Bartender, cook, and waitress vs prep cook

The differences between bartender, cook, and waitresses and prep cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a prep cook has an average salary of $32,292, 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 prep cook are food handling, culinary, and sanitation standards.

Bartender, cook, and waitress vs prep cook overview

	Bartender, Cook, And Waitress	Prep Cook
Yearly salary	$27,827	$32,292
Hourly rate	$13.38	$15.53
Growth rate	10%	16%
Number of jobs	162,319	168,265
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 42%	High School Diploma, 48%
Average age	28	38
Years of experience	-	4

What does a bartender, cook, and waitress do?

A bartender, cook, and waitress are employees who work in the food services industry and usually deal with customer orders and food preparations. Bartenders usually prepare alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks for bar and restaurant patrons and assess the customers' needs. On the other hand, cooks assist chefs in the preparation of food and manage food stations when needed. Lastly, waitresses interact with restaurant customers by taking food orders and serving them appropriately to the customers.

What does a prep cook do?

Prep cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients. They are usually part of an assembly line-like structure in the kitchen. They are often the first station in this assembly line. Prep cooks are in charge of thawing, skinning, cutting, mincing, slicing, and chopping ingredients so that the line cooks can just get these ingredients for their own stations. Prep cooks may also start doing some of the initial activities in the cooking process, such as preparing water for boiling, laying out ingredients, and ensuring that the stoves are clear.

Bartender, cook, and waitress vs prep cook salary

Bartender, cook, and waitresses and prep cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Bartender, Cook, And Waitress	Prep Cook
Average salary	$27,827	$32,292
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Kemps
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between bartender, cook, and waitress and prep cook education

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

	Bartender, Cook, And Waitress	Prep Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 42%	High School Diploma, 48%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Bartender, cook, and waitress vs prep cook demographics

Here are the differences between bartender, cook, and waitresses' and prep cooks' demographics:

	Bartender, Cook, And Waitress	Prep Cook
Average age	28	38
Gender ratio	Male, 5.4% Female, 94.6%	Male, 61.3% Female, 38.7%
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, 9.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between bartender, cook, and waitress and prep cook 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.

Prep cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Provide students with first-rate customer service and ensure correct time-temperature control of culinary dishes.
Learned and become CPR certify for emergencies.
Direct and ensure that HACCP procedures are follow.
Plan menu items as needed for caf or catering.
Earn first aid, CPR, and a certification.

Bartender, cook, and waitress vs prep cook 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 prep cook skills

Food Handling, 15%
Culinary, 15%
Sanitation Standards, 12%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Cleanliness, 7%
Team Work, 7%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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