Cooking instructor vs kitchen cook

The differences between cooking instructors and kitchen 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 cooking instructor and a kitchen cook. Additionally, a cooking instructor has an average salary of $87,520, which is higher than the $31,452 average annual salary of a kitchen cook.

The top three skills for a cooking instructor include kids, culinary and nutrition education. The most important skills for a kitchen cook are dishes, food handling, and cleanliness.

Cooking instructor vs kitchen cook overview

	Cooking Instructor	Kitchen Cook
Yearly salary	$87,520	$31,452
Hourly rate	$42.08	$15.12
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	25,094	250,354
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Cooking instructor vs kitchen cook salary

Cooking instructors and kitchen cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cooking Instructor	Kitchen Cook
Average salary	$87,520	$31,452
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $207,000	Between $25,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Massachusetts
Best paying company	H-E-B	Hilltop Ski Area
Best paying industry	-	Retail

Differences between cooking instructor and kitchen cook education

There are a few differences between a cooking instructor and a kitchen cook in terms of educational background:

	Cooking Instructor	Kitchen Cook
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Business
Most common college	-	-

Cooking instructor vs kitchen cook demographics

Here are the differences between cooking instructors' and kitchen cooks' demographics:

	Cooking Instructor	Kitchen Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6%	Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 8.8% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 9.1% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between cooking instructor and kitchen cook duties and responsibilities

Cooking instructor example responsibilities.

Manage and mentor the college caf team including training of new employees, students, and interns.
Plan recipes, shop for groceries, gather materials for cooking.
Research and develop menus of Thai, Moroccan, Greek and Turkish cuisines.
Expedite and delegate kitchen tasks to students to ensure dishes are prepared within allot class time while teaching basic culinary skills
Provide culinary services for special events at the community center
Examine injure persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.

Kitchen cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Inspect clean and utilize ovens, grills, fryers, mixers, etc.
Experience on grills, fryers, knife handling and slicers.
Experience with fryers, weigh machines, slicers and other similarities.
Used electric ovens and electric stoves.
Regulate temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.

Cooking instructor vs kitchen cook skills

Common cooking instructor skills

Kids, 39%
Culinary, 22%
Nutrition Education, 18%
Healthy Food, 8%
Food Preparation, 3%
Food Safety, 3%

Common kitchen cook skills

Dishes, 13%
Food Handling, 11%
Cleanliness, 8%
Math, 8%
Basic Math, 8%
Culinary, 7%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Cooking Instructor
Cooking Instructor vs Kitchen Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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