Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between chefs and head cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a chef and a head cook. Additionally, a chef has an average salary of $46,824, which is higher than the $44,412 average annual salary of a head cook.
The top three skills for a chef include customer service, food handling and culinary. The most important skills for a head cook are kitchen equipment, meal preparation, and food service.
| Chef | Head Cook | |
| Yearly salary | $46,824 | $44,412 |
| Hourly rate | $22.51 | $21.35 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 65,737 | 156,227 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 38% | High School Diploma, 42% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A chef is the master of the kitchen--someone who is creative and innovative with food. Chefs are the pride and reputation of each restaurant or dining establishments. They make sure every meal served is fresh and oversees the kitchen operation. They also create recipes, study menus, and prepare significant-high-quality dishes that represent the restaurant. They say academic requirements aren't needed, but anyone who has a passion for food and cooking can be a chef.
A head cook is responsible for organizing the food preparation, organizing the kitchen operations, and ensuring the quality of the food presented. Head cooks' duties include monitoring the food inventory, creating new recipes, researching current market trends, responding to guests' inquiries and complaints, distributing kitchen tasks to the staff, and maintaining budget goals while maintaining the highest food quality. A head cook must always adhere to the sanitary procedures and hygienic standards, as well as have a broad knowledge of the food industry.
Chefs and head cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chef | Head Cook | |
| Average salary | $46,824 | $44,412 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $68,000 | Between $32,000 And $61,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | San Antonio, TX |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Bridgewater Associates | Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a chef and a head cook in terms of educational background:
| Chef | Head Cook | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 38% | High School Diploma, 42% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Drexel University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between chefs' and head cooks' demographics:
| Chef | Head Cook | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.8% Female, 25.2% | Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 11.4% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 10.3% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |