Chef Salary in London
Official ONS earnings for London, covering 32,000 jobs.
Median salary — London
£30,928
gross, per year
▲ 5% change on the previous year
Mean
£30,989
Jobs measured
32,000
What most chefs actually earn
Half of chefs in London earn between £22,317 and £37,608. Earning above £37,608 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Food Preparation and Hospitality Trades” group in London.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of chefs earn less than this.
How London ranks for chef pay
1st
of 11 GB regions with a published figure
London pays chefs more than anywhere else ONS measures — £7,886 above Yorkshire and The Humber, the lowest of the 11.
Ranking compares published regional medians for the same occupation. It says nothing about cost of living — a higher median doesn't survive contact with rent. The cost of living calculator is the honest next step.
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Chefs
- SOC 2020 code
- 5434
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Chef salary FAQs
What is the average Chef salary in London?
The median is £30,928 a year and the mean is £30,989, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is a good Chef salary?
Half of chefs earn between £22,317 and £37,608. Anything above £37,608 is in the top quarter for the role.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records, covering 32,000 jobs in this occupation.
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