Chef vs Food & Beverage Manager: Course, Career Scope and Salary

A chef is one of these occupations who mostly creates and prepares food for the hotel's restaurant as part of their tasks and obligations. To ensure that the restaurant runs smoothly, a Chef may also be required to help with various managerial and administrative chores. However, a Food and Beverage Manager plans, organises, directs, controls, and evaluates all of the operations of bars, restaurants, cafeterias, as well as other jobs that entail providing food and beverages at a hotel or other food facility, during a typical workday...

To be honest, most people in the hotel industry believe that the Chef is the most important part of a hotel. However, we respectfully disagree because each department has its own role to play in making a hotel worthy of receiving a star rating.

Chef and F&B Manager are both job roles in the restaurant and hospitality industry that play very important roles in an establishment. While both the job positions are quite similar when we compare the background knowledge required, quite a few differences emerge between the two careers when we take a closer look. Chef and Food and Beverage Manager are two of the most coveted career opportunities in hotel management. Both of these career opportunities can be taken up after completing one of the hotel management courses in India. 

Hotel management colleges in India prepare a candidate for these careers in leading hospitality establishments in the country. Candidates who are aspiring to become a Chef or a Food and Beverage Manager have to take part in the hotel management admission process and complete formal training before seeking employment.

We compared the careers of Chef and Food & Beverage Manager in this article. Candidates who are undecided between these two careers can review all of the information in the article to make a final decision.

Chef vs Food & Beverage Manager: About

A chef is a person who prepares, cooks, and presents dishes for customers. A Chef works in a hotel or restaurant kitchen and is responsible for the efficient operation of the kitchen, including its various departments, inventory, other chefs/cooks, and so on. As a result, in addition to knowledge of food preparation, a Chef must also have managerial responsibilities in the restaurant. Whereas, a Food & Beverage Manager plays an important role in a restaurant or hospitality establishment, ensuring proper service, preparing and executing daily work plans, providing directions to restaurant employees, managing the kitchen and bar operations, and ensuring customer comfort and satisfaction.

The table below distinguishes Chef and Food & Beverage Manager based on Personality Traits:

Chef vs Food & Beverage Manager: Educational Requirements

The education requirements for both Chef and Food & Beverage Manager can be checked from the table provided below.

Chef vs Food & Beverage Manager: Courses

Most of the Hotel Management courses in India have a course curriculum that can enable a person to become a Chef as well as Food & Beverage Manager. However, there are some courses that are better suited for one of the two careers.

Courses to Become a Chef

Given below are the courses that are good choices for becoma Chef in India.

Also Read:BHM vs BBA (HM) vs BA Tourism

Courses to Become a Food & Beverage Manager

The following table contains the courses that are best suited to become a Food & Beverage Manager in India.

Also Read:Hotel Management vs Culinary Arts

Chef vs Food & Beverage Manager: Skills Required

The table below gives a comparison of the skills required for a Chef vs Food & Beverage Manager. Candidates can check which skill they are good at or most comfortable with and use it to shortlist their choice of career.

Also Read:How to Choose a Hotel Management College After 12th

Chef vs Food and Beverage Manager: Job Roles

A chef's primary responsibility is to create and prepare new recipes. Aside from that, chefs must regularly give a slight twist to tried and tested dishes served at the hotel's restaurant. In general, a chef is in charge of everything that has to do with the operation of a restaurant. As a result, he or she must keep track of inventory and ensure that new specials are added to the menu on a regular basis. Aside from that, he or she must be familiar with various kitchen gadgets and be able to train cooking staff on a regular basis. Chefs are frequently required to work a very hectic schedule, which includes working long hours. They are usually the first ones to arrive at work and the last ones to leave. Aside from that, chefs must be able to multitask at all times. Chefs advance to directing kitchen help on how to manage the kitchen and plan what meals should be served on a given day after gaining significant experience. Chefs are also in charge of determining the appropriate portion size for each serving. 

A chef's job description would differ depending on his position. An Executive Chef is in charge of the entire culinary operations of a restaurant or food service establishment. They are also in charge of developing the menu and the establishment's theme. The Sous Chef, on the other hand, is typically the administrative assistant and works to ensure that the tasks listed by the head chef are completed effectively. A Sous Chef may also be in charge of hiring and firing lower-level chefs, as well as managing their work schedules. Following that, Line Chefs are frequently assigned specialised tasks such as baking and prepping food ingredients. They typically report to either the executive chef or the sous chef.

They are in charge of coordinating and supervising all operational aspects of a restaurant or food service establishment. The F&B Manager is in charge of hiring and training new employees. Their job description also includes ordering supplies, assisting/advising on budgeting, determining the cost of menu items, and producing financial reports. F&B Managers' working hours are frequently long, and they must sometimes deal with difficult employees as well as demanding customers.

Chef vs Food and Beverage Manager: Salary

Another point that a candidate may consider before making the choice between a career as a Chef and a career as a Food & Beverage Manager is the salary one can earn in both careers. Since both of these are professions in which knowledge based on experience and hands-on work is essential, the starting salary of both careers is a bit low. 

The salary of a chef and Food & Beverage Managers depends on his / her experience in the kitchen, skills as well as position assigned. Given below are the details regarding the job-position-wise salary details of chefs and Food & Beverage Managers in India respectively.

One very important thing to note is that we see that while Chef mostly plays a background role in most restaurants i.e. he/she does not directly interact with the customers, a Food & Beverage Manager is a person who can be seen at the forefront of the restaurant operations.

Both of these job roles are very important for a restaurant to run efficiently and successfully. Thus, both the Chef and the Food & Beverage Manager have a good salary scope and can seek good employment opportunities in any part of the world.

If you have any doubts, get them answered by our experts on the CollegeDekho QnA Zone. For help with admissions to the top hotel management colleges in India, fill our Common Application Form (CAF) or call 1800-572-9877.