Food service associate vs line cook

The differences between food service associates and line cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a line cook has an average salary of $32,894, which is higher than the $31,642 average annual salary of a food service associate.

The top three skills for a food service associate include patients, food handling and excellent interpersonal. The most important skills for a line cook are culinary, sanitation standards, and food handling.

Food service associate vs line cook overview

	Food Service Associate	Line Cook
Yearly salary	$31,642	$32,894
Hourly rate	$15.21	$15.81
Growth rate	2%	16%
Number of jobs	64,167	168,993
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	37	38
Years of experience	-	4

What does a food service associate do?

A food service associate performs fundamental functions in the food industry. Food service associates prepare and serve food items. They cater to special events, which involve facility preparation, food presentation maintenance, and setting up tables. Their duties include cleaning preparation and service equipment. They restock the work stations for the essential supplies. The skills they need to perform their job include customer service, teamwork, work with diverse cultural, ethnic, and academic backgrounds, and learn safety and health regulations.

What does a line cook do?

Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line. This is apt because line cooks are usually assigned to a specific station to work on a specific part of a meal or a preparation process. They are part of a bigger group of cooks in the restaurant. This is done so that meal preparation is more efficient. Line cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients, ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked, and doing their assigned activity in the line. They are expected to be good team players, have experience as a cook, and be able to follow recipes and provide alternatives when necessary.

Food service associate vs line cook salary

Food service associates and line cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Service Associate	Line Cook
Average salary	$31,642	$32,894
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Hawaii
Best paying company	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	Gate City Bank
Best paying industry	Technology	Hospitality

Differences between food service associate and line cook education

There are a few differences between a food service associate and a line cook in terms of educational background:

	Food Service Associate	Line Cook
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Food service associate vs line cook demographics

Here are the differences between food service associates' and line cooks' demographics:

	Food Service Associate	Line Cook
Average age	37	38
Gender ratio	Male, 38.0% Female, 62.0%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between food service associate and line cook duties and responsibilities

Food service associate example responsibilities.

Experience using a cash register and POS system to manage food orders.
Maintain pantry, follow USDA guidelines for proper food storage, and maintenance on equipment.
Help track inventory using FIFO.
Stock product according to date, using the FIFO method.
Perform complex math calculations using fractions, percentile, probabilities and/or ratios.
Rank one of the top math and technology schools in the nation.

Line cook example responsibilities.

Used strong organizational skills to manage steamers efficiently for both eat-in and take-out services.
Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items, cutting meat size.
Manage the POS system (adding/deleting specials, editing prices, viewing server appetizer/dessert sales and their server report information).
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Used equipment such as meat slicers, salamanders and steamers.
Develop food preparation skills and knowledge of tools involve; such as proper use of knives and automate slicers.

Food service associate vs line cook skills

Common food service associate skills

Patients, 14%
Food Handling, 12%
Excellent Interpersonal, 11%
Cleanliness, 7%
Math, 6%
Kitchen Equipment, 6%

Common line cook skills

Culinary, 12%
Sanitation Standards, 11%
Food Handling, 11%
Team Work, 9%
Kitchen Equipment, 8%
Cleanliness, 8%

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Food Service Associate vs Line Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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