Bartender, cook, and waitress vs food handler

The differences between bartender, cook, and waitresses and food handlers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food handler has an average salary of $32,581, which is higher than the $27,827 average annual salary of a bartender, cook, and waitress.

The top three skills for a bartender, cook, and waitress include food orders, customer orders and bartending. The most important skills for a food handler are basic math, customer service, and math.

Bartender, cook, and waitress vs food handler overview

	Bartender, Cook, And Waitress	Food Handler
Yearly salary	$27,827	$32,581
Hourly rate	$13.38	$15.66
Growth rate	10%	14%
Number of jobs	162,319	171,731
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 42%	High School Diploma, 47%
Average age	28	23
Years of experience	-	-

Bartender, cook, and waitress vs food handler salary

Bartender, cook, and waitresses and food handlers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Bartender, Cook, And Waitress	Food Handler
Average salary	$27,827	$32,581
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $26,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	-	Syracuse, NY
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Syracuse University
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between bartender, cook, and waitress and food handler education

There are a few differences between a bartender, cook, and waitress and a food handler in terms of educational background:

	Bartender, Cook, And Waitress	Food Handler
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 42%	High School Diploma, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Bartender, cook, and waitress vs food handler demographics

Here are the differences between bartender, cook, and waitresses' and food handlers' demographics:

	Bartender, Cook, And Waitress	Food Handler
Average age	28	23
Gender ratio	Male, 5.4% Female, 94.6%	Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	8%

Differences between bartender, cook, and waitress and food handler duties and responsibilities

Bartender, cook, and waitress example responsibilities.

General cleaning, and knowledge of POS systems.
Start off here as a cook, learned to bartend.
Operate a POS system to itemize and complete a customer purchases.
Develop relationships with regular patrons; develop an understanding of their personal needs and expectations, including preferences and food allergies.
Cook waitresses cashier hostess prep cook dishwasher
Generate detail checks utilizing micros systems.

Food handler example responsibilities.

Set up and operate point of sales (POS) cash registers, receive money and return proper change.
Record patient information to gain knowledge of special allergies and special diets to promote better safety and health management.
Enter orders into POS system, report daily sales to managers, conduct monthly inventory, and perform heavy cash flow.
Monitor and maintain cleanliness, sanitation, and organization of assign station and service areas.
Maintain clean work areas including display cases, walk-in coolers, fryers and other cooking equipment.
Prepare and serve food samples using small appliances such as microwaves, fryers, skillets, coffee makers and knives.

Bartender, cook, and waitress vs food handler skills

Common bartender, cook, and waitress skills

Food Orders, 16%
Customer Orders, 13%
Bartending, 8%
Food Preparation, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Drink Orders, 5%

Common food handler skills

Basic Math, 23%
Customer Service, 21%
Math, 14%
Food Service, 6%
Kitchen Equipment, 6%
Food Orders, 4%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Bartender, Cook, And Waitress
Bartender, Cook, And Waitress vs Food Handler

Updated January 8, 2025

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