How To Become A Kitchen Lead: What It Is and Career Path

What is a kitchen lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A kitchen lead works under the executive chef and ensures that the establishment runs smoothly. They prepare food according to the pre-established recipes/menu and supervise other kitchen workers. Also, they order materials, supplies, and ingredients needed in the kitchen. The kitchen lead ensures that the kitchen is clean and organized and is responsible for complying with all health and safety procedures. They also keep and assess inventory. A kitchen lead works for restaurants, hotels, and care facilities.

A kitchen lead earns an average salary of $52,777 yearly. However, to get the job, you need a bachelor's degree in restaurant management and at least three years of experience in a related role. You must possess problem-solving skills, management, organization, communication, teamwork, and multitasking skills in abundance. You must also be well-versed in kitchen health and safety regulations.

ScoreKitchen LeadUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,678

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.93%

Asian 6.97%

Black or African American 10.08%

Hispanic or Latino 18.26%

Unknown 5.27%

White 58.49%

Gender

female 32.86%

male 67.14%

Age - 34

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 - 34

Stress Level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.0

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.5

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a kitchen lead

Explore kitchen lead education requirements

Most common kitchen lead degrees

High School Diploma

37.2 %

Associate

25.0 %

Bachelor's

24.3 %

Start to develop specific kitchen lead skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	21.15%
Culinary	21.12%
Food Products	14.49%
Food Service	12.77%
Food Safety	5.46%

Complete relevant kitchen lead training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New kitchen leads 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 kitchen lead based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real kitchen lead resumes.

Research kitchen lead duties and responsibilities

Manage grill area and demonstrate leadership.
Can work without supervision in BOH, prepping and organizing.
Filter all fryers, change oil, and run dishwashers.
Involve in revamping standardize recipes, and teaching staff consistent culinary techniques.

Get kitchen lead experience

Prepare your kitchen lead resume

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

Choose From 10+ Customizable Kitchen Lead Resume templates

Build a professional Kitchen Lead 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 Kitchen Lead resume.

Apply for kitchen lead jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a kitchen lead 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 kitchen leads rate their job?

-/5

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Kitchen Lead reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

The most thing I would like to work stewarding supervisor is you will improve your English very well and also you meet new people and to know each other and get friends and then also you will have good relationships with the kitchen people.

Cons

Stewarding supervisor is the thing I don’t like is before the guest coming the kitchen people should be ready on time because if you late to deliver the food the service people blame you

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019