What is the Salary of a Chef?

On the popular reality series "Hell's Kitchen," Executive Chef Gordon Ramsay barks orders, calls names, and throws dishes in his dual pursuit of culinary perfection and good old-fashioned TV entertainment. While you won't find antics that extreme in the majority of restaurant kitchens, a great restaurant is a tightly-run ship, a-bustle with activity, with little room for mistakes. Getting a dinner service in the oven, on the plate, and on the table requires efficiency and nerves of steel. As they are chefs who choose the menu, manage the staff and generally call the shots, Executive Chef salaries are among the highest in the industry.

Chef Salary Facts

Researching Executive Chef salary data by city reveals the unsurprising fact that executive chef salary is highest in New York, a city world-renowned for its cutting-edge restaurants. Compare this executive chef salary data to Pastry Chef salaries by city for a bigger-picture look at how location can affect the salary of a chef. In fact, where you live can have a much bigger affect on the salary of a chef than where you work: measuring Executive Chef Salaries by Industry shows that executive chef salaries don't vary much by industry. The salary of a chef working in a hotel might be a little higher, but not by much. This means Executive Chefs have the freedom to choose the venue that best suits them. So what can an Executive Chef do to get a salary increase? Wait it out. The Chef Salary by Years of Experience chart shows that the median salary of a chef with 5-9 years of experience is half again as much as the salary of a chef with a year or less of experience.