Food and nutrition services assistant vs cook/server

The differences between food and nutrition services assistants and cook/servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food and nutrition services assistant has an average salary of $30,832, which is higher than the $29,716 average annual salary of a cook/server.

The top three skills for a food and nutrition services assistant include patients, customer service and food handling. The most important skills for a cook/server are customer service, customer orders, and safety standards.

Food and nutrition services assistant vs cook/server overview

	Food And Nutrition Services Assistant	Cook/Server
Yearly salary	$30,832	$29,716
Hourly rate	$14.82	$14.29
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	101,089	257,582
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	High School Diploma, 52%
Average age	23	23
Years of experience	-	-

Food and nutrition services assistant vs cook/server salary

Food and nutrition services assistants and cook/servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food And Nutrition Services Assistant	Cook/Server
Average salary	$30,832	$29,716
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $36,000	Between $23,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	Des Moines, IA	Bellingham, WA
Highest paying state	Iowa	Alaska
Best paying company	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	The Harley School
Best paying industry	Health Care	Retail

Differences between food and nutrition services assistant and cook/server education

There are a few differences between a food and nutrition services assistant and a cook/server in terms of educational background:

	Food And Nutrition Services Assistant	Cook/Server
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	High School Diploma, 52%
Most common major	Psychology	Business
Most common college	-	-

Food and nutrition services assistant vs cook/server demographics

Here are the differences between food and nutrition services assistants' and cook/servers' demographics:

	Food And Nutrition Services Assistant	Cook/Server
Average age	23	23
Gender ratio	Male, 26.3% Female, 73.7%	Male, 45.9% Female, 54.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between food and nutrition services assistant and cook/server duties and responsibilities

Food and nutrition services assistant example responsibilities.

Achieve excellent communication skills with patients and co-workers.
Prepare HACCP menu production records.
Assist the nutrition in identifying and encouraging the residents to maintain specific dietary needs/restrictions for residents at an inpatient rehabilitation facility.
Follow all proper laws and guide lines within the hospital, OSHA, HIPPA.

Cook/server example responsibilities.

Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Assist customers, bag groceries, replenish carts, and clean store.
Pay close attention to detail while multitasking between communicating over the intercom, utilizing the POS, and order placing.
Make smoothies, coffee, customer service, cashier, fill bakery cooler, inventory, stock, and clean!
Operate the filtration system used for the fryers to keep all sanitation guidelines up to standards as per the health department.
Operate, and maintain clean and safe cooking equipment like pressure cooker deep fryers, plate grills, and deep fryers.

Food and nutrition services assistant vs cook/server skills

Common food and nutrition services assistant skills

Patients, 36%
Customer Service, 24%
Food Handling, 11%
Food Safety, 7%
HACCP, 5%
Patient Satisfaction, 3%

Common cook/server skills

Customer Service, 41%
Customer Orders, 8%
Safety Standards, 6%
Food Preparation, 5%
Kitchen Equipment, 4%
POS, 4%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Food And Nutrition Services Assistant
Food And Nutrition Services Assistant vs Cook/Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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