jobfacts

Chefs

SOC 2020 5434

Chefs plan menus and prepare, or oversee the preparation of food in hotels, restaurants, clubs, private households and other establishments.

Also calledChefHead chefSous chefCommis chefCookFood stylistand 8 more titles
Typical full-time pay£30,0002025 Provisional
People in the job223,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month10,000↓ 10%on last year · 6th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time chefs earn between £25,900 and £36,100 a year.

What full-time chefs earn, 2025
£30,000 typical£21,600lowest 10%£25,90025%£38,300top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£25,900–£36,100)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
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Lowest 10% earn less than£21,600
Lowest 20% earn less than£24,700
25%£25,900
Median£30,000
75%£36,100
Top 20% earn more than£38,300
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £30,000
London£34,100
South East£30,300
Scotland£29,600
North East£29,500
East of England!£29,300
North West!£29,100
West Midlands£29,100
Yorkshire and The Humber!£28,900
Wales!£28,900
East Midlands£28,000
South West£27,000
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £30,000
London£34,100
South East£30,300
Scotland£29,600
North East£29,500
East of England£29,300 (small sample)
North West£29,100 (small sample)
West Midlands£29,100
Yorkshire and The Humber£28,900 (small sample)
Wales£28,900 (small sample)
East Midlands£28,000
South West£27,000
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £26,400
  • 2024 £28,300
  • 2025 Provisional£30,000
↑ 14% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 10,000 jobs for chefs are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
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Aug 20269,831
Jul 202610,724
Jun 20269,388
May 202610,892
Apr 202611,404
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20269,130
Jan 202610,939
Dec 20254,625
Nov 202510,772
Oct 202512,068
Sept 202511,884
Aug 202512,902
Jul 202512,888
Jun 202512,957
May 202513,662
Apr 202511,830
Mar 202513,025
Feb 202512,000
Jan 202510,037
Dec 20245,423
Nov 20249,699
Oct 202411,200
Sept 202411,967
Aug 202412,633
Jul 202413,190
Jun 202412,048
May 202414,011
Apr 202412,806
Mar 20249,520
Feb 20249,215
Jan 20249,536
Dec 20237,253
Nov 20237,609
Oct 20238,267
Sept 20238,859
Aug 202310,754
Jul 202310,211
Jun 202312,293
May 202311,943
Apr 202310,086
Mar 202311,376
Feb 202310,039
Jan 202312,653
Dec 20229,158
Nov 202211,503
Oct 202215,013
Sept 202213,346
Aug 202213,144
Jul 202213,863
Jun 202212,370
May 202214,113
Apr 202211,667
Mar 202214,170
Feb 202212,937
Jan 202212,741
Dec 20219,314
Nov 202110,665
Oct 202111,723
Sept 202111,209
Aug 202111,594
Jul 202112,356
Jun 202111,631
May 202111,334
Apr 20218,190
Mar 20216,905
Feb 20212,131
Jan 20211,332
Dec 20202,008
Nov 20202,033
Oct 20203,506
Sept 20205,654
Aug 20205,479
Jul 20203,125
Jun 20201,847
May 2020914
Apr 20202,201
Mar 202010,863
Feb 202014,086
Jan 202013,344
Dec 20198,956
Nov 201913,790
Oct 201911,405
Sept 201912,269
Aug 201911,853
Jul 201912,274
Jun 201912,507
May 201912,364
Apr 20199,865
Mar 201910,030
Feb 201910,596
Jan 20198,509
Dec 20186,817
Nov 201810,798
Oct 201812,874
Sept 201812,351
Aug 201810,165
Jul 201811,727
Jun 201813,147
May 20189,372
Apr 20188,847
Mar 201812,114
Feb 20188,997
Jan 201812,014
Dec 20178,076
Nov 20179,626
Oct 201710,416
Sept 201712,760
Aug 201713,740
Jul 201712,999
Jun 201715,524
May 201719,467
Apr 201715,227
Mar 201714,041
Feb 201711,104
Jan 201714,487
Is there a shortage of chefs?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsWell above usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
46%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London4,820
North Yorkshire471
Manchester442
City of Edinburgh438
Cornwall398
Birmingham367
Somerset361
Bristol, City of331
Buckinghamshire326
Leeds323
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where chefs are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 225 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, ranking it 69th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of chefs
19%!
20%
24%
24%
12%
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2419% (small sample)
25–3420%
35–4424%
45–5424%
55–6412%
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent19%
Higher education below degree6.9%
A levels or equivalent30%
GCSEs or equivalent17%
Other qualifications16%
No qualifications8.8%
Show as table
Degree or equivalent19%
Higher education below degree6.9%
A levels or equivalent30%
GCSEs or equivalent17%
Other qualifications16%
No qualifications8.8%

Main employers: restaurants and mobile food service activities (46%), event catering activities (15%), hotels and similar accommodation (9.3%), beverage serving activities (5.6%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
19%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 30%
Apprenticeships
4
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 to 2 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You can study for a higher education qualification in:

  • culinary arts
  • professional cookery
  • bakery and patisserie technology
  • food and nutrition
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

College

You could take a college course to get into this industry. Courses include:

  • hospitality and catering
  • professional cookery
  • culinary skills
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could get into this career by doing an apprenticeship. There are several available for this role, including:

  • Catering and Hospitality Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship
  • Production Chef or Commis Chef Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Chef de Partie Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Pastry Chef Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Senior Culinary Chef Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship

These take between 1 and 2 years to complete.

You can also train to be a chef by doing an apprenticeship in the armed forces:

  • Army
  • Royal Air Force
  • Royal Navy
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
More about this route
Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • are in care or have been in care
  • are in prison or have been in prison

Work your way up

You could start work as a kitchen assistant or trainee commis chef in a restaurant or catering company and work your way up while learning on the job.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

You'll need a food safety certificate as a chef. Training courses last 1 to 2 days and are widely available through local authorities, colleges and private training providers.

Further information

You can find out more about how to become a chef from Caterer.com.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for chef. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

4 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Catering and hospitality foundation apprenticeshipFoundation apprenticeship2
Foundation Degree Culinary ArtsHigher technical4
FdSc Culinary Arts ManagementHigher technical5

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • requisitions or purchases and examines foodstuffs from suppliers to ensure quality
  • plans menus, prepares, seasons and cooks foodstuffs or oversees their preparation and monitors the quality of finished dishes
  • supervises, organises and instructs kitchen staff and manages the whole kitchen or an area of the kitchen
  • ensures relevant hygiene and health and safety standards are maintained within the kitchen
  • plans and co-ordinates kitchen work such as fetching, clearing and cleaning of equipment and utensils

Skills

  • comply with food safety and hygiene
  • control of expenses
  • dispose waste
  • handover the food preparation area
  • instruct kitchen personnel
  • maintain customer service
  • maintain kitchen equipment at correct temperature
  • manage staff
  • plan menus
  • store raw food materials
  • think creatively about food and beverages
  • use cooking techniques
  • use culinary finishing techniques
  • use food cutting tools

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for textiles, printing and other skilled trades, a group of 17 jobs that includes chefs.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035→ 0%about 0 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035276,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.