Dietary aides work in nursing homes and assist dieticians, They're responsible for designing nutritious diets for residents. In collaboration with doctors and after consulting the patients, they come up with meals that provide the necessary nutrients in every specific case, while paying attention to taste and personal preferences.
They prepare individual menus following dietary restrictions and the necessity to lose or gain weight. They also help to maintain the kitchen, manage stock, and clean dining areas. They might deliver the food to residents as well.
As a dietary aide, you will have to pay detailed attention to follow each individual dietary guideline. Making mistakes might result in allergic reactions or health issues, so this is not a position for sloppy candidates. Patience and compassion are also key, and being on your feet all day should not be a problem.
What is a Cook/Dietary Aide?
What Does a Cook/Dietary Aide Do
There are certain skills that many cook/dietary aides have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed sense of taste and smell, dexterity and physical stamina.
How To Become a Cook/Dietary Aide
If you're interested in becoming a cook/dietary aide, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 13.5% of cook/dietary aides have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.6% of cook/dietary aides have master's degrees. Even though some cook/dietary aides have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Cook/Dietary Aide Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a cook/dietary aide can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as cook, progress to a title such as sous chef and then eventually end up with the title general manager.
Average Salary for a Cook/Dietary Aide
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Cook/Dietary Aide
The role of a cook/dietary aide includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general cook/dietary aide responsibilities:
- Food preparation for patients/residents, employees and visitors maintaining clean equipment
- Liberty health care center is accepting applications for a part time dietary aide/cook helper to work flexible hours. Major responsibilities include, but are not limited to (full job decription will be reviewed prior to/at time of offer):prepare salads, desserts,
- Prepare and serve food and meals in accordance with planned menus
There are several types of cook/dietary aide, including:
Cook
Role:
When you think of a cook, you probably think of a restaurant setting but in actuality, cooks are needed in a lot of different places, this includes schools, hospitals, and even private households. One thing that is consistent is the inconsistent schedule.
Sometimes you'll work a night shift, other times you'll work super early in the morning. You may even have to work on a holiday. And don't be surprised with a weekend shift. The good news is that formal education isn't really necessary. Sometimes culinary creativity comes naturally.
- Average Salary: $31,803
- Degree: High School Diploma
Line Cook
Role:
Now, the head chef, or even the sous chef, give line cooks the direction they need to make the food. Typically, as a line cook, you'll have a particular place in the kitchen that you'll look after. Like, maybe you'll get assigned to the grill, and then you'll be in charge of everything at the grill. Or you might be assigned to the veggie prep area.
Wherever you are assigned, you should be prepared to work some crazy hours. Since you're preparing the food, you'll need at least an hour, if not two, to get everything ready. Once your line is prepped, then you're ready to take on your shift. With that extra 1-2 hours, you'll probably be working around 8-10 hours a shift.
- Average Salary: $32,894
- Degree: High School Diploma
Prep Cook
Role:
Typically, this is a part-time job. But you might be able to find a full-time position somewhere. In your position, you'll be working in a restaurant, hotel, or another establishment that serves food.
As a prep cook, you won't need much education to get by. In fact, the position doesn't require any formal education, but you will need to go through some training, once you're hired. And when we say training, we mean several weeks of on-the-job training. By the end of it, you'll be a sharp prep cook, ready to slice and dice.
