The catering and hospitality sector in Cambridge
- Head chef salary (August 2019) in Cambridge: £32,400 a year / £15.93 per hour
- Sous chef salary (August 2019) in Cambridge: £27,600 a year / £13.27 per hour
- Chef de partie salary (August 2019) in Cambridge: £22,100 a year / £10.80 per hour
It’s impossible to talk about Cambridge without mentioning its university, but there’s much more to this city than academic prowess. With thriving arts and culture, picture-postcard architecture, bustling street markets and bucolic waterways, few places in England are as charming as this city on the River Cam.
Cambridge is also home to a buzzing food and drink scene that gives other larger cities a run for their money. From vibrant street food trucks to Michelin-starred haute cuisine, Cambridge has enough to satisfy all tastes. And for talented catering and hospitality professionals looking for greener pastures, the choice has never been better.
With a record number of dining establishments open, wages in the city are competitive. A head chef can earn up to £32,000 a year, while a chef de partie earns around £22,000. For temporary workers, hourly rates are also strong— the average barista in Cambridge earns over a pound more per hour than the national average of £8.52, for example.
For chefs looking to expand their culinary repertoire, a variety of upskilling opportunities are available in the Cambridge area. The Hospitality and Catering course at Cambridge Regional College, for example, provides state-of-the-art training and production kitchen for budding chefs to cut their culinary teeth.
According to Numbeo, the quality of life index score for Cambridge is very high. With decent wages, low crime rates and low pollution, as well as a flourishing local economy, it’s little wonder that ambitious catering and hospitality workers are flocking to this cultural hub in the East of England. Cambridge’s food and drink scene may have an illustrious past, but the future looks even brighter.
