Grill cook vs line cook/dishwasher

The differences between grill cooks and line cook/dishwashers 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 line cook/dishwasher. Additionally, a line cook/dishwasher has an average salary of $34,435, 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 line cook/dishwasher are food handling, cleanliness, and dishwashers.

Grill cook vs line cook/dishwasher overview

	Grill Cook	Line Cook/Dishwasher
Yearly salary	$31,895	$34,435
Hourly rate	$15.33	$16.56
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	184,603	133,370
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 54%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

What does a grill cook do?

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.

What does a line cook/dishwasher do?

A line cook/dishwasher is primarily in charge of prepping food and maintaining their work station's cleanliness while adhering to health standards and protocols. Among their duties include washing and chopping vegetables, cutting meat according to requirements, preparing sauces, and cooking according to an executive chef's directives. They also participate in cleaning and sterilizing kitchen tools and equipment, monitoring the inventory of ingredients, unloading stock deliveries, and taking care of leftovers. Additionally, as a line cook/dishwasher, it is essential to maintain an open communication line with fellow kitchen staff for an efficient workflow.

Grill cook vs line cook/dishwasher salary

Grill cooks and line cook/dishwashers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Grill Cook	Line Cook/Dishwasher
Average salary	$31,895	$34,435
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $26,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	-
Highest paying state	Washington	-
Best paying company	St. Petersburg Yacht Club	-
Best paying industry	Hospitality	-

Differences between grill cook and line cook/dishwasher education

There are a few differences between a grill cook and a line cook/dishwasher in terms of educational background:

	Grill Cook	Line Cook/Dishwasher
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 54%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Grill cook vs line cook/dishwasher demographics

Here are the differences between grill cooks' and line cook/dishwashers' demographics:

	Grill Cook	Line Cook/Dishwasher
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 76.9% Female, 23.1%	Male, 84.2% Female, 15.8%
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, 8.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 8.1% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between grill cook and line cook/dishwasher duties and responsibilities

Grill cook example responsibilities.

Manage portions of grill food items and garnish them, regulate temperature of broilers, grills and roasters.
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Utilize for relief management, new hire training, inventory control and profitable aspects of people and service.
Maintain station clean food preparation areas; operate large volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers, or griddles.
High-Pace business catering to the consumer needs using hospitality and culinary expertise to provide proper customer satisfaction.
Cook foods by baking, roasting, broiling, frying, saut? ing, steaming and grilling.

Line cook/dishwasher example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Maintain superb conditions of all grills, fryers, prep areas, and work spaces in the kitchen.
Have to follow certain steps for battering prior to cooking, and use a timer for the fryers for fry.
Leverage teamwork to fully utilize kitchen staff to generate remarkable food and service to ensure customer satisfaction.
Operate dishwasher to fully sanitize incoming dishes and silverware.
Prepare food items with special attention to individual orders concerning allergies and temperatures.

Grill cook vs line cook/dishwasher skills

Common grill cook skills

Sanitation Standards, 16%
Kitchen Equipment, 14%
Safety Standards, 13%
Food Handling, 9%
Math, 7%
Dexterity, 5%

Common line cook/dishwasher skills

Food Handling, 35%
Cleanliness, 32%
Dishwashers, 25%
Kitchen Equipment, 3%
Culinary, 2%
Line Cooks, 1%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Grill Cook
Grill Cook vs Line Cook/Dishwasher

Updated January 8, 2025

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