- Average Salary: $32,292
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Cook/Dietary Aide Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active cook/dietary aide jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where cook/dietary aides earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Cook/Dietary Aide Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 4,895 | $29,721 |
| 2 | California | 4,529 | $34,275 |
| 3 | Florida | 4,277 | $26,115 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | 2,803 | $28,173 |
| 5 | New York | 2,649 | $32,021 |
| 6 | Illinois | 2,610 | $23,715 |
| 7 | Ohio | 2,380 | $25,099 |
| 8 | Michigan | 2,144 | $23,225 |
| 9 | Georgia | 2,122 | $26,367 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 1,973 | $26,972 |
| 11 | Indiana | 1,760 | $30,518 |
| 12 | Virginia | 1,638 | $27,134 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 1,571 | $25,815 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 1,441 | $28,602 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 1,401 | $26,644 |
| 16 | Massachusetts | 1,387 | $34,879 |
| 17 | Maryland | 1,181 | $21,474 |
| 18 | Arizona | 1,176 | $31,053 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 1,155 | $26,239 |
| 20 | Colorado | 1,108 | $30,827 |
| 21 | Missouri | 1,108 | $23,432 |
| 22 | Washington | 1,051 | $28,203 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 858 | $26,531 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 858 | $24,784 |
| 25 | Iowa | 855 | $25,162 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | 707 | $27,686 |
| 27 | Kansas | 699 | $23,867 |
| 28 | Oregon | 683 | $31,531 |
| 29 | Alabama | 656 | $27,026 |
| 30 | Louisiana | 606 | $26,323 |
| 31 | Utah | 593 | $39,315 |
| 32 | Connecticut | 548 | $28,197 |
| 33 | Mississippi | 477 | $34,151 |
| 34 | New Mexico | 472 | $24,809 |
| 35 | Arkansas | 447 | $22,657 |
| 36 | Nebraska | 435 | $35,809 |
| 37 | West Virginia | 413 | $26,571 |
| 38 | Nevada | 351 | $31,911 |
| 39 | Idaho | 329 | $35,304 |
| 40 | Montana | 319 | $29,498 |
| 41 | Maine | 270 | $33,606 |
| 42 | New Hampshire | 246 | $30,280 |
| 43 | Delaware | 189 | $27,814 |
| 44 | Rhode Island | 183 | $29,982 |
| 45 | Alaska | 179 | $36,407 |
| 46 | North Dakota | 165 | $36,515 |
| 47 | South Dakota | 155 | $27,801 |
| 48 | Hawaii | 141 | $31,842 |
| 49 | Vermont | 108 | $34,411 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 80 | $30,205 |
Top Skills For a Cook/Dietary Aide
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.6% of cook/dietary aides listed meal service on their resume, but soft skills such as sense of taste and smell and dexterity are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Cook/Dietary Aide Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Cook/Dietary Aide templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Cook/Dietary Aide resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Cook/Dietary Aide Demographics
Cook/Dietary Aide Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among cook/dietary aides, 74.1% of them are women, while 25.9% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among cook/dietary aides is White, which makes up 64.5% of all cook/dietary aides.
- The most common foreign language among cook/dietary aides is Spanish at 67.3%.
Online Courses For Cook/Dietary Aide That You May Like
1. Child Nutrition and Cooking
Eating patterns that begin in childhood affect health and well-being across the lifespan. The culture of eating has changed significantly in recent decades, especially in parts of the world where processed foods dominate our dietary intake. This course examines contemporary child nutrition and the impact of the individual decisions made by each family. The health risks associated with obesity in childhood are also discussed. Participants will learn what constitutes a healthy diet for children...
See More on Coursera2. Cooking for Busy Healthy People
Cooking is one of the most powerful ways in which we can optimize our enjoyment of great quality food while protecting our health. Even on a tight budget, cooking can be a cost-effective, joyful and rewarding way to love the food that will love us back for a lifetime. In this course, you’ll learn some basic recipes from a home cook and two professional chefs who prioritize healthful eating. You’ll also learn some of the fundamentals of principle-based cooking that can help you break free from...
See More on Coursera3. Public Health Perspectives on Sustainable Diets
What we eat and how we produce that food have significant effects on human health and the sustainability of our planet. But what is a ‘sustainable’ diet? A sustainable diet, as defined by the FAO, promotes health and well-being and provides food security for the present population while sustaining human and natural resources for future generations. This short course looks at the urgent need to address the sustainability of our food systems, including better understanding the complex...
See More on CourseraBest States For a Cook/Dietary Aide
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a cook/dietary aide. The best states for people in this position are Utah, North Dakota, Alaska, and Nebraska. Cook/dietary aides make the most in Utah with an average salary of $39,315. Whereas in North Dakota and Alaska, they would average $36,515 and $36,407, respectively. While cook/dietary aides would only make an average of $35,809 in Nebraska, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Alaska
$36,407
Avg. Salary
2. Mississippi
$34,151
Avg. Salary
3. Utah
$39,315
Avg. Salary
How Do Cook/Dietary Aide Rate Their Jobs?
Top Cook/Dietary Aide Employers
Most Common Employers For Cook/Dietary Aide
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HCSC | $30,922 | $14.87 | 10 |
| 2 | Life Care Solutions | $29,346 | $14.11 | 18 |
| 3 | Kindred Healthcare | $28,791 | $13.84 | 18 |
| 4 | Life Care Centers of America | $28,661 | $13.78 | 22 |
| 5 | HealthCare Services | $28,542 | $13.72 | 11 |
| 6 | Healthcare Services Group | $28,394 | $13.65 | 69 |
| 7 | Good Samaritan Center | $27,778 | $13.35 | 10 |
| 8 | American House Senior Living Communities | $27,670 | $13.30 | 12 |
| 9 | Rosewood | $27,620 | $13.28 | 10 |
| 10 | Good Samaritan Home of Quincy | $26,684 | $12.83 | 10 |
Cook/Dietary Aide Videos
