Chef de cuisine vs line cook

The differences between chef de cuisines and line cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a chef de cuisine, becoming a line cook takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a chef de cuisine has an average salary of $51,926, which is higher than the $32,894 average annual salary of a line cook.

The top three skills for a chef de cuisine include culinary, fine dining and kitchen operations. The most important skills for a line cook are culinary, sanitation standards, and food handling.

Chef de cuisine vs line cook overview

	Chef De Cuisine	Line Cook
Yearly salary	$51,926	$32,894
Hourly rate	$24.96	$15.81
Growth rate	15%	16%
Number of jobs	18,300	168,993
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 56%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	6	4

What does a chef de cuisine do?

A chef de cuisine, also known as an executive chef, oversees a kitchen's daily operations in public and private establishments to ensure food quality and efficient services. Their duties require cooking and leadership skills because they involve leading menu development and meal preparation, coordinating staff, delegating responsibilities, selecting and sourcing ingredients, and handling customer issues and concerns promptly and professionally. Moreover, a chef de cuisine leads and empowers staff to reach the kitchen's daily goals while implementing health standards and regulations.

What does a line cook do?

Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line. This is apt because line cooks are usually assigned to a specific station to work on a specific part of a meal or a preparation process. They are part of a bigger group of cooks in the restaurant. This is done so that meal preparation is more efficient. Line cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients, ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked, and doing their assigned activity in the line. They are expected to be good team players, have experience as a cook, and be able to follow recipes and provide alternatives when necessary.

Chef de cuisine vs line cook salary

Chef de cuisines and line cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chef De Cuisine	Line Cook
Average salary	$51,926	$32,894
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $74,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Urban Honolulu, HI	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Hawaii
Best paying company	TPC Group	Gate City Bank
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between chef de cuisine and line cook education

There are a few differences between a chef de cuisine and a line cook in terms of educational background:

	Chef De Cuisine	Line Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 56%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Cornell University	-

Chef de cuisine vs line cook demographics

Here are the differences between chef de cuisines' and line cooks' demographics:

	Chef De Cuisine	Line Cook
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 89.6% Female, 10.4%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 11.2% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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	9%	6%

Differences between chef de cuisine and line cook duties and responsibilities

Chef de cuisine example responsibilities.

Manage the staff to insure the consistency and quality of this Chicago style bistro.
Manage BOH operations for this Michelin recommend restaurant in silicon valley
Manage cold kitchen production for a luxury hotel with a Michelin star restaurant
Train and manage kitchen personnel for both locations, supervised/coordinate all relate culinary activities; purchasing, inventory, butchering.
Work all stations; responsible for mise en place, quality of product, and maintaining sanitation standards.
Train and mentore local staff, hiring, scheduling maintain HACCP and production charts.

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.

Chef de cuisine vs line cook skills

Common chef de cuisine skills

Culinary, 15%
Fine Dining, 7%
Kitchen Operations, 6%
Food Preparation, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Quality Standards, 5%

Common line cook skills

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

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Chef De Cuisine
Chef De Cuisine vs Line Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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