What does a cooking instructor do?
Cooking instructor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real cooking instructor resumes:
- 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.
- Maintain and follow proper hygiene and sanitation standards.
Cooking instructor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 39% of Cooking Instructors are proficient in Kids, Culinary, and Nutrition Education. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical stamina, and Sense of taste and smell.
We break down the percentage of Cooking Instructors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Kids, 39%
Worked with the After School Program- Cooking with Kids @ Bernalillo Public Schools (2 years) from 2010-2012.
- Culinary, 22%
Provided culinary services for special events at the community center
- Nutrition Education, 18%
Lead summer camp, after-school and extracurricular cooking and nutrition education programs for elementary, middle and high school students.
- Healthy Food, 8%
Developed weekly menus, tastings, and grocery lists intended to expose children to healthy foods while broadening their palettes.
- Food Preparation, 3%
Train students in food preparation, serving, display, baking, equipment use, and cleaning and sanitation.
- Food Safety, 3%
Led fun and interactive educational presentations on topics of nutrition, cooking methods, food safety, etc.
"kids," "culinary," and "nutrition education" are among the most common skills that cooking instructors use at work. You can find even more cooking instructor responsibilities below, including:
Dexterity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a cooking instructor to have is dexterity. Their role and responsibilities require that "cooks should have excellent hand–eye coordination." Cooking instructors often use dexterity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assist master chef in hands on japanese cooking classes and explain japanese culinary culture to students. "
Physical stamina. Another essential skill to perform cooking instructor duties is physical stamina. Cooking instructors responsibilities require that "cooks spend a lot of time standing in one place, cooking food over hot stoves, and cleaning work areas." Cooking instructors also use physical stamina in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintain optimum physical fitness levels by training regularly, following nutrition plans, and consulting with health professionals. "
Sense of taste and smell. cooking instructors are also known for sense of taste and smell, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to cooking instructor responsibilities, because "cooks must have a keen sense of taste and smell to prepare meals that customers enjoy." A cooking instructor resume example shows how sense of taste and smell is used in the workplace: "trained participants in meal preparation and kept daily records in order to fulfill federal nutrition requirements and maintain on going funding. "
The three companies that hire the most cooking instructors are:
- Sticky Fingers12 cooking instructors jobs
- H-E-B4 cooking instructors jobs
- Acacia Network3 cooking instructors jobs
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Compare different cooking instructors
Cooking instructor vs. Garde manager
A short-order cook takes responsibility for preparing foods in cafes and restaurants. Usually, they fry eggs, cook fries, and prepare sandwiches. Short order cooks work alongside line chefs in the foodservice market. Their manner of preparing food is quick, easy, and simple. They plan and handle work orders ensuring that all orders are complete and served on time. Strong communication, customer service, a good sense of taste, and the ability to work efficiently are necessary requirements for the job.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between cooking instructors and garde manager. For instance, cooking instructor responsibilities require skills such as "kids," "nutrition education," "healthy food," and "food preparation." Whereas a garde manager is skilled in "salad dressings," "garde manger," "cleanliness," and "dessert station." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that garde managers earn slightly differ from cooking instructors. In particular, garde managers are 10.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a cooking instructor. Additionally, they're 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Cooking instructor vs. Short order cook
Typically, lead line cooks work under the supervision of a chef or head cook in a kitchen. Leadline cooks oversee the food preparation process from start to end. Their duties include the supervision of kitchen staff, recruitment and training of new kitchen employees, and monitoring of food quality. They comply with the sanitation and nutrition regulations of food as well as their safety standards. They should be knowledgeable and have skills in food preparation, customer service, attention to detail, and communication.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real cooking instructor resumes. While cooking instructor responsibilities can utilize skills like "kids," "culinary," "nutrition education," and "healthy food," short order cooks use skills like "food handling," "customer service," "food preparation equipment," and "good communication."
Short order cooks earn lower levels of education than cooking instructors in general. They're 10.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Cooking instructor vs. Lead line cook
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a cooking instructor is likely to be skilled in "kids," "nutrition education," "healthy food," and "food safety," while a typical lead line cook is skilled in "fine dining," "cleanliness," "food handling," and "customer service."
Lead line cooks typically earn lower educational levels compared to cooking instructors. Specifically, they're 11.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Cooking instructor vs. Assistant cook
Even though a few skill sets overlap between cooking instructors and assistant cooks, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a cooking instructor might have more use for skills like "kids," "nutrition education," "healthy food," and "kitchen safety." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of assistant cooks require skills like "food handling," "dishes," "food service," and "customer service. "
Assistant cooks reach lower levels of education compared to cooking instructors, in general. The difference is that they're 10.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of cooking instructor
Updated January 8, 2025
