Food service specialist vs line cook

The differences between food service specialists 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 $29,286 average annual salary of a food service specialist.

The top three skills for a food service specialist include kitchen equipment, preventive maintenance and MOS. The most important skills for a line cook are culinary, sanitation standards, and food handling.

Food service specialist vs line cook overview

	Food Service Specialist	Line Cook
Yearly salary	$29,286	$32,894
Hourly rate	$14.08	$15.81
Growth rate	2%	16%
Number of jobs	95,112	168,993
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	37	38
Years of experience	-	4

What does a food service specialist do?

The food service specialists monitor food preparation, ensuring that the guests get their correct orders, providing them the best dining experience and satisfaction. A food service specialist takes the guests' orders, processes their payments, and serves their orders timely and efficiently. They also monitor the stock inventories, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for stock requests, and assist with kitchen duties as needed, especially on high volume days. A food service specialist must have a broad knowledge of the food services industry, analyzing the current food trends to make suggestions for menus, and responding to the guests' concerns.

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 specialist vs line cook salary

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

	Food Service Specialist	Line Cook
Average salary	$29,286	$32,894
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $43,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New York	Hawaii
Best paying company	Brookhaven National Laboratory	Gate City Bank
Best paying industry	Government	Hospitality

Differences between food service specialist and line cook education

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

	Food Service Specialist	Line Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Food service specialist vs line cook demographics

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

	Food Service Specialist	Line Cook
Average age	37	38
Gender ratio	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 6.7% White, 58.0% 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	10%	6%

Differences between food service specialist and line cook duties and responsibilities

Food service specialist example responsibilities.

Regulate temperatures of ovens, broilers, and grills.
Apply a vast number or USDA and USDC Standards/Specifications to determine compliance with contractual requirements.
Maintain a safe work environment for the preparation of food through sanitation and HACCP procedures.
Inspect prepared foods place on the serving line to ensure temperature and quality follow ServSafe protocols.
Utilize the techniques of roasting, broiling, frying, grilling, steaming, and baking.
Ensure that food purchase and procure for multiple units is in accordance with DOD and USDA standards and contractual documents.

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 specialist vs line cook skills

Common food service specialist skills

Kitchen Equipment, 33%
Preventive Maintenance, 24%
MOS, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
Cleanliness, 4%
Patients, 4%

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 Specialist vs Line Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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