Chef Salaries Drop for the First Time in Four Years

StarChefs.com, the online magazine for culinary insiders, is pleased to announce the results of its fourth annual Salary Survey. According to the survey results, culinary industry national salary averages dropped significantly in 2008. After four years of steady increase, executive chef salaries were hovering at $77,611 and in 2008 we saw this drop to an average of $74,869. Pastry chef salaries averaged at $53,017 in 2007, but have taken a 13% nosedive in 2009. Still, the individual salaries of most chef/owners, executive chefs, and chef de cuisines surveyed remain well above the US median household income of $50,740. Across the board chefs reported the highest salaries in hotel restaurants.

We found that the industry continues to be dominated by men who, on average, are still making more than their female counterparts. Of those who responded to our survey, 78% were men. And according to our survey results, male executive chefs make 18% more than female executive chefs. Salary survey respondents report that executive chefs get the highest salary in New York State with an average of $81,600, but Miami is the highest paying city with a reported average of $90,333.

Data collected from the StarChefs.com 2008 Salary Survey reveals extensive information about the food industry. 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. Culinary professionals from across the US responded to the recent Salary Survey, sharing where they work and how much they make.