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Become A Cook

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Working As A Cook

  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  • Getting Information
  • Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
  • Performing General Physical Activities

  • Outdoors/walking/standing

  • $27,277

    Average Salary

What Does A Cook Do

Cooks prepare, season, and cook a wide range of foods, which may include soups, salads, entrees, and desserts.

Duties

Cooks typically do the following:

  • Ensure the freshness of food and ingredients
  • Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes
  • Bake, grill, or fry meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods
  • Boil and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods
  • Arrange, garnish, and sometimes serve food
  • Clean work areas, equipment, utensils, and dishes
  • Cook, handle, and store food or ingredients

Cooks usually work under the direction of chefs, head cooks, or food service managers. Large restaurants and food service establishments often have multiple menus and large kitchen staffs. Teams of restaurant cooks, sometimes called assistant cooks or line cooks, work at assigned stations equipped with the necessary types of stoves, grills, pans, and ingredients.

Job titles often reflect the principal ingredient cooks prepare or the type of cooking they do—vegetable cook, fry cook, or grill cook, for example.

Cooks use a variety of kitchen equipment, including broilers, grills, slicers, grinders, and blenders.

The responsibilities of cooks vary depending on where they work, the size of the facility, and the level of service offered. However, in all establishments, they follow established sanitation procedures when handling food. For example, they store food and ingredients at the correct temperatures to prevent bacterial growth.

The following are examples of types of cooks:

Restaurant cooks prepare a wide selection of dishes and cook most orders individually. Some restaurant cooks may order supplies, set menu prices, and plan the daily menu.

Fast-food cooks prepare a limited selection of menu items in fast-food restaurants. They cook and package food, such as hamburgers and fried chicken, to be kept warm until served. For more information on workers who prepare and serve items in fast-food restaurants, see the profiles on food preparation workers and food and beverage serving and related workers.

Institution and cafeteria cooks work in the kitchens of schools, cafeterias, businesses, hospitals, and other institutions. For each meal, they prepare a large quantity of a limited number of entrees, vegetables, and desserts, according to preset menus. These cooks usually prepare meals in advance and seldom take special orders.

Short-order cooks prepare foods in restaurants and coffee shops that emphasize fast service and quick food preparation. They usually prepare sandwiches, fry eggs, and cook french fries, often working on several orders at the same time.

Private household cooks, sometimes called personal chefs, plan and prepare meals in private homes, according to the client’s tastes and dietary needs. They order groceries and supplies, clean the kitchen, and wash dishes and utensils. They also may cater parties, holiday meals, luncheons, and other social events. Private household cooks typically work for one full-time client, although some are self-employed or employed by an agency, regularly making meals for multiple clients.

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How To Become A Cook

Most cooks learn their skills through on-the-job training and work-related experience. Although no formal education is required, some restaurant cooks and private household cooks attend culinary schools. Others attend vocational or apprenticeship programs.

Education

Vocational cooking schools, professional culinary institutes, and some colleges offer culinary programs for aspiring cooks. These programs generally last from a few months to 2 years and may offer courses in advanced cooking techniques, international cuisines, and various cooking styles. To enter these programs, candidates may be required to have a high school diploma or equivalent. Depending on the type and length of the program, graduates generally qualify for entry-level positions as a restaurant cook.

Training

Most cooks learn their skills through on-the-job training, usually lasting a few weeks. Trainees generally first learn kitchen basics and workplace safety and then learn how to handle and cook food.

Some cooks learn through an apprenticeship program. Professional culinary institutes, industry associations, and trade unions may sponsor such programs for cooks. Typical apprenticeships last 1 year and combine technical training and work experience. Apprentices complete courses in food sanitation and safety, basic knife skills, and equipment operation. They also learn practical cooking skills under the supervision of an experienced chef.

The American Culinary Federation accredits more than 200 academic training programs and sponsors apprenticeships through these programs around the country. The basic qualifications for entering an apprenticeship program are as follows:

  • Minimum age of 17
  • High school education or equivalent
  • Pass substance abuse screening

Some hotels, a number of restaurants, and the Armed Forces have their own training programs.

Work Experience in a Related Occupation

Many cooks learn their skills through work-related experience. They typically start as a kitchen helper or food preparation worker, learning basic cooking skills before they advance to assistant cook or line cook positions. Some learn by working under the guidance of a more experienced cook.

Advancement

The American Culinary Federation certifies chefs, personal chefs, pastry chefs, and culinary administrators, among others. For cooks seeking advancement to higher level chef positions, certification can show accomplishment and lead to higher paying positions.

Advancement opportunities for cooks often depend on training, work experience, and the ability to prepare more complex dishes. Those who learn new cooking skills and who handle greater responsibility, such as supervising kitchen staff in the absence of a chef, often advance. Some cooks may train or supervise kitchen staff, and some may become head cooks, chefs, or food service managers.

Important Qualities

Comprehension. Cooks need to understand orders and follow recipes to prepare dishes correctly.

Customer-service skills. Restaurant and short-order cooks must be able to interact effectively with customers and handle special requests.

Dexterity. Cooks should have excellent hand–eye coordination. For example, they need to use proper knife techniques for cutting, chopping, and dicing.

