How to hire a breakfast cook

How to hire a breakfast cook, step by step

Here's a step-by-step breakfast cook hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a breakfast cook job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new breakfast cook
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a breakfast cook job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your breakfast cook job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a breakfast cook for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect breakfast cook also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of breakfast cook salaries for various roles:

   Type of Breakfast Cook	Description	Hourly rate
   Breakfast Cook	Cooks prepare, season, and cook a wide range of foods, which may include soups, salads, entrees, and desserts.	$12-20
   Cook/Dishwasher	Cooks/dishwashers must develop kitchen skills to excel in this line of job. Each cook or dishwasher must learn to develop skills in food preparation, sanitation, and customer service... Show more	$11-19
   Line Cook, Prep Cook	A line cook/prep cook is responsible for assisting with food preparations, ensuring that all ingredients are readily available and stored safely. Line cook/prep cook tasks also include reviewing and updating menus to keep the customers' patronization... Show more	$12-19

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Food Handling
   • Cleanliness
   • Culinary
   • Food Service
   • Quality Standards
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Food Products
   • Fine Dining
   • Dependability
   • Guest Satisfaction
   • Hotel Guests
   • Slicers
   • Safety Standards
   • Breakfast Food

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
   • Cut steaks, pizzas, work the line, saut and broiler cook, full-time, then part-time 'till they close.
   • Provide training to all new hire culinary staff.
   • Cook weekends for man, broiler, saut e, and banquets.
   • Prepare lunch items, make sandwiches, roll and bake biscuits, wash dishes
   • Prep and cook breakfast and lunch dishes for locally own bakery and cafe.

   More breakfast cook duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the breakfast cook job description is a good way to get more applicants. A breakfast cook salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a breakfast cook in Kentucky may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level breakfast cook. Additionally, a breakfast cook with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average breakfast cook salary

   $16.16hourly

   $33,616 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level breakfast cook salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average breakfast cook salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$44,510	$21
   2	Washington	$43,656	$21
   3	Oregon	$42,636	$21
   4	California	$42,095	$20
   5	New Jersey	$41,203	$20
   6	Colorado	$39,472	$19
   7	New York	$38,104	$18
   8	Minnesota	$37,890	$18
   9	Connecticut	$37,140	$18
   10	Maine	$36,153	$17
   11	Arizona	$34,898	$17
   12	Wisconsin	$33,842	$16
   13	Utah	$33,041	$16
   14	Indiana	$32,921	$16
   15	Missouri	$32,410	$16
   16	Ohio	$31,174	$15
   17	Nebraska	$29,930	$14
   18	Pennsylvania	$29,870	$14
   19	Florida	$28,536	$14
   20	South Carolina	$28,284	$14

   Average breakfast cook salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Kohler Co.	$39,263	$18.88	6
   2	The Samuels Group	$38,788	$18.65
   3	Taco John's	$38,260	$18.39	3
   4	Hyatt Hotels	$37,892	$18.22	130
   5	Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants	$37,823	$18.18	76
   6	Ruth's Chris Steak House	$37,737	$18.14	22
   7	JEAN-GEORGES MANAGEMENT	$37,682	$18.12
   8	HEI Hotels & Resorts	$37,667	$18.11	71
   9	Auberge Resorts Collection	$36,910	$17.75	21
   10	Hy-Vee	$36,895	$17.74	79
   11	Radisson	$36,610	$17.60
   12	NANA	$36,293	$17.45	79
   13	Patina Restaurant Group	$36,024	$17.32
   14	Sage Hospitality Group	$35,625	$17.13	53
   15	Leisure Care	$35,460	$17.05	8
   16	Riverview	$35,403	$17.02	1
   17	Marriott International	$35,346	$16.99	420
   18	HLC Hotels	$35,044	$16.85	1
   19	Embassy C E S	$35,042	$16.85	7
   20	Hotel Equities	$35,029	$16.84	23

4. Writing a breakfast cook job description

   A good breakfast cook job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a breakfast cook job description:

   Breakfast cook job description example

   About Us

   At the Holiday Inn & Suites Farmington Hills - Detroit NW we pride ourselves on being the best employer in the area. What sets us apart? Our culture, full benefit plans, including 401k with a company match and our lucrative bonus programs, to name a few. We are looking for talented people who have a genuine passion for service. Our Core Values involve personal development, people, and a desire for wanting them to succeed. We believe each member of our team has a key part to play in our delivery of outstanding service and memorable experiences for each guest. We want a hotel that people want to come to, not through. Find out today what a career with Pyramid Hotel Group at the Holiday Inn & Suites Farmington Hills - Detroit NW can mean for you!

   Description

   Pyramid Global Hospitality is looking for qualified culinary professionals who are service minded, energetic, and detail oriented to join our food and beverage team at our prestigious Holiday Inn & Suites location in Farmington Hills!

   Pyramid Global Hospitality offers:

   Paid time off

   7 paid holidays

   Comprehensive benefit packages

   401k with company match

   Room rate discounts

   All within a culture that cares for its team.

   The Holiday Inn & Suites Farmington Hills is currently seeking an experienced breakfast cook that has a desire to deliver an exceptional product and exemplify great guest service.

   Requirements

   • Previous breakfast cook experience is required, preferably in a hotel or restaurant setting.
   • Must have reliable transportation.
   • Must be available to work weekends and/or holidays.
   • Early morning (AM shift) availability required.

   If you are an experienced breakfast cook available for AM shifts we would love to talk to you!

   Both full and part time opportunities are available for AM shift.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right breakfast cook for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with breakfast cooks they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit breakfast cooks who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your breakfast cook job on Zippia to find and recruit breakfast cook candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting breakfast cooks requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new breakfast cook

   Once you've decided on a perfect breakfast cook candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new breakfast cook first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a breakfast cook?