Cook, cashier, and waitress vs food preparer

The differences between cook, cashiers, and waitress and food preparers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cook, cashier, and waitress has an average salary of $28,436, which is higher than the $27,717 average annual salary of a food preparer.

The top three skills for a cook, cashier, and waitress include customer service, clean kitchen and customer orders. The most important skills for a food preparer are food handling, work ethic, and food products.

Cook, cashier, and waitress vs food preparer overview

	Cook, Cashier, And Waitress	Food Preparer
Yearly salary	$28,436	$27,717
Hourly rate	$13.67	$13.33
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	170,673	134,113
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	High School Diploma, 41%
Average age	23	23
Years of experience	-	-

Cook, cashier, and waitress vs food preparer salary

Cook, cashiers, and waitress and food preparers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cook, Cashier, And Waitress	Food Preparer
Average salary	$28,436	$27,717
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $36,000	Between $20,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	-	Commack, NY
Highest paying state	-	New Hampshire
Best paying company	-	Mount Sinai Health System
Best paying industry	-	Retail

Differences between cook, cashier, and waitress and food preparer education

There are a few differences between a cook, cashier, and waitress and a food preparer in terms of educational background:

	Cook, Cashier, And Waitress	Food Preparer
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	High School Diploma, 41%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Cook, cashier, and waitress vs food preparer demographics

Here are the differences between cook, cashiers, and waitress' and food preparers' demographics:

	Cook, Cashier, And Waitress	Food Preparer
Average age	23	23
Gender ratio	Male, 12.2% Female, 87.8%	Male, 46.6% Female, 53.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between cook, cashier, and waitress and food preparer duties and responsibilities

Cook, cashier, and waitress example responsibilities.

Help clean floors, clean fryers, and clean lobby.
Operate POS system and perform cash, credit card and check transactions.
Organize and split each bill accordingly and enter them in POS, for a fast and easy dining experience.
Monitor and maintain cleanliness, sanitation, and organization of assign station and service areas.
Make smoothies, coffee, customer service, cashier, fill bakery cooler, inventory, stock, and clean!

Food preparer example responsibilities.

Maintain cleanliness, organization and time management of order preparation, customer service
Follow closing procedures and maintain cleanliness of food preparation area and bathrooms.
Operate on a POS system, and would prep and serve food.
Clean fryers daily, closing shop with overhaul of cleaning routines and stocking freezers.
Operate a variety of commercial cooking equipment including grills, deep fryers, and ovens.
Clean and sanitize workstations, utensils and equipment according to sanitation guidelines.

Cook, cashier, and waitress vs food preparer skills

Common cook, cashier, and waitress skills

Customer Service, 37%
Clean Kitchen, 12%
Customer Orders, 9%
Food Orders, 7%
Food Safety, 4%
Safety Standards, 4%

Common food preparer skills

Food Handling, 20%
Work Ethic, 13%
Food Products, 11%
Kitchen Utensils, 8%
Safety Standards, 7%
Customer Service, 6%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Cook, Cashier, And Waitress
Cook, Cashier, And Waitress vs Food Preparer

Updated January 8, 2025

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