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The differences between head cooks and cooking chefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a head cook and a cooking chef. Additionally, a head cook has an average salary of $44,412, which is higher than the $34,973 average annual salary of a cooking chef.
The top three skills for a head cook include kitchen equipment, meal preparation and food service. The most important skills for a cooking chef are food service, food handling, and kitchen equipment.
| Head Cook | Cooking Chef | |
| Yearly salary | $44,412 | $34,973 |
| Hourly rate | $21.35 | $16.81 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 156,227 | 136,558 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A head cook is responsible for organizing the food preparation, organizing the kitchen operations, and ensuring the quality of the food presented. Head cooks' duties include monitoring the food inventory, creating new recipes, researching current market trends, responding to guests' inquiries and complaints, distributing kitchen tasks to the staff, and maintaining budget goals while maintaining the highest food quality. A head cook must always adhere to the sanitary procedures and hygienic standards, as well as have a broad knowledge of the food industry.
A cooking chef oversees all people performing kitchen duties under their mandate. These professionals oversee timeliness, sanitary issues, ingredient preparation, meal preparation, and final presentations. Besides engaging in menu planning and creating recipes, a cooking chef also performs several administrative tasks from one day to another. They place supply orders, track inventory, calculate payroll, calculate costs, and handle complaints from the employee or customer. Moreover, a cooking chef trains the kitchen staff to ensure they perform their duties correctly.
Head cooks and cooking chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Head Cook | Cooking Chef | |
| Average salary | $44,412 | $34,973 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $61,000 | Between $24,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Antonio, TX | Teaneck, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics | Memphis Country Club |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a head cook and a cooking chef in terms of educational background:
| Head Cook | Cooking Chef | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Drexel University |
Here are the differences between head cooks' and cooking chefs' demographics:
| Head Cook | Cooking Chef | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5% | Male, 76.3% Female, 23.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 10.3% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 12.0% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |