Fast food cook vs cook

The differences between fast food cooks and 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 fast food cook and a cook. Additionally, a cook has an average salary of $31,803, which is higher than the $26,093 average annual salary of a fast food cook.

The top three skills for a fast food cook include food handling, safety standards and customer service. The most important skills for a cook are food handling, food service, and cleanliness.

Fast food cook vs cook overview

	Fast Food Cook	Cook
Yearly salary	$26,093	$31,803
Hourly rate	$12.54	$15.29
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	275,335	184,818
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 45%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

What does a fast food cook do?

Fast-food cooks maintain utensils, food preparation areas, and cooking surfaces. Besides cooking and serving beverages, fast food cooks also perform their daily duties as per the safety standards and health standards. Their other duties include ordering and taking supply deliveries, cleaning, preparing meals ingredients, and running cooking equipment such as griddles, deep fat fryers, or grills.

What does a cook do?

Cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. They must be knowledgeable about the different recipes and ingredients needed. They are also responsible for managing the inventory and ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked. They prepare meals from scratch, cutting ingredients, measuring them, and following recipes. Cooks should be creative, especially when ingredients are lacking, and they must find alternatives that will not compromise the food taste. They should be precise, imaginative, and patient. Cooks should also have good time management skills and decision-making skills.

Fast food cook vs cook salary

Fast food cooks and cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Fast Food Cook	Cook
Average salary	$26,093	$31,803
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $34,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Hawaii
Best paying company	Dell	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Government

Differences between fast food cook and cook education

There are a few differences between a fast food cook and a cook in terms of educational background:

	Fast Food Cook	Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 45%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Fast food cook vs cook demographics

Here are the differences between fast food cooks' and cooks' demographics:

	Fast Food Cook	Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 74.2% Female, 25.8%	Male, 70.2% Female, 29.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 8.6% White, 56.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between fast food cook and cook duties and responsibilities

Fast food cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Execute daily operations of filtering of the fryers.
Leverage teamwork to fully utilize kitchen staff to generate remarkable food and service to ensure customer satisfaction.
Can make and food at mcdonalds.

Cook example responsibilities.

Achieve completion to cook, prep and dish meticulous meals to an immense amount of customers with proficient dexterity quality.
Organize production and set up broiler station for lunch shift, manage grill with 30-40 steaks at varying temps and cuts.
Lead cook line and instruct cooks and other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, and presentation of dishes.
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Operate large volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers, and griddles.

Fast food cook vs cook skills

Common fast food cook skills

Food Handling, 18%
Safety Standards, 17%
Customer Service, 10%
Grills, 6%
Kitchen Equipment, 5%
Culinary, 4%

Common cook skills

Food Handling, 14%
Food Service, 10%
Cleanliness, 10%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Basic Math, 7%
Culinary, 6%

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Fast Food Cook vs Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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