Catering Manager
Catering managers plan and run the food and service for events and venues, working to a client's budget, guest numbers and deadline.
- Median salary*
- $65,800
3.6%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 11,500
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +3.2%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 42/wk
+2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- Not in shortage
national
Catering managers plan menus, cost jobs and run service for events that happen away from a fixed restaurant floor, from weddings and conferences to hospital wards and school canteens. The role sits between a chef's kitchen skills and an event coordinator's logistics, and most days involve moving between a home kitchen or commissary and whatever venue the event is held in. Many work for contract catering companies, function centres or institutions such as hospitals and aged care providers, rather than running a restaurant of their own.
How much do catering managers earn?
The median full-time salary for a catering manager is $65,800 per annum, before tax, up $13,600 since 2018.
Who you work for shapes pay more than anything else here: contract caterers, hospitals and aged care providers usually pay set bands under an enterprise agreement, while function centres and smaller operators negotiate individually. Evening, weekend and public holiday events generally attract penalty rates, and a manager running a large annual site budget typically earns more than someone handling occasional functions. Running your own catering business changes the picture again, because income then depends on how much work you win.
What does a catering manager do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Planning menus and costings around a client's budget, guest count and venue quirks weeks out from an event
- Coordinating kitchen and front-of-house crews through service at a venue that isn't your own kitchen
- Packing, transporting and setting up equipment for an event, then tearing it all down again afterwards
- Troubleshooting on the day when a delivery is late, a fridge fails or numbers change at the last minute
- Rostering casual staff across a run of events that rarely follows the same pattern week to week
What skills do catering managers need?
Employers look for food preparation and cooking, food safety and hygiene, budgeting and forecasting, backed by EPOS systems fluency and strong people leadership.
Specialist skills
- Food preparation and cooking
- Food safety and hygiene
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Operations management
- Rostering and venue operations
Software and tools
- EPOS systems
- Inventory management software
- Event planning platforms
- Microsoft Excel
- Staff roster applications
General skills
- People leadership
- Client relationships and advisory
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 11,500 people work as catering managers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 3.2% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a catering manager?
Here's the path most catering managers take, step by step.
- 1Get paid experience in food service
Start in a commercial kitchen or front of house, often through a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821) or a Certificate II in Hospitality (SIT20322). Employers hiring for catering management want someone who has worked a real service, so a year or two on the floor or the pass matters more than the qualification on its own. If the events you work serve alcohol, you will usually need a responsible service of alcohol certificate, and the requirements differ by state.
- 2Add a food safety supervisor certificate
A food safety supervisor certificate is required for many food businesses and is asked for in catering job ads. It covers safe handling, storage temperatures and record keeping, and it is short enough to complete while you keep working.
- 3Move into a supervisory role
Banquet coordinator, function supervisor or kitchen supervisor roles are where rostering, costing, ordering and client contact start. In a contract caterer or function centre you can often move up without further study, since the skills are learned on the job.
- 4Study hospitality or event management if you want the larger roles
A Diploma of Hospitality Management, or a bachelor degree in hospitality or event management, opens up multi-site and contract management work. A bachelor degree is held by about 38% of people working as catering managers, with diplomas and certificates in hospitality also well represented, so both routes are common in the field.
Ready to apply as a catering manager?
Whether you're working toward becoming a catering manager or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a catering manager move to?
Moving into Hotel Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $29,200 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Manager Event and catering management provides a base for hotel management, though rooms, revenue and full operations need further study. | +$29,200 | 33% | reskill |
| Club Manager Catering and function management suits club operations, but licensing, gaming and member services require substantial further study. | +$26,000 | 40% | reskill |
| Cafe Manager Catering and function management transfers directly to running a cafe, with food service, rostering and budget skills carrying across. | +$19,700 | 70% | minimal |
| Restaurant Manager Food service, cost control and staff supervision carry into restaurant management, though a la carte service needs further study. | +$19,700 | 29% | reskill |
| Hotel Service Manager Banquet and event service experience carries into hotel service management, with a short course covering rooms and front office duties. | +$7,500 | 48% | short course |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a catering manager?
The typical catering manager is 43 years old; 56% are women, 66% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.
- 43
- Median age
- 56%
- Female share
- 66%
- Full-time
- +2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a catering manager?
Catering management runs on a calendar rather than a routine: wedding season, conference weeks and the Christmas function period stack on top of each other, then quieter stretches follow. Much of the work is planning weeks ahead so the event itself is manageable, and the day is judged in the short window when the food goes out. It suits people who like logistics, stay steady when plans change, and accept that weekends and evenings are the busy times.
