Cold meat cook vs short order cook

The differences between cold meat cooks and short order cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a cold meat cook and a short order cook. Additionally, a cold meat cook has an average salary of $31,354, which is higher than the $30,734 average annual salary of a short order cook.

The top three skills for a cold meat cook include kitchen equipment, food handling and HACCP. The most important skills for a short order cook are food handling, customer service, and food preparation equipment.

Cold meat cook vs short order cook overview

	Cold Meat Cook	Short Order Cook
Yearly salary	$31,354	$30,734
Hourly rate	$15.07	$14.78
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	146,407	176,187
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 43%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Cold meat cook vs short order cook salary

Cold meat cooks and short order cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cold Meat Cook	Short Order Cook
Average salary	$31,354	$30,734
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $39,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	Anaheim, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between cold meat cook and short order cook education

There are a few differences between a cold meat cook and a short order cook in terms of educational background:

	Cold Meat Cook	Short Order Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 43%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Cold meat cook vs short order cook demographics

Here are the differences between cold meat cooks' and short order cooks' demographics:

	Cold Meat Cook	Short Order Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5%	Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 9.0% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 8.1% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between cold meat cook and short order cook duties and responsibilities

Cold meat cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Empty fryers and replace with cleaner or new grease.
Leverage teamwork to fully utilize kitchen staff to generate remarkable food and service to ensure customer satisfaction.
Cook food to order; prep cook and stock; clean and sanitize tables; customer service
Ensure food area are filled and prep food for hot cooks and salad bar cold and hot items.
Provide friendly, quality, customer service to each Chipotle customer.

Short order cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Ensure that ovens and stoves remain at appropriate temperatures.
Clean kitchen including wiping down grills, slicers and deep-frying equipment.
Develop teamwork skills with cooks, dishwashers and wait staff, through efficient clean up and preparation of food.
Prepare guest food orders as they are either transmit via the POS system or orally convey at the counter.
Cook foods on the grill station, oven, barbecue grill, deep fryers, and other industrial cooking apparatus.

Cold meat cook vs short order cook skills

Common cold meat cook skills

Kitchen Equipment, 29%
Food Handling, 14%
HACCP, 14%
Food Products, 9%
Safety Standards, 9%
Cold Meals, 4%

Common short order cook skills

Food Handling, 20%
Customer Service, 14%
Food Preparation Equipment, 11%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Food Service, 7%
Safety Standards, 7%

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Cold Meat Cook vs Short Order Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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