Annual Salary
£23,000 to £50,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Head chefs oversee a restaurant's staff, food and budgets.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on split shifts
There will be
4.8% fewer Head chef jobs in 2027.
You could:
You may need to wear a uniform.
You could work at a restaurant, in an NHS or private hospital or on a cruise ship.
Your working environment may be hot and humid.
You could get into this job through:
You could take a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in:
A course with industry placements will help you to gain experience and may give you an advantage when looking for work.
You'll usually need:
You could do a college course like a Level 3 Diploma In Advanced Professional Cookery or Level 4 Diploma in Professional Culinary Arts.
You'll usually need:
You could take chef de partie or senior chef advanced apprenticeship.
You could also do a senior culinary chef higher apprenticeship.
These will take between 12 to 24 months to complete.
You may also be able to do this role in the armed forces. You can find more information from:Army; Royal Air Force; Royal Navy
You'll usually need:
Most head chefs work their way up after starting in a job like a kitchen assistant, before working as a section chef and building up their skills and experience.
You'll also need a qualification in food safety.
You'll need to:
You can find out more about careers in catering from the Hospitality Guild and Caterer.com.
With experience, you could go on to manage larger kitchens and more staff. You may work for a large restaurant chain, managing more than one kitchen. This is a management role, so cooking duties could be limited.
You could also set up your own business, running your own restaurant or franchise. Some head chefs go on to set up their own restaurant brand.
You'll need: