How Much Do Chefs Really Make?

They cook up dinner, but do they rake in dough?

But even with its better pay, many cooks and chefs don't like the corporate world. They prefer the closer relationships they have with the food and the customers in more traditional restaurant settings.

- MORE COOKS THAN CHEFS

Not everybody in a restaurant kitchen is entitled to be called "chef." Most people there are cooks who are paid by the hour: the ones just starting out; the ones with experience and more skills; and those in charge of specific areas (or stations) of the kitchen. In this area, line cooks make $12 to $15 in freestanding restaurants, and up to $18.50 in some hotels.

Next are the sous-chefs -- a management level just under the chefs de cuisine (the creative boss) and the executive chef (the boss's boss). Sous-chefs are paid an annual salary. What sous-chefs and chefs de cuisine earn varies, depending on the level of responsibility and the size and popularity of the restaurant.

Full-time pastry chefs are sometimes paid on this basis as well -- and those who do average $50,581 nationally, according to the StarChefs.Com survey. Pastry chefs in Las Vegas make about $70,000 -- the highest in the country.

- PAY LEVELS

Executive chefs' salaries vary tremendously and are closely held. The StarChef survey of 2,000 chefs found that 12 percent of all executive chefs were paid more than $100,000 last year.

After many years in the business, Susan McCreight Lindeborg was making $60,000 as executive chef at Majestic Cafe in Old Town Alexandria when it opened in May 2001 (she also had a small percentage of the partnership). Like other chef-owners, Jeff Tunks, the corporate chef of Passion Food Restaurants, and his two partners are paid a management fee based on the financial health of the restaurants. At Bob Kinkead's restaurants (Kinkead's in downtown D.C. and Colvin Run Tavern in Vienna), his chefs de cuisine are paid $60,000 to $70,000.

But most cooks and chefs say the pay is hardly commensurate with their skill levels, the hours on their feet and the cost of living -- let alone the amount of stress. The help-wanted board at the professional culinary school, L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, last month listed a country club in Baltimore that was looking for an experienced executive sous-chef. The salary: $60,000. An inn in Talbot County was looking for a recent graduate to work side by side with the chef for $30,000.

- PROFIT LEVELS

Most restaurants have small profit margins: in 2004-05, table-service restaurants where the average check per person is $15 to $24.99 made 4 cents on the dollar, and the margin was less for more expensive restaurants, according to the National Restaurant Association. "It costs more money to produce higher-end food," explains Tracy O'Grady, chef and co-owner of Willow in Arlington.

A chef's star power is a factor. Jose Andres (Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Cafe Atlantico) is an officer in his company, Proximo Restaurants. He's also its executive chef, its public face and its chief creative officer -- and he has ownership in the business. In addition, he has his own program on Spanish national television. "We're in the process of renegotiating" his compensation, says Rob Wilder, Proximo's chief executive.