Seeking a Career in a Catering Establishment

A recurring discussion point concerns whether working in a restaurant in Malta or Gozo is a lucrative career path or not.

The negative perception in Malta is that those working within the industry are paid miserably - yet, for those paying out the salaries and wages, the reality is very far from this misconception.

At last count, the number of catering establishments in Malta and Gozo stood at around 2,700 establishments included in the VisitMalta database, and another 400 established licenced under the auspices of the Trade Licensing Unit–resulting in a total of 3,100 catering establishments, employing more than 10% of Malta’s aggregate working population at 30,000 employees. Each licensed establishment employed an average of 9 persons per outlet.

A couple of years ago, ACE ran a survey amongst most of its members, and its outcome took many by surprise. The survey identified how much each category within the standalone restaurant industry was actually paid.

The upper tier of staff management – namely Head Chef, Sous Chef, Restaurant Manager, Sommelier, and similar roles – command high salaries, which may even compare with those in the financial services and gaming sectors.

The lowest-paying rung in the catering industry are Dishwashers and Cleaners. 36% of respondent catering establishments stated a gross pay with respect to these roles ranging between €12,000 and €14,399–with even the lower end of this range being €3,000 more than the minimum wage. Almost half of respondent catering establishments stated a gross pay ranging between €14,400 and €16,799. The remaining 18% stated a gross pay exceeding €16,800.

The category of frontliners, being Waiters/Servers, represents a mixed pool of staff, including both industry newcomers as well as seasoned personnel. With respect to this role, 55% of respondent catering establishments stated a gross pay ranging between €16,800 and €19,199, 36% of respondent catering establishments stated a gross pay ranging between €19,200 and €21,599, and 9% of respondent catering establishments stated a gross pay exceeding €21,600.

Barmen/Baristas are similarly predominantly stated to be paid gross wages within the €16,800-€19,199 bracket, representing 44% of respondent catering establishments. However, contrary to Waiters/Servers, 22% of Barmen/Baristas are paid less, between €14,400 and €16,799, and 33% are paid more than €19,200.

The higher end of the salaries structure within the industry takes a steeper climb with Restaurant Managers/Sommeliers dictating substantial pay packets. Two thirds at 63% pay in the region €24,000/€30,000, just 27% pay short of that at €21,600, and almost one tenth of respondents at 9% pay their top front of house staff €36,000.

The culinary department, also shares a mix of varied incomes, with the lower end Chef De Partie at just above one tenth at 11% - €14,400, almost half at 44% - €16,800, one third at 33% - €19,200 and a final one tenth at 11% - €21,600.

Wages get better in the kitchen at Chef Tournant level with 62% at €19,200, 19% at €22,000 and 13% dish out €26,400.

At ‘Sous Chef’ level only 11% pay less than 2K per month at €20,400 per annum, more than half at 55% pay €28,000 to €36,000 and one third at 33% pay €24,000.

The highest in the salaries structure pecking order is the Head Chef, where 30% of respondents say they paid their heads between €27,600/€31,200. Another 30% pay 3K per month at €36,000 per annum, while the remaining 40% say their kitchen heads cost €48,000 per annum, it is worth noting that two of the several respondents running fine dining restaurants pay their kitchen heads a staggering €60,000 per annum – five thousand euro per month.

Now all the above are findings based on an average 173 hour working month, most of the above end up doing roughly €3,600 in annual overtime and practically take home an additional €3,600 in annual customer tips, topping each annual remuneration package by a further €7,200 in earnings.

One may clearly conclude that seeking a career path within the catering industry might tend to be far more lucrative than other competing career paths, and one might even include a few workplaces which require tertiary education and graduate from university.

Regretfully during COVID19 there was a mass talent exodus from the industry because of the vulnerability shown in restaurants on job security, this coupled to the fact that working in catering anti social hours, festive dates and weekends while competing with other career paths whereas one can choose not to compromise family time with a lesser time-consuming industry.

The industry generates a structure were promoting from within would be the more sustainable modus operandi for restaurant owners, many in the industry who have made a career of working there might have even begun at Dishwasher level and worked their way up to Head Chef or Sous Chef, because of their drive and commitment to learn the trade.

The same scenario occurred in the Front of House staff members where most began as waiters or servers and worked their way up to restaurant manager status. The Institute of Tourism Studies has been recording positive statistics these last few years where as 2021/22 had 707 full times students and 1,043 part time course attendants, 2022/2023 saw a decline in full timers at 680 but a surge in part timers at 1,417, this year 2023/2024 has 670 full timers but while the full time segment is gradually decreasing this Institute is expecting an even greater surge on the part time interest this year.

Besides the above-mentioned salary structures, one cannot underestimate the impact certain television programmes are having on our younger generation–case in point is the popular MasterChef franchise featuring famous Chefs, some of whom began ploughing their trade from the same ITS as one of the full or part time candidates a few years ago.

In light of these insights, it's clear that pursuing a career in Malta's catering industry can indeed be a rewarding and lucrative path. Despite misconceptions about low pay, the data shows competitive salaries across various roles, with opportunities for substantial earnings through overtime and tips. The industry not only offers financial incentives but also promotes from within, providing a pathway for dedicated individuals to rise from entry-level positions to leadership roles.