|
By Miriam Marcus
To see our most recent Salary Survey results, click here
From tracking Rising Stars to the hottest new food and wine trends,
StarChefs.com strives to keep professionals on the pulse of the
restaurant industry — and our 2005 Salary Survey, sponsored
by Pernod, has given us even more exciting information to share.
2,000 industry professionals from all restaurant sectors, and from
virtually every position in the front and back of the house, have
responded to our online survey. Data collected from the StarChefs.com
2005 Salary Survey reveals extensive information about the food
industry, and about StarChefs.com’s professional readership.
Industry salary averages are just one aspect of our findings—age,
education, gender, ethnicity, and geographic location are among
the many factors that comprise the complexity of salary distribution
in the trade.
Across the board salaries were higher in 2005 than in 2004, according
to the results of the StarChefs.com Industry Salary Survey. In some
categories the pay increase was significant; such is the case with
Line Cooks and Managers/Restaurant Managers. In other categories
however, such as with Sous Chefs and Food and Beverage Managers,
the national average for wages may have risen from the previous
year, but the increase is almost negligible at less than 1%.
Executive Chefs make more money than most other positions in the
industry. Of our survey respondents who live in the US, Executive
Chefs reported an average salary of $75,596 in 2005, up 1.2% from
our 2004 survey results. 15% of Executive Chefs in fine dining establishments,
and 12% of all Executive Chefs, earned over $100,000. In 2004, only
7% of Executive Chefs made such high wages. Line Cooks tend to work
for hourly wages; the 16% who do work for a yearly salary earned
an average of $30,454 in 2005. The 20% of Sous Chefs who work for
hourly wages averaged $14.55.
The 59% of Pastry Chefs who earn a yearly salary averaged $50,581
in 2005. The 41% of Pastry Chefs who earn hourly wages averaged
$15.81. Pastry Cooks, who primarily work for hourly wages, averaged
$12.06. Bakers reported an average hourly wage of $11.62 in 2005.
Sommeliers reported a wide range of survey responses about their
salaries. They earned between $35,000 and $149,000, with an average
of $68,125 in 2005. 33% earn hourly wages, ranging from $7.99 for
part-time workers to $17.99 for full-time. A smaller number of people
specified their job title as Wine Director; they averaged $85,416
in 2005.
Waitstaff/Servers overwhelmingly work for hourly wages, and averaged
$6.36 per hour. The gamut is wide, ranging from less than $3.00
to $19.99 per hour. Fine dining establishments tend to pay slightly
higher wages than more casual restaurants, though they largely reflect
individual states’ minimums for tipped employees.
90% of Managers/Restaurant Managers work for salary with an average
of $49,634; they enjoyed one of the larger percentages of increased
incomes in 2005, as compared to other job title categories in the
industry. Just 10% of Managers/Restaurant Managers work for hourly
wages; those who do averaged $12.50 in 2005.
— Salary: 2004 vs. 2005 —
Job Title |
2004 |
2005 |
% Increase |
Executive Chef |
$74,694 |
$75,596 |
1.2% |
General Manager |
$53,961 |
$54,687 |
1.3% |
Executive Sous Chef |
$49,620 |
$52,714 |
5.9% |
Food and Beverage Manager |
$48,519 |
$48,888 |
0.8% |
Pastry Chef |
$47,865 |
$50,581 |
5.4% |
Manager/Restaurant Manager |
$45,532 |
$49,634 |
8.3% |
Sous Chef |
$39,275 |
$39,305 |
0.1% |
Line Cook |
$11.20
(hourly) |
$12.64
(hourly) |
11.4% |
Most of our survey respondents hail from in or around large cities.
Certain states and regions tend to offer higher wages, while others
compensate towards the bottom of the pay-scale. According to our
survey respondents, the highest incomes earned by Executive Chefs
were in California ($87,651) and New York ($86,666). Among the lowest
paid Executive Chefs were those in Boston ($60,666) and Philadelphia
($61,527). The highest paid Line Cooks were in Las Vegas ($14.00),
Washington State ($13.14), New York ($13.50), and Chicago ($12.50).
Among the lowest paid line cooks were those in Texas ($10.62) and
North Carolina ($9.00).
Wages for Pastry Chefs are reportedly highest in Las Vegas ($69,999),
while among the lowest are those in Florida ($44,900) and Virginia
($42,500). Pastry Cooks get the longer end of the stick in Chicago
($13.00), with California ($12.54) trailing closely behind. Among
the lowest wages for Pastry Cooks are those in Florida ($12.06)
and New York ($11.75). Sous Chefs bring home the largest pay checks
in Florida ($43,928), while their colleagues in Massachusetts ($36,250)
and the Pacific Northwest ($30,416) are not as well compensated.
Broken down by geographic location, Managers/Restaurant Managers
in New York ($57,500) are among the highest paid; the lowest paid
in this job title category are those in Chicago ($37,500). Our survey
results tell us that General Managers earn the highest salaries
in California ($63,000). Among the lowest paid General Managers
were in the South, with an average of $48,333.
— Regional Salary Data —

