Deli cook vs fry cook

The differences between deli cooks and fry 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 deli cook and a fry cook. Additionally, a deli cook has an average salary of $32,062, which is higher than the $30,622 average annual salary of a fry cook.

The top three skills for a deli cook include food handling, basic math and cleanliness. The most important skills for a fry cook are kitchen equipment, customer service, and safety standards.

Deli cook vs fry cook overview

	Deli Cook	Fry Cook
Yearly salary	$32,062	$30,622
Hourly rate	$15.41	$14.72
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	169,287	246,323
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Deli cook vs fry cook salary

Deli cooks and fry cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Deli Cook	Fry Cook
Average salary	$32,062	$30,622
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $42,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Beaverton, OR	Fresno, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	Washington
Best paying company	Kohler Co.	Anthony
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between deli cook and fry cook education

There are a few differences between a deli cook and a fry cook in terms of educational background:

	Deli Cook	Fry Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Deli cook vs fry cook demographics

Here are the differences between deli cooks' and fry cooks' demographics:

	Deli Cook	Fry Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 40.2% Female, 59.8%	Male, 80.8% Female, 19.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 8.5% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between deli cook and fry cook duties and responsibilities

Deli cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Clean, operate cash register, dismantle and clean equipment, slicers, fryers, rotisserie ovens and reassemble.
Maintain department cleanliness, and provide customer service.
Slice meats & cheeses with rotary blade slicers, size the slices, weigh and wrap foods according to customers satisfaction.
Package meats; grind beef, frozen hamburger patties, chicken fryers, cut up meats, and conduct food inventory.
Maintain cleanliness and preparedness of deli.

Fry cook example responsibilities.

Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Grill burgers and used the deep fryers for various foods, clean all equipment at the end of the shift.
Bread and cook chicken, fry foods, run and clean fryers, clean coolers, do dishes general utilities.
Job responsibilities include preparing and executing dishes, as well as assuming responsibility for cleanliness of restaurant.
Provide friendly, quality, customer service to each Chipotle customer.

Deli cook vs fry cook skills

Common deli cook skills

Food Handling, 21%
Basic Math, 19%
Cleanliness, 10%
Kitchen Equipment, 7%
Slicers, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

Common fry cook skills

Kitchen Equipment, 23%
Customer Service, 11%
Safety Standards, 10%
Deep-Fat Fryers, 9%
Food Products, 5%
Fine Dining, 5%

Deli Cook vs. similar jobs

Deli Cook related careers

Deli Cook related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Deli Cook
Deli Cook vs Fry Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse food preparation and restaurant jobs