Cafeteria cook vs line cook

The differences between cafeteria cooks and line cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a cafeteria cook, becoming a line cook takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a line cook has an average salary of $32,894, which is higher than the $30,395 average annual salary of a cafeteria cook.

The top three skills for a cafeteria cook include culinary, cleanliness and kitchen equipment. The most important skills for a line cook are culinary, sanitation standards, and food handling.

Cafeteria cook vs line cook overview

	Cafeteria Cook	Line Cook
Yearly salary	$30,395	$32,894
Hourly rate	$14.61	$15.81
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	130,702	168,993
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	4

Cafeteria cook vs line cook salary

Cafeteria cooks and line cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cafeteria Cook	Line Cook
Average salary	$30,395	$32,894
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $36,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Falmouth, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Utah	Hawaii
Best paying company	National Pancake House	Gate City Bank
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between cafeteria cook and line cook education

There are a few differences between a cafeteria cook and a line cook in terms of educational background:

	Cafeteria Cook	Line Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Cafeteria cook vs line cook demographics

Here are the differences between cafeteria cooks' and line cooks' demographics:

	Cafeteria Cook	Line Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 39.0% Female, 61.0%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 8.5% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between cafeteria cook and line cook duties and responsibilities

Cafeteria cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Prepare and serve nutritional meals to the before and after school kids.
Inspect equipment for cleanliness in functional operation.
Supervise the culinary arts participants in juvenile detention facility.
Maintain cafeteria cleanliness, stock condiments, Pepsi machine syrup replacement.
Ensure customers convenience are met/exceed by accommodating and notifying customers of ingredients that may trigger food allergies or intolerance.

Line cook example responsibilities.

Used strong organizational skills to manage steamers efficiently for both eat-in and take-out services.
Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items, cutting meat size.
Manage the POS system (adding/deleting specials, editing prices, viewing server appetizer/dessert sales and their server report information).
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Used equipment such as meat slicers, salamanders and steamers.
Develop food preparation skills and knowledge of tools involve; such as proper use of knives and automate slicers.

Cafeteria cook vs line cook skills

Common cafeteria cook skills

Culinary, 21%
Cleanliness, 18%
Kitchen Equipment, 14%
Food Service, 12%
Food Handling, 11%
Quality Standards, 7%

Common line cook skills

Culinary, 12%
Sanitation Standards, 11%
Food Handling, 11%
Team Work, 9%
Kitchen Equipment, 8%
Cleanliness, 8%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Cafeteria Cook
Cafeteria Cook vs Line Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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