Physical stamina. Cooks spend a lot of time standing in one place, cooking food over hot stoves, and cleaning work areas.

Sense of taste and smell. Cooks must have a keen sense of taste and smell to prepare meals that customers enjoy.

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Cook jobs

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Cook Demographics

Gender

  • Male

    65.8%

  • Female

    32.5%

  • Unknown

    1.7%

Ethnicity

  • White

    80.1%

  • Hispanic or Latino

    11.9%

  • Asian

    6.2%

  • Unknown

    1.4%

  • Black or African American

    0.5%
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Languages Spoken

  • Spanish

    65.7%

  • French

    10.0%

  • Italian

    4.8%

  • German

    4.5%

  • Chinese

    2.0%

  • Japanese

    2.0%

  • Russian

    1.6%

  • Portuguese

    1.3%

  • Arabic

    1.3%

  • Mandarin

    1.1%

  • Hmong

    0.9%

  • Vietnamese

    0.6%

  • Carrier

    0.6%

  • Tagalog

    0.6%

  • Greek

    0.5%

  • Polish

    0.5%

  • Korean

    0.5%

  • Thai

    0.5%

  • Filipino

    0.5%

  • Dakota

    0.5%
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Real Cook Salaries

Job Title Company Location Start Date Salary
Cook Restaurant Gen Inc. New York, NY Dec 17, 2015 $67,500
Ethnic Cook(Korean Specialty) The Moak Yang Presbyterian Church NY Mar 11, 2016 $67,413
Cook, Italian Cuisine Uva Wine Bar New York, NY Jan 12, 2015 $66,784
Cook, Turkish Cuisine JESA 31 Inc. New York, NY Oct 22, 2015 $66,784
Cook, Continental Cuisine The Red Cat New York, NY Jun 11, 2015 $66,742
Cook, Japanese Cuisine Ny Takumi, Inc. New York, NY Jan 21, 2015 $66,518
Cook Kang Yue USA Corp Hillsdale, NY Jun 01, 2015 $64,501
Cook, Japanese Cuisine Yukinong Inc. Bay Shore, NY May 10, 2015 $63,000
Kosher Cook The Matchbox CAFE, Inc. Rhinebeck, NY Feb 26, 2016 $61,235
Cook, Italian Cuisine Pudgy's Pizza & Pasta Inc. Pine Bush, NY Nov 13, 2015 $61,235
Cook (Indian Cuisine) Shalimar Sweets & Restaurant King of Sweets Corp Iselin, NJ Apr 09, 2015 $61,131
Asian Fusion Cook Jeedo Inc. Denton, TX Jun 30, 2016 $60,000
Cook 5 Stars Restaurant Group Inc. Framingham, MA Nov 03, 2016 $57,762
Cook OS Golf Club LLC Plymouth, MA Apr 30, 2016 $28,884
Cook Land of Pizza Boston, MA Nov 07, 2016 $28,884
Cook, Korean Young & Chang Inc. T/A Ichiban Restaurant Gaithersburg, MD Aug 14, 2015 $28,850
Cook, Persian Cuisine MOBY Dick I, Inc. Bethesda, MD Sep 17, 2015 $28,850
Cooks Mt. Mansfield Company Stowe, VT Nov 15, 2016 $28,780
Cook Louise Riggio DBA Medowview Farms Southampton, NY Nov 15, 2016 $28,766
Cook Louise Riggio DBA Medowview Farms Southampton, NY Mar 17, 2016 $28,766
Cook SAMI Geadah Washington, DC Jul 15, 2015 $28,704
Cook El Mescal Inc. Grand Junction, CO Oct 15, 2015 $25,792
Cook Ho Won Tan, Inc. Tillamook, OR Jan 27, 2016 $25,792
Chinese Cook JZ Bros Corp Lincoln City, OR Jan 10, 2015 $25,792
Arabic Cook Hassan&Son's Inc. Walnut, CA Apr 15, 2016 $25,771
Restaurant Cook Pho Cafe, Inc. Lafayette, CO Jun 16, 2016 $25,771
Cook (Japanese Food) Sushi Boy, Inc. Torrance, CA Nov 20, 2015 $25,771
Cook Sabbia D' Oro, Inc. DBA FONZ's Steak & Seafood Restaurant Manhattan Beach, CA Aug 02, 2016 $25,771

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Top Skills for A Cook

KitchenEquipmentPrepFoodSafetyStandardsCustomerServiceSpecificFoodItemsFoodPreparationAreasPizzaMenuItemsPre-CookFoodOrderSlipsVerbalInstructionsDishwasherSafeFoodPackageBatchesRestockWorkstationsDifferentOrdersResponsibilitiesiCustomerOrdersDisplayCasesFoodService

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Top Cook Skills

  1. Kitchen Equipment
  2. Prep Food
  3. Safety Standards
You can check out examples of real life uses of top skills on resumes here:
  • Operated all kitchen equipment adeptly.
  • Take orders, make pizza, clean dishes, mop floors, prep food, and collect money.
  • Prepare food for service Comply with nutrition and sanitation regulations and safety standards
  • Created made-to-order omelets and prepared meals while providing friendly customer service Maintained inventory and stocked areas with appropriate products
  • Measured ingredients required for specific food items being prepared.

Top Cook Employers

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