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

What is a director of catering and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A director of catering leads a team of chefs and catering assistants in running the day-to-day catering operations in restaurants and hotels. He/she is in charge of monitoring food quality and services and making sure all outlets are performing well. They also ensure the cost of food stays within the budget, plans the menu, and assigns duties to the kitchen staff.

A director of catering works closely with both internal and external stakeholders. They mostly work in the hospitality industry, schools, universities, hospitals, correctional facilities, and some corporate organizations. In order to succeed in their role, they should have excellent culinary skills, food preparation skills, leadership skills, organizational skills, attention to detail, and communication skills.

A director of catering generally works long hours including weekends. This is because they are required to be present before and after restaurant closing times.

ScoreDirector Of CateringUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $65,732

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.57%

Asian 8.35%

Black or African American 11.46%

Hispanic or Latino 16.25%

Unknown 5.23%

White 58.13%

Gender

female 64.74%

male 35.26%

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

Key steps to become a director of catering

Explore director of catering education requirements

Most common director of catering degrees

Bachelor's

67.7 %

Associate

19.3 %

Master's

4.8 %

Start to develop specific director of catering skills

Skills	Percentages
Booking	10.42%
Customer Service	9.85%
Culinary	9.66%
Event Planning	8.08%
Food Preparation	5.62%

Complete relevant director of catering training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of catering 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 director of catering based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of catering resumes.

Gain additional director of catering certifications

Director of catering 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 director of catering certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for directors of catering include ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification and Certified Sales Professional (CSP).

More About Certifications

Research director of catering duties and responsibilities

Manage and execute every aspect of the planning process, creating BEOs and managing banquet staff.
Prepare and manage BEOs to client specifications including auto-visual requirements.
Revamp BEO writing process with training.
Direct the catering, conference service and banquet departments for two five star, five diamond resorts and two country clubs.

Get director of catering experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a director of catering. The most common roles before becoming a director of catering include catering sales manager, catering manager team lead and general manager.

Prepare your director of catering resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of catering 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 director of catering resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Director Of Catering Resume templates

Build a professional Director Of Catering 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 Director Of Catering resume.

Apply for director of catering jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a director of catering 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