Dietary cook vs institutional cook

The differences between dietary cooks and institutional cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a dietary cook and an institutional cook. Additionally, an institutional cook has an average salary of $30,403, which is higher than the $27,365 average annual salary of a dietary cook.

The top three skills for a dietary cook include patients, food handling and food service. The most important skills for an institutional cook are food handling, kitchen equipment, and culinary.

Dietary cook vs institutional cook overview

	Dietary Cook	Institutional Cook
Yearly salary	$27,365	$30,403
Hourly rate	$13.16	$14.62
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	191,406	106,958
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Dietary cook vs institutional cook salary

Dietary cooks and institutional cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dietary Cook	Institutional Cook
Average salary	$27,365	$30,403
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $34,000	Between $24,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	Omaha, NE	Santa Barbara, CA
Highest paying state	Utah	California
Best paying company	SantaFe HealthCare	Compass Group USA
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between dietary cook and institutional cook education

There are a few differences between a dietary cook and an institutional cook in terms of educational background:

	Dietary Cook	Institutional Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Dietary cook vs institutional cook demographics

Here are the differences between dietary cooks' and institutional cooks' demographics:

	Dietary Cook	Institutional Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%	Male, 73.0% Female, 27.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 8.2% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 6.7% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between dietary cook and institutional cook duties and responsibilities

Dietary cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Provide attention and compassion to all resident's.
Train with culinary chefs and staff members on dinning facility services and organization.
Utilize a broad range of culinary skills to include grill and saute as well as salad and deserts.
Make sure food is prepared within the guidelines of ServSafe and residents' with special needs are tend to.
Prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for residents according to SERVSAFE and HAACP procedures and standards on a daily basis.

Institutional cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Ensure customers convenience are met/exceed by accommodating and notifying customers of ingredients that may trigger food allergies or intolerance.
Provide leadership that promotes and exemplifies excellent customer service.

Dietary cook vs institutional cook skills

Common dietary cook skills

Patients, 16%
Food Handling, 16%
Food Service, 13%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Meal Service, 7%
Rehabilitation, 6%

Common institutional cook skills

Food Handling, 32%
Kitchen Equipment, 23%
Culinary, 15%
Slicers, 7%
Mixers, 7%
Broilers, 4%

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Dietary Cook
Dietary Cook vs Institutional Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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