Deli cook vs line cook

The differences between deli cooks and line 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 line cook. Additionally, a line cook has an average salary of $32,894, which is higher than the $32,062 average annual salary of a deli cook.

The top three skills for a deli cook include food handling, basic math and cleanliness. The most important skills for a line cook are culinary, sanitation standards, and food handling.

Deli cook vs line cook overview

	Deli Cook	Line Cook
Yearly salary	$32,062	$32,894
Hourly rate	$15.41	$15.81
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	169,287	168,993
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Deli cook vs line cook salary

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

	Deli Cook	Line Cook
Average salary	$32,062	$32,894
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $42,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Beaverton, OR	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Oregon	Hawaii
Best paying company	Kohler Co.	Gate City Bank
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between deli cook and line cook education

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

	Deli Cook	Line Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Deli cook vs line cook demographics

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

	Deli Cook	Line Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 40.2% Female, 59.8%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between deli cook and line 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.

Line cook example responsibilities.

Used strong organizational skills to manage steamers efficiently for both eat-in and take-out services.
Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items, cutting meat size.
Manage the POS system (adding/deleting specials, editing prices, viewing server appetizer/dessert sales and their server report information).
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Used equipment such as meat slicers, salamanders and steamers.
Develop food preparation skills and knowledge of tools involve; such as proper use of knives and automate slicers.

Deli cook vs line cook skills

Common deli cook skills

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

Common line cook skills

Culinary, 12%
Sanitation Standards, 11%
Food Handling, 11%
Team Work, 9%
Kitchen Equipment, 8%
Cleanliness, 8%

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Deli Cook vs Line Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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