What Do Chef’s Make A Year?
There are two main reasons that someone chooses to attend culinary school. The first is an unrelenting love for food. This kind of culinary student is driven by the desire to create delicious offerings to share with others. He or she sees culinary school as a means to honing a craft and further exploring a passion.
The other likely candidate for culinary school is someone who is simply looking for a job. He or she will learn the skills and techniques necessary to become a good cook and will parlay these into a culinary career. This type of culinary student is looking for some stability and recognizes that food service is an industry that is always hiring.
No matter which category you are in, salary does matter. Even if you are cooking for the sheer enjoyment of it, if your career is in the culinary arts, you’re going to need to make a living. For that reason, it’s helpful to know what can be expected.
Salaries will certain vary depending on the geographic region, type of establishment, personal experience, and a host of other factors, but here are the US averages for some typical culinary careers. This information is based only on salary averages, so other factors such as bonuses, profit sharing, and commission are not taken into account.
Chef Salaries*
Executive Chef: $41,409-$65,081
Executive Chef (Hotel): $48,117-$77,876
Executive Sous Chef: $39,397-$55,774
Senior Sous Chef: $38,563-$55,642
Corporate Sous Chef: $35,208-$49,948
Sous Chef: $31,620-$43,441
Head Chef/Cook: $34,349-$50,872
Chef de Cuisine: $37,229-$54,776
Sushi Chef: $29,332-$43,331
Sushi Chef Apprentice: $9.50-$12.21 per hour
Chef Assistant: $9.48-$13.04 per hour
Pastry Chef: $10.07-$14.80 per hour
Pastry Sous Chef: $10.18-$14.83 per hour
Kitchen Chef: $9.57-$13.29 per hour
Personal Chef: $14.50-$29.63 per hour
Saucier: $10.87-$13.25 per hour
Pantry Chef/Garde Manager: $9.59-$12.02 per hour
*As reported by PayScale.com.
The aspiring culinary student can use these numbers to help determine what type of career to pursue. Whether you study for the love of cooking or the desire for a good job, culinary school can open up a wide variety of careers for you.
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