How To Become A Catering Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a catering manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Catering managers are tasked with planning and managing catered events. They work for a restaurant, bakery, or similar establishment. Primarily, they oversee kitchen staff when fulfilling catering orders. Asides from that, they finalize sales contracts and ensure that catering order follows customer requirements. Their duties include planning menus, arranging for venues and equipment, and hiring catering staff. Also, they ensure quality in the preparation and packaging of products, accuracy of orders, and availability of ingredients and supplies. Additionally, they oversee kitchen efficiency and the safety of the staff.

Applicants must have three to five years of experience in a similar role. Having a bachelor's degree in hospitality, culinary arts, or a related discipline is advantageous. You must be familiar with electronic catering management systems. You must possess communication, team development, interpersonal, and leadership skills. Catering managers earn an average salary of $47,627 per year. This falls between $33,000 and $69,000.

ScoreCatering ManagerUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $51,962

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 8.41%

Black or African American 11.33%

Hispanic or Latino 17.44%

Unknown 5.02%

White 57.24%

Gender

female 63.34%

male 36.66%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress Level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.3

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.0

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Catering Manager in Columbus, OH

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Key steps to become a catering manager

Explore catering manager education requirements

Most common catering manager degrees

Bachelor's

56.9 %

Associate

24.0 %

High School Diploma

10.9 %

Start to develop specific catering manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	25.38%
Culinary	10.47%
Food Service	10.07%
Excellent Client	5.87%
Booking	3.97%

Complete relevant catering manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New catering managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a catering manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real catering manager resumes.

Gain additional catering manager certifications

Catering manager certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific catering manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for catering managers include Certified Master Safe Technician (CMST) and ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification.

More About Certifications

Research catering manager duties and responsibilities

Prepare and manage BEOs to client specifications including auto-visual requirements.
Assist patients by test tasting food for allergies and accuracy.
Design and consult members on d cor, menu and wine selection for private events.
Ensure that those with food allergies or restrict diets have appropriate safe dishes to consume at meal times.

Prepare your catering manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your catering manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a catering manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Catering Manager Resume templates

Build a professional Catering Manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Catering Manager resume.

Apply for catering manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a catering manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do catering managers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Catering Manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019

Cons

Everything else, of course! What's to be liked when you work shifts, nights, always on holidays and go to the gym at 1am?