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The differences between head cooks and dietary cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a head cook, becoming a dietary cook takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a head cook has an average salary of $44,412, which is higher than the $27,365 average annual salary of a dietary cook.
The top three skills for a head cook include kitchen equipment, meal preparation and food service. The most important skills for a dietary cook are patients, food handling, and food service.
| Head Cook | Dietary Cook | |
| Yearly salary | $44,412 | $27,365 |
| Hourly rate | $21.35 | $13.16 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 156,227 | 191,406 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | High School Diploma, 41% |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
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 dietary cook specializes in cooking and preparing healthy meals for clients or organizations. It is their duty to follow nutritional plans and guidelines, adhere to portion and quality standards, supervise kitchen staff, and participate in delivering food to rooms or offices. They also monitor the inventory of supplies, maintain the cleanliness of different areas, and keep dishes sanitized at all times. Moreover, a dietary cook must coordinate and maintain an open communication line with fellow kitchen workers to ensure a safe and efficient workflow.
Head cooks and dietary cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Head Cook | Dietary Cook | |
| Average salary | $44,412 | $27,365 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $61,000 | Between $21,000 And $34,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Antonio, TX | Omaha, NE |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Utah |
| Best paying company | Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics | SantaFe HealthCare |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a head cook and a dietary cook in terms of educational background:
| Head Cook | Dietary Cook | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | High School Diploma, 41% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between head cooks' and dietary cooks' demographics:
| Head Cook | Dietary Cook | |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5% | Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7% |
| 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, 9.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 8.2% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |