Job Placement · Hospitality · Executive Chef
BLS tracks chefs and head cooks as its own occupation, separate from food service managers, at a national median of $62,470 with 7% projected growth through 2035, faster than the broader food service manager code. Owners will not hire a chef who has not already run this concept at this volume. BEG places this seat in 23 to 35 days on a fixed Tier III milestone fee of $12,864 to $15,437.
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TL;DR
Chefs and head cooks is its own BLS occupation, 220,300 jobs nationally at a $62,470 median, distinct from the food service manager code that covers the F&B or department manager seat. Growth is projected at 7% through 2035, faster than food service managers, and typical entry already needs 5 or more years of related experience, so the pool is not growing faster than the demand pulling on it. Owners screen almost entirely on concept and volume match, whether a candidate has actually run this cuisine at this banquet count and covers-per-night level, which narrows a 220,300-job national number to a short list fast. BEG runs this as a Tier III milestone search at $12,864 to $15,437, about the same as a 20% to 25% contingency fee at the national median, and cheaper once priced against the higher traveler accommodation median.
Why This Seat Specifically
Because owners will not hire a chef who has not already run this exact concept at this volume, and the occupation is growing faster than the food service manager code it sits next to, so the pool that has actually done the specific job is thinner than the headline jobs number suggests.
Where This Search Actually Slows Down
Four things happen in sequence, and concept match is the filter that removes the most candidates before pay is even discussed.
| Stage | What is happening | Where it stalls |
|---|---|---|
| Screen for concept and volume, not just title | Owners want a chef who has already run this cuisine and service style at this banquet count and covers-per-night level. | A candidate strong in one concept, say a steakhouse, is not automatically a fit for a resort with 400-cover banquet weekends, and a title-only search cannot tell the difference. |
| Price against the hotel-specific number, not the national one | Traveler accommodation pays a chefs and head cooks median of $74,380, above the $62,470 national figure for the occupation. | A posting priced off the national median undersells the hotel-specific market and loses candidates to properties already paying closer to $74,380. |
| Account for a physically demanding, injury-prone floor | The related food service manager occupation carries one of the highest injury and illness rates BLS tracks, common hazards being slips, falls and cuts, the same kitchen floor a chef runs day to day. | A search that ignores the physical demands of the job loses candidates mid-process to a calmer schedule elsewhere, or loses the hire early to burnout. |
| Confirm the food safety certificate sits with the right person | Texas law requires a certified food protection manager on staff with authority over food preparation, a requirement covered in full on the department manager page, and the chef is frequently that person by default. | A property that assumes the F&B manager alone covers this requirement can find no one on the kitchen floor actually holds the certificate when an inspector asks. |
This is a concept-match hire before it is anything else. A search that screens for cuisine, volume and banquet history first, and treats the resume’s job titles as secondary, is what actually shortens the list.
Milestone Billing Against Contingency
Run the arithmetic at the BLS median and a 20% to 25% contingency fee costs $12,494 to $15,618 against $62,470 in annual pay. BEG's Tier III fee sits inside that same band, $12,864 to $15,437, fixed the day the search opens rather than settled once someone accepts. Shift the base number to where hotel kitchens actually pay, a $74,380 traveler accommodation median, and contingency climbs past BEG entirely, $14,876 to $18,595 against a fee that has not moved.
What The Vacancy Costs Meanwhile
Every week this chair sits empty is close to $1,202 in kitchen leadership nobody is providing, menu consistency slipping and food cost drifting with no one accountable for either. The surrounding occupation is not loosening the pressure either: about 25,200 openings a year against 7% projected growth means concept-matched chefs are being pulled toward other kitchens at the same pace, not a slower one.
If You Were Searching For An Agency
It depends on whether the kitchen needs a line covered for a stretch or wants someone permanently accountable for the menu and the food cost.
| Model | Who employs the worker | How you pay | Right when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly staffing agency (PeopleReady, Instawork, Qwick, Hospitality Staffing Solutions) | The agency | Hourly bill rate for as long as coverage is needed | You need a line cook or banquet kitchen shift covered this week, not the person who owns the menu and the food cost. |
| Contingency recruiter | You | 20% to 25% of first-year salary, $12,494 to $15,618 at the BLS median | You want no cost until someone starts and will accept a fee that moves with the offer. |
| BEG permanent placement | You | Tier III milestone fee, $12,864 to $15,437, fixed at the start | You are filling the seat permanently and want the fee fixed before the search starts, with a replacement term if the hire does not stick. |
These answer different questions, not the same one. A kitchen can run agency coverage for a banquet weekend while a permanent search runs in parallel for the chef seat itself. Full scope on the hospitality placement hub.
FAQ
23 to 35 days from discovery call to signed offer, based on isolved placement data, with an 86% fill rate on active searches.
This is a Tier III search, $12,864 to $15,437, billed against milestones. A 20% to 25% contingency fee on the BLS median wage of $62,470 would run $12,494 to $15,618, about the same. Against the traveler accommodation median of $74,380, contingency runs $14,876 to $18,595, and BEG is the cheaper option.
Owners will not hire a chef who has not already run this exact cuisine and service style at this banquet count and covers-per-night volume, and the occupation is projected to grow 7% through 2035, faster than the food service manager code above it, so demand is not slowing down while the pool stays concept-narrow.
The kitchen floor, the brigade, menu execution, food cost and consistency at the concept and volume the property runs. The F&B or department manager oversees the department P&L but does not run the kitchen hour to hour.
The BLS national median for chefs and head cooks is $62,470, with the 10th percentile below $37,900 and the 90th above $98,560. Traveler accommodation specifically pays a higher median of $74,380.
No. A staffing agency employs the worker and bills you hourly for shift coverage. BEG places a permanent executive chef that the property employs directly. If the actual need is line or banquet shift coverage, an hourly staffing agency is the right call and we will say so.
Often, since the chef runs the kitchen floor the certificate covers. The specific accreditation body and the five-year renewal cycle behind that certificate are covered on the F&B and department manager page rather than repeated here.
No. BLS tracks chefs and head cooks, 35-1011, as its own occupation, separate from the 11-9051 food service manager code that covers the F&B or department manager seat, with its own wage data and its own faster growth rate.
The accommodation and food services quits rate ran 3.5% in July 2026, preliminary, against 1.9% for all nonfarm employment. A brigade under a weak or absent chef churns faster than that average, so the hire is as much a retention decision as a culinary one.
A 45-day replacement guarantee applies.
Yes. The related food service manager occupation has one of the highest injury and illness rates BLS tracks, with slips, falls and cuts as common hazards, and an executive chef works that same kitchen floor day to day.
The department manager sits above the kitchen, owning cost and compliance across the whole operation. This seat runs the kitchen itself, the brigade, the menu and the food that leaves it, and BLS tracks the two as entirely separate occupations with separate wage data.
Hiring elsewhere on property? See F&B and department manager, food and beverage director, or all hospitality placement.
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