UK Chef Salaries 2026
Median annual pay for kitchen and front-of-house roles across 11 UK cities, computed live from 248 active job listings on ch3f.co.uk. Outliers excluded, hourly wages converted to full-time equivalent (40h × 52 weeks).
Top-paying chef roles in the UK
Median annual salary by position. Roles with fewer than 2 listings are excluded.
| Role | Median annual | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| General Manager | £50,000 | 2 |
| Head Chef | £45,000 | 35 |
| Sous Chef | £35,000 | 36 |
| Kitchen Manager | £35,000 | 2 |
| Manager | £35,000 | 21 |
| Chef | £34,965 | 107 |
| Server | £34,112 | 2 |
| Chef De Partie | £32,000 | 32 |
| Commis Chef | £28,122 | 5 |
Top-paying UK cities for hospitality
Median annual salary across all chef and kitchen roles.
| City | Median annual | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | £38,480 | 8 |
| Manchester | £37,679 | 16 |
| Bristol | £36,920 | 14 |
| Southampton | £36,920 | 3 |
| London | £36,000 | 39 |
| Birmingham | £35,360 | 19 |
| Brighton | £35,000 | 5 |
| Bath | £34,500 | 11 |
| Exeter | £33,000 | 10 |
| Plymouth | £29,786 | 4 |
| Bournemouth | £29,640 | 20 |
Salary by city and role
Cells show median annual salary; small number underneath is sample size. Empty cells mean fewer than 2 active listings for that city + role combination.
| City | General Manager | Head Chef | Sous Chef | Kitchen Manager | Manager | Chef | Server | Chef De Partie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | — | — | £85,000 2 jobs | — | £40,000 10 jobs | £37,242 21 jobs | — | £36,000 2 jobs |
| Bournemouth | — | £47,500 2 jobs | £33,000 6 jobs | — | — | £32,500 8 jobs | — | — |
| Birmingham | — | £52,000 2 jobs | — | — | £43,680 2 jobs | £35,360 11 jobs | — | £29,536 4 jobs |
| Manchester | — | £57,500 3 jobs | — | — | £32,500 3 jobs | £33,280 7 jobs | — | £37,679 2 jobs |
| Bristol | — | £50,000 2 jobs | £41,600 5 jobs | £35,000 2 jobs | — | £36,920 4 jobs | — | — |
| Bath | — | £57,500 3 jobs | £47,500 2 jobs | — | — | £32,500 2 jobs | — | £33,950 2 jobs |
| Exeter | — | £49,100 2 jobs | £46,000 2 jobs | — | — | £30,300 3 jobs | — | £32,000 3 jobs |
| Cardiff | — | — | — | — | — | £34,320 5 jobs | — | — |
| Brighton | — | £35,000 2 jobs | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Southampton | — | — | — | — | — | £36,920 3 jobs | — | — |
Methodology
Data source: 248 active job listings on ch3f.co.uk across 11 UK cities. Listings come from direct employer postings and from partner career feeds (Honest Burgers, caterer.com), refreshed daily.
Calculation: Median annual salary (in GBP). Hourly wages are converted to annual equivalent assuming a 40-hour week × 52 weeks (2,080 hours). Median is used instead of mean to remain resilient to data-entry outliers.
Outlier handling: Listings outside £12,000–£120,000 annual equivalent are excluded as likely typos or non-standard arrangements. Roles or cities with fewer than 2 qualifying listings are not published.
Free to cite: Source as "ch3f.co.uk UK Chef Salary Index 2026" with a link back to ch3f.co.uk/uk-chef-salaries.
Find your next role
Browse live chef and kitchen jobs in the cities tracked above:
Chef jobs in Cardiff (8) Chef jobs in Manchester (16) Chef jobs in Bristol (14) Chef jobs in Southampton (3) Chef jobs in London (39) Chef jobs in Birmingham (19) Chef jobs in Brighton (5) Chef jobs in Bath (11)