Cook apprentice vs line cook

The differences between cook apprentices and line 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 cook apprentice and a line cook. Additionally, a cook apprentice has an average salary of $34,707, which is higher than the $32,894 average annual salary of a line cook.

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

Cook apprentice vs line cook overview

	Cook Apprentice	Line Cook
Yearly salary	$34,707	$32,894
Hourly rate	$16.69	$15.81
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	137,414	168,993
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Cook apprentice vs line cook salary

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

	Cook Apprentice	Line Cook
Average salary	$34,707	$32,894
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $42,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Gate City Bank
Best paying industry	-	Hospitality

Differences between cook apprentice and line cook education

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

	Cook Apprentice	Line Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Cook apprentice vs line cook demographics

Here are the differences between cook apprentices' and line cooks' demographics:

	Cook Apprentice	Line Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 72.3% Female, 27.7%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 8.5% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	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 cook apprentice and line cook duties and responsibilities

Cook apprentice example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Cook foods by baking, roasting, broiling, frying, saut? ing and grilling.
Operate standard cooking equipment, including grills, ovens and broilers.
Gain cooking methods, including roasting, deep fat frying, broiling, and saut ing.
Cook foods by frying, saut? ing, steaming and grilling.
Acquire cooking skills, saut, grill, salad, breakfast, soups and desserts.

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.

Cook apprentice vs line cook skills

Common cook apprentice skills

Culinary, 41%
Kitchen Equipment, 29%
Sauces, 11%
Roasting, 5%
La Carte, 4%
Food Quality, 3%

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
Cook Apprentice
Cook Apprentice vs Line Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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