The food industry draws people from all walks of life. At first
glance it seems that gender and ethnicity hold no prejudice in the
kitchen. However, as in many other industries, factors such as gender
and ethnicity do play a role in who moves up the chain of command
and how quickly. According to our survey respondents, 81% of higher
ranking positions (Sous Chef and higher) are held by Caucasians,
while the next largest ethnic block is Hispanic and Latinos, making
up 5% of these positions—the same as StarChefs.com’s
survey results in 2004. African-Americans hold 4% of these positions
— also the same as our results last year. Sommeliers and Wine
Directors are 67% Caucasian. There is a wider gender disparity in
these job title categories; 75% of Sommeliers and 84% of Wine Directors
are male.
Gender imbalances lean towards men in almost every job category,
according to our survey respondents. An overwhelming majority of
the more experienced kitchen positions are held by men: 89% of Executive
Chefs, 82% of Sous Chefs, 66% of Line Cooks, and 60% of Management
positions surveyed are male. The only place in the kitchen where
women hold a higher percentage of positions is in the pastry department.
80% of Bakers are female, 77% of Pastry Chefs surveyed are female,
and 84% of the cooks that work in pastry beneath them are women
as well. Women do hold a majority in one front-of-house job title
category; 68% of Waitstaff/Servers are female.
— Ethnicity and Gender
—

It is expected that the longer one stays in a business, the higher
up in the ranks one can climb. The responses from those surveyed
by StarChefs.com tell a similar story. 67% of Executive Chefs say
they have at least 16 years of experience in the kitchen.
— Experience —
Job Title |
Average Years of Experience |
Executive Chef |
11.1 |
Executive Sous Chef |
10.2 |
Waitstaff/Server |
9.6 |
General Manager |
8.9 |
Sommelier |
8.3 |
Sous Chef |
7.9 |
Pastry Chef |
7.8 |
Manager/Restaurant Manager |
7.3 |
Line Cook |
5.7 |
Pastry Cook |
3.0 |
StarChefs.com surveyed respondents to determine if the number of
years put in on the job increased proportionally with salary. Based
on our data, Executive Chefs concentrating in the hotel aspect of
the food industry do enjoy higher salaries as a result of devoting
many years to the business. The salaries of Executive Chefs in casual
dining settings tend to remain relatively constant throughout their
careers. The salaries of fine dining Executive Chefs seem to reach
a high point in the 10-12 year range of experience, and then taper
off.
— Executive Chef: Years of Experience
vs. Annual Salary —
“If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Experience alone does not necessarily mean job stability or likeability.
To that affect, Waitstaff/Servers and Line Cooks have the highest
turnover rates in the industry, according to StarChefs.com survey
respondents. They have changed jobs, on average, 2.9 and 2.8 times,
respectively, in the past 5 years. They are followed close behind
by Sous Chefs who have changed jobs 2.5 times in the past 5 years.
These turnover rate findings reinforce the fact that industry management
need to find more creative ways to retain employees, especially
on the service side, while keeping in mind that many cooks are seeking
a variety of learning environments to hone their skills.
— Turnover Rate in
the Past 5 Years —

One might venture a guess that age, along with years of experience,
would play a role in salary distribution. It appears from our data,
however, that industry salaries can sometimes plateau after a certain
point, or as in the case with surveyed Executive Chefs, even drop
a bit with old age.
Top salaries in the industries go to Executive Chefs working in
fine dining establishments, averaging 34.9 years of age, with 10-12
years of experience.
— Age —
Job Title |
Average Age |
Executive Chef |
40.0 |
General Manager |
38.1 |
Pastry Chef |
36.6 |
Executive Sous Chef |
36.1 |
Manager/Restaurant Manager |
35.9 |
Sommelier |
35.0 |
Pastry Cook |
31.8 |
Sous Chef |
31.6 |
Line Cook |
30.0 |
— Age vs. Salary
—

Line Cooks and pastry professionals have the highest rates of culinary
school graduation. According to our survey respondents, management
position holders have the least amount of formal culinary training
in the industry.
— % Attended Culinary School
—

Based on StarChefs.com data, level of education does
not affect the salary of Executive Chefs nor Sous Chefs in any significant
way. The salaries of Pastry Chefs, Managers/Restaurant Managers
and General Managers cluster around those who hold a culinary degree,
however the salaries of Managers/Restaurant Managers increase over
$10,000 for those who have earned a Master’s Degree of some
kind.
— Education vs. Salary —

Health insurance is an ongoing topic of controversy in American
politics. Unlike our Canadian neighbors to the north, and many European
nations, the US does not have socialized medicine. Those Americans
with medical benefits at work are considered a lucky bunch. Individual
and family health plans are costly, and when that cost is included
in one’s salary, it can add up to more than $10,000 of one’s
yearly income.
For back-of-house workers, Executive Chefs enjoy the highest percentage
of full employer-paid health coverage; 51.8% pay nothing for their
health plans. Line Cooks and Pastry Cooks are at the other end of
that spectrum; only 19.4% of Line Cooks, 17.6% of Pastry Cooks,
and just 16.3% of Waitstaff/Servers report total health coverage
paid for by their employers.
— Health Insurance —
We asked survey respondents how many hours they work in a typical
shift and in a typical work week. The standard American work week
is 40 hours. According to our data, most positions in the food industry
work well over that standard; Executive Chefs lead the pack, averaging
almost 60 hours, with over 40% working over 60 hours per week. Executive
Chefs also report the lowest instance—just
3%—of monetary compensation for those extra
hours on the clock.
— Hours Worked in a Day/Week —

— Overtime —
Job Title |
% Who Work 61+ Hours in a Typical
Week |
% of Those Who Are Paid for Overtime |
Executive Chef |
40.3% |
3.0% |
Executive Sous Chef |
36.9% |
23.7% |
Sommelier |
36.8% |
26.0% |
Sous Chef |
25.3% |
26.0% |
General Manager |
25.0% |
94.0% |
Manager/Restaurant Manager |
14.6% |
20.0% |
Pastry Chef |
13.3% |
39.5% |
Line Cook |
5.6% |
76.0% |
Pastry Cook |
0.0% |
94.0% |
Waitstaff/Server |
0.0% |
80.0% |
|