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The differences between grill cooks and lead 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 grill cook and a lead cook. Additionally, a lead cook has an average salary of $35,964, which is higher than the $31,895 average annual salary of a grill cook.
The top three skills for a grill cook include sanitation standards, kitchen equipment and safety standards. The most important skills for a lead cook are customer service, food handling, and culinary.
| Grill Cook | Lead Cook | |
| Yearly salary | $31,895 | $35,964 |
| Hourly rate | $15.33 | $17.29 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 184,603 | 160,223 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 48% | Associate Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A grill cook's primary role is to take charge of grilling food in restaurants or a similar establishment. Aside from grilling different kinds of food, they are also responsible for the plating, ensuring that it looks presentable and mouth-watering. Moreover, grill cooks have other duties such as preparing supplies and ingredients, maintaining the cleanliness of the work area, and training new members of the workforce. It is also essential to coordinate with other restaurant staff at all times as the operations can be fast-paced and will require accuracy and speed.
A lead cook, or lead line cook, is an individual restaurant employee who is in charge of supervising the chain of food preparation done by line cooks. Lead cooks work directly under head cooks or chefs who provide instructions in preparing meals. They are well-versed in the restaurant's food health and safety, such as regular hand washing, utensil sanitizing, and proper garbage disposal. To be a successful lead cook, they must obtain knowledge of various cooking techniques and be passionate about food.
Grill cooks and lead cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Grill Cook | Lead Cook | |
| Average salary | $31,895 | $35,964 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $39,000 | Between $27,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | St. Petersburg Yacht Club | Freeport-McMoRan |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a grill cook and a lead cook in terms of educational background:
| Grill Cook | Lead Cook | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 48% | Associate Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between grill cooks' and lead cooks' demographics:
| Grill Cook | Lead Cook | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.9% Female, 23.1% | Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 9.4% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |