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The differences between dietary cooks and prep cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a dietary cook, becoming a prep cook takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a prep cook has an average salary of $32,292, 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 a prep cook are food handling, culinary, and sanitation standards.
| Dietary Cook | Prep Cook | |
| Yearly salary | $27,365 | $32,292 |
| Hourly rate | $13.16 | $15.53 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 191,406 | 168,265 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A dietary cook specializes in cooking and preparing healthy meals for clients or organizations. It is their duty to follow nutritional plans and guidelines, adhere to portion and quality standards, supervise kitchen staff, and participate in delivering food to rooms or offices. They also monitor the inventory of supplies, maintain the cleanliness of different areas, and keep dishes sanitized at all times. Moreover, a dietary cook must coordinate and maintain an open communication line with fellow kitchen workers to ensure a safe and efficient workflow.
Prep cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients. They are usually part of an assembly line-like structure in the kitchen. They are often the first station in this assembly line. Prep cooks are in charge of thawing, skinning, cutting, mincing, slicing, and chopping ingredients so that the line cooks can just get these ingredients for their own stations. Prep cooks may also start doing some of the initial activities in the cooking process, such as preparing water for boiling, laying out ingredients, and ensuring that the stoves are clear.
Dietary cooks and prep cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Dietary Cook | Prep Cook | |
| Average salary | $27,365 | $32,292 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $34,000 | Between $25,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Omaha, NE | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Utah | Washington |
| Best paying company | SantaFe HealthCare | Kemps |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a dietary cook and a prep cook in terms of educational background:
| Dietary Cook | Prep Cook | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between dietary cooks' and prep cooks' demographics:
| Dietary Cook | Prep Cook | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7% | Male, 61.3% Female, 38.7% |
| 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, 9.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |