode Island and New Jersey earned the highest average salaries compared to other states in May 2014. These three states had mean wages of $69,600, $69,340 and $68,720, respectively. The lowest-paid workers in the country made $32,790-$48,440. Some states where they worked included Idaho, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Kansas and Iowa.
Salary by Industry
Your choice of employer may also impact your salary. According to the BLS, most food service managers were employed at restaurants and other eating places. These workers earned a mean annual salary of $51,130. Those working for special food services made an average wage of $58,150, while those working for travel accommodation averaged $62,010. The highest-paying industry for food service managers was insurance carriers, according to the BLS, with workers earning a mean wage of $87,400 yearly in May 2014.
Salary by Experience
PayScale.com reported that the 10th-90th percentile range of food service managers with 0-5 years of experience made a salary of $20,209-$49,186 per year as of September 2015. In the same range, those with 5-10 years of experience earned a yearly wage between $22,989 and $53,683. Managers with 10-20 years in the same range earned $25,015-$57,538 per year, while those with over 20 years of food service management experience earned between $27,902 and $65,189 annually.
Job Outlook
The BLS expects there will be approximately five percent growth in food service manager employment over the 2014-2024 decade. Since companies can use first-line supervisors for many tasks, there will not be a need for as many managers. You may have better prospects with significant experience in the industry. A bachelor's degree in a related field may also be useful, especially if you want to work for an upscale restaurant.
To continue researching, browse degree options below for course curriculum, prerequisites and financial aid information. Or, learn more about the subject by reading the related articles below:
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