Food Preparation and Serving Related
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in preparing and serving food.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$44,080USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$21.19USD per hour · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $29,940 | $14.40 |
| 25th | $35,980 | $17.30 |
| 50th · Median | $44,080 | $21.19 |
| 75th | $54,570 | $26.24 |
| 90th | $65,570 | $31.52 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Banquet CaptainBanquet SupervisorBar ManagerBartender ManagerCafeteria ManagerCafeteria SupervisorCanteen ManagerCocktail Lounge ManagerCommissary Production SupervisorCook ManagerCounter SupervisorCrew Chief
Expand more title examples (47)
Dairy Bar ManagerDietary DirectorDietary ManagerDietary SupervisorDining Room CaptainDining Room ManagerDining Room SupervisorDining Services DirectorFast Food Restaurant ManagerFast Food Services ManagerFast Food SupervisorFlight Kitchen ManagerFloor SupervisorFood and Beverage DirectorFood and Nutrition Services SupervisorFood Beverage SupervisorFood Concession ManagerFood Production SupervisorFood Service DirectorFood Service Industry SupervisorFood Service ManagerFood Service SupervisorFood SupervisorFountain ManagerFountain SupervisorGM (General Manager)Kitchen ManagerKitchen SupervisorKitchen Work SupervisorKosher Dietary Service ManagerKosher Dietary Service SupervisorLine Worker SupervisorLunch Counter ManagerLuncheonette ManagerLunchroom Food Service SupervisorLunchroom ManagerLunchroom SupervisorMotel Food Service SupervisorRestaurant ManagerRestaurant Shift SupervisorRestaurant SupervisorRoom Service SupervisorSchool Lunch ManagerShift SupervisorSnack Bar ManagerSoda Fountain ManagerTea Room Manager
Typical tasks
- Resolve customer complaints regarding food service.
- Train workers in food preparation, and in service, sanitation, and safety procedures.
- Assign duties, responsibilities, and work stations to employees in accordance with work requirements.
- Present bills and accept payments.
- Perform various financial activities, such as cash handling, deposit preparation, and payroll.
- Supervise and participate in kitchen and dining area cleaning activities.
Expand more tasks (20)
- Recommend measures for improving work procedures and worker performance to increase service quality and enhance job safety.
- Specify food portions and courses, production and time sequences, and workstation and equipment arrangements.
- Control inventories of food, equipment, smallware, and liquor, and report shortages to designated personnel.
- Observe and evaluate workers and work procedures to ensure quality standards and service, and complete disciplinary write-ups.
- Analyze operational problems, such as theft and wastage, and establish procedures to alleviate these problems.
- Inspect supplies, equipment, and work areas to ensure efficient service and conformance to standards.
- Greet and seat guests, and present menus and wine lists.
- Evaluate new products for usefulness and suitability.
- Compile and balance cash receipts at the end of the day or shift.
- Forecast staff, equipment, and supply requirements, based on a master menu.
- Assess nutritional needs of patients, plan special menus, supervise the assembly of regular and special diet trays, and oversee the delivery of food trolleys to hospital patients.
- Record production, operational, and personnel data on specified forms.
- Perform personnel actions, such as hiring and firing staff, providing employee orientation and training, and conducting supervisory activities, such as creating work schedules or organizing employee time sheets.
- Estimate ingredients and supplies required to prepare a recipe.
- Purchase or requisition supplies and equipment needed to ensure quality and timely delivery of services.
- Perform food preparation and serving duties, such as carving meat, preparing flambe dishes, or serving wine and liquor.
- Schedule parties and take reservations.
- Develop departmental objectives, budgets, policies, procedures, and strategies.
- Conduct meetings and collaborate with other personnel for menu planning, serving arrangements, and related details.
- Develop equipment maintenance schedules and arrange for repairs.
Skills used in this work
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
Expand more skills (29)
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
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