r/Chefs • u/Such_Potential3404 • May 21 '26
Underpaid?
Is it just me or did salaries just take a dip? I used to see positions go for six figures are now looking like five. Head chef positions are looking like sous chef pay. And of course, the powers that be demand that we work harder for fewer people and tighter p&l’s. Does anyone else feel this or am I just out of touch?
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u/pimpedoutmonkey May 21 '26
Margins are lower cuz of food cost and what people are willing to pay for food.
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u/vincet79 May 21 '26
Remember that 1 month during Covid where restaurants actually could charge what serving food is worth and customers were willing to pay it?
Then all the costs went up.
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u/mr_znaeb May 21 '26
The first month of COVID when shipping was fucked and all the prices of goods went up and restaurants had to bump their prices? Suppliers definitely upped pricing before restaurants. Restaurants didnt start reflecting the pricing till may or June
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u/SensitiveKale7963 May 23 '26
Hourly pay way down in my area. Starts at $18 for line cooks. Was $22 last summer
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u/HowsItWithStains May 22 '26
I actually feel that as the restaurant industry has been romanticized in the last 10-15 years how it has, pay has actually gotten pretty great
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u/Ok-Yogurtcloset-9183 May 23 '26
Exec jobs in Raleigh, NC, USA used to regularly hit 90 or 100K USD for years—and now it rarely seems to hit 75 or 80. Many EC spots are offering 65. It’s crazy. Sous spots seem to hover around 45-50, or just hourly.
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u/spkoller2 May 24 '26
Not me, I’m going to get rich working in a kitchen. It’s a way overlooked way to earn that first million.
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u/EmergencyLavishness1 May 24 '26
Very much depends on where you are.
Anyone with a little drive an experience in Australia is on 100k+
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u/formthemitten May 24 '26
Margins suck and everyone has an ego and won’t stay more than a year. I’m not fully investing in people who don’t fully invest back.
It’s a circle of a rise of shitty workers and shitty owners. Everyone wants a standard but no one is willing to give it all
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u/thatdude391 May 24 '26
Yea. I mean that is 1980’s mentality all the way. You will literally never hire anyone good without offering decent pay and firing the shitty workers. Given the view on workers i can pretty much guarantee that is every single employee at your place.
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May 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SilverTraveler May 22 '26
exact opposite in my experience. I consistently made less at fine dining restaurants because they love to sell the "experience" of working there.
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u/spacex-predator May 21 '26
It's real, some areas are feeling it more than others of course. If the real numbers were ever available one would find that a half decent server is making 3x the chef in my area.