Food preparation worker vs catering assistant

The differences between food preparation workers and catering assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a catering assistant has an average salary of $32,101, which is higher than the $25,004 average annual salary of a food preparation worker.

The top three skills for a food preparation worker include customer service, food handling and clean rooms. The most important skills for a catering assistant are patients, food service, and customer service.

Food preparation worker vs catering assistant overview

	Food Preparation Worker	Catering Assistant
Yearly salary	$25,004	$32,101
Hourly rate	$12.02	$15.43
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	65,654	10,042
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

Food preparation worker vs catering assistant salary

Food preparation workers and catering assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Preparation Worker	Catering Assistant
Average salary	$25,004	$32,101
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $33,000	Between $26,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Rochester, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Hawaii
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Massachusetts General Hospital
Best paying industry	Retail	Manufacturing

Differences between food preparation worker and catering assistant education

There are a few differences between a food preparation worker and a catering assistant in terms of educational background:

	Food Preparation Worker	Catering Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Food preparation worker vs catering assistant demographics

Here are the differences between food preparation workers' and catering assistants' demographics:

	Food Preparation Worker	Catering Assistant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 46.6% Female, 53.4%	Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between food preparation worker and catering assistant duties and responsibilities

Food preparation worker example responsibilities.

Maintain cleaned and sanitize cafeterias.
Assist with planning and directing food preparation and culinary activities along with safely handling and storing all products appropriately.
Wash dishes, pots, pans and trays by hand and automatic dishwasher.
Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias.

Catering assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and prioritize restaurant reservations.
Monitor patients who cannot receive anything by mouth (NPO) or on liquid diets.
Assist dieticians with monitoring of patients who are NPO, on liquid diets or need to have intake record.
Run POS for student payments, including meal cards and cash.
Comply with regulator agency standards, including federal, state and JCAHO.
Adhere to HIPAA guidelines while processing menu orders with the patient information.

Food preparation worker vs catering assistant skills

Common food preparation worker skills

Customer Service, 20%
Food Handling, 16%
Clean Rooms, 10%
Food Preparation Equipment, 9%
Basic Math, 8%
Food Storage, 5%

Common catering assistant skills

Patients, 25%
Food Service, 21%
Customer Service, 12%
Food Safety, 7%
Food Delivery, 6%
Beverage Service, 4%

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Food Preparation Worker vs Catering Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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