Show Me the Money: The Highest Paying Chef Jobs

by Olivia DeWolfe

Spotlight on Culinary Education

You know for sure that you want to be a professional chef, but before you hand over your hard-earned cash to cover your first semester of traditional or online culinary school, you probably want to know how much money you're going to make once you're finally working. Here's a summary of the most up-to-date data provided by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Head Cook and Chef Jobs

With a few years of experience after culinary school, you can qualify for chef and head cook positions that pay an annual mean wage (AMW) of $44,240. These jobs may pay more depending on where and for whom you're working. Management level chef and head cook jobs working for companies and enterprises can pay an AMW of $67,070, while employment by the federal executive branch may earn you an AMW of $63,310.

If you're willing to relocate, you'll find the highest AMW salaries in:

  • New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY $80,940
  • Ithaca, NY $67,990
  • Naples-Marcos Island, FL $61,380

Food Service Managers

Campus-based or online culinary degree programs with a focus in management can lead to employment as a food service manager. The highest paying industry for these positions are grocery wholesalers, which pay food service managers an AMW of $91,130. Tax preparation and accounting industries offer an AMW of $77,150, while the travel accommodation sector pay an AMW of $60,630.

Metropolitan areas that pay food service managers the highest AMW are:

  • Charlottesville, VA $75,360
  • Olympia, WA $72,440
  • Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ $71,150

Culinary Instructors

If teaching is your passion, you can earn a degree through online culinary classes and start working as a secondary school culinary instructor. Working for a state government, you may earn an AMW of $58,920. The highest paying metropolitan areas for vocational culinary instructors are:

  • Nassau-Suffolk, NY $78,280
  • Newark-Union, NJ-PA $74,640
  • Kingston, NY at $74,560

Going to culinary school may increase your odds of getting the higher paying jobs you want, since employers tend to look for candidates with formal training, especially in the business and managerial aspects of food service.

Olivia DeWolfe is a freelance chef and writer specializing in all things culinary. She's been cooking professionally for 18 years, and currently runs a personal chef business called The Olive Tree.

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