What people like
- You see the event come off. The room fills, the service you costed and rostered runs to time, and the client is happy. The feedback is immediate in a way that office work rarely is.
- Every venue is a different problem. A marquee with no power, a hospital kitchen with set meal times and a conference centre with three rooms running at once each need their own plan. The variety keeps the work from becoming the same day repeated.
- Building a crew you trust. Regular casuals who know how you run a service make the difference on a big function, and training them into a reliable team is a satisfaction in itself.
- Making the numbers work. A function quoted and costed accurately leaves the operation with a margin and the client with what they paid for. Getting both at once is the craft of the job.
What people find hard
- Weekends and evenings are the job. Events happen when guests are free, so Saturday weddings, evening conferences and public holidays are core hours. Time off falls on ordinary weekdays instead.
- One shot on the day. A late delivery, a power failure or forty extra guests has to be solved on the spot, in front of the client, with no second attempt. There is no quiet afternoon to catch up.
- Casual staff turnover. Training new people and covering shifts when someone cancels eats into the administrative time you need for quoting and rostering. It is a constant part of running a casual-heavy operation.
- Thin margins on fixed quotes. Food and labour costs move, but a price agreed weeks out usually cannot change. A cost blowout on one event comes straight out of that function's result.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ catering managers?
Accommodation and Food Services employs the largest share of catering managers, followed by Health Care and Social Assistance.
Top employing industries
- 1Accommodation and Food Services
- 2Health Care and Social Assistance
- 3Education and Training
- 4Retail Trade
- 5Arts and Recreation Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 38% | |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 24% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 20% | |
| Postgraduate | 10% | |
| Other | 8% |
Will AI replace catering managers?
Catering management sits in the middle: the quoting, rostering and stock side of the job is increasingly software-driven, while running a function on the night is not. AI can help cost a menu, scale a recipe or draft a roster from availability and award rules, but it cannot walk a venue, manage a casual crew or fix a problem at 6pm. The technical tools shorten the paperwork and leave the judgement, the client relationship and the on-site work with the manager.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- On-site event service and troubleshootingSetup, service and the moment a delivery arrives late depend on people reading the room, adjusting portions when numbers change and dealing with a client face to face.35%low
- Menu costing and client quotesSoftware can price ingredients, apply wastage and build a quote template in minutes, though someone still has to judge what the client will pay for and what the kitchen can deliver.25%high
- Rostering and casual staff schedulingRoster apps fill shifts from staff availability and award rules, but the manager still trades labour cost against covering a run of events with the crew available.20%moderate
- Stock ordering and food safety recordsInventory systems forecast usage from past events and temperature logs can be captured on a tablet, which cuts the paperwork around ordering and compliance checks.20%moderate
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from catering manager work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Cafe Manager
High skill overlap (70%), little retraining to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a catering manager
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a catering manager earn?
Full-time catering managers earn a median of $65,800 per year before tax, which is the middle of the range rather than a starting rate. Pay moves with the employer and the size of the operation: enterprise agreements in health, aged care and education set bands, penalty rates lift evening and weekend work, and managers running large contracts earn well above the middle. Small operators often pay less but can offer more flexibility.
How do you become a catering manager?
Most people get there through food service rather than straight out of study, starting in a kitchen or front of house and moving into a supervisory role such as banquet coordinator. A food safety supervisor certificate is expected by most employers, and a Diploma of Hospitality Management (SIT50422) or a degree in hospitality or event management helps for larger contract and multi-site roles.
Are catering managers in demand?
Catering managers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 3.2% over the decade to 2035. Openings are spread across contract caterers, function centres and institutions such as hospitals, aged care providers and schools, so the work is not tied to the restaurant trade alone. Practical event experience and food safety certification carry more weight with employers than the headline figure.
Will AI replace catering managers?
Not the role as a whole, but parts of it are already software-assisted. Menu costing, quote templates, roster apps and inventory forecasting handle work that used to sit in spreadsheets, which frees time for the client and crew side of the job. What has not changed is the night of an event: reading a room, adjusting when numbers shift and fixing a problem on site still take a person.
What can a catering manager move into?
Cafe management uses much of the same work, with food service, rostering and budget control carrying across, and cafe managers earn $19,700 more. Banquet and event service also transfers to hotel service management ($7,500 more), though front office and rooms duties usually need a short course. Many catering managers eventually run their own catering business or take on a contract site of their own, and that is often where earnings grow.
Do you need to be a chef to become a catering manager?
No, though kitchen experience helps. Catering managers come from both sides, with chefs moving across on menu design, food safety and kitchen leadership, and front-of-house supervisors moving up on rostering, costing and client relationships. What matters is understanding how food is produced and served at volume, which you can learn either way.
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