Cooking chef vs chief cook

The differences between cooking chefs and chief cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a cooking chef, becoming a chief cook takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a chief cook has an average salary of $38,867, which is higher than the $34,973 average annual salary of a cooking chef.

The top three skills for a cooking chef include food service, food handling and kitchen equipment. The most important skills for a chief cook are meal preparation, kitchen equipment, and cleanliness.

Cooking chef vs chief cook overview

	Cooking Chef	Chief Cook
Yearly salary	$34,973	$38,867
Hourly rate	$16.81	$18.69
Growth rate	15%	16%
Number of jobs	136,558	159,663
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 31%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	6	4

Cooking chef vs chief cook salary

Cooking chefs and chief cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cooking Chef	Chief Cook
Average salary	$34,973	$38,867
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $49,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Teaneck, NJ	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Memphis Country Club	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between cooking chef and chief cook education

There are a few differences between a cooking chef and a chief cook in terms of educational background:

	Cooking Chef	Chief Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 31%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Drexel University	-

Cooking chef vs chief cook demographics

Here are the differences between cooking chefs' and chief cooks' demographics:

	Cooking Chef	Chief Cook
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 76.3% Female, 23.7%	Male, 78.6% Female, 21.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 12.0% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 9.0% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	6%

Differences between cooking chef and chief cook duties and responsibilities

Cooking chef example responsibilities.

Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
Assist culinary instructor in food preparation.
Cook foods by baking, roasting, broiling, frying, saut? ing, steaming, grilling.
Travel to various locations throughout the city to perform culinary task.
Obtain in-depth experience working on grills, ranges, and steamers.
Experience with baking, broiling, frying, roasting and grilling.

Chief cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Demand cleanliness of galley and equipment while assisting in meal planning and inventory management.
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Operate commercial dishwasher and ensure kitchen area are clean and sanitary at all times, catering to following shift crew members.
Display leadership abilities and responsibility by training new employees.

Cooking chef vs chief cook skills

Common cooking chef skills

Food Service, 23%
Food Handling, 19%
Kitchen Equipment, 16%
Culinary, 10%
Cleanliness, 9%
Dishwashers, 7%

Common chief cook skills

Meal Preparation, 21%
Kitchen Equipment, 17%
Cleanliness, 13%
Food Safety, 12%
Food Handling, 8%
Menu Planning, 6%

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Cooking Chef vs Chief Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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