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The differences between kitchen assistants and food service workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food service worker has an average salary of $28,753, which is higher than the $27,455 average annual salary of a kitchen assistant.
The top three skills for a kitchen assistant include wine, kitchen equipment and POS. The most important skills for a food service worker are food handling, safety standards, and customer service.
| Kitchen Assistant | Food Service Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $27,455 | $28,753 |
| Hourly rate | $13.20 | $13.82 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 78,120 | 169,323 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A kitchen assistant is responsible for assisting chefs, cooks, or managers. Most of the duties are given by supervising officers, and it will revolve around preparing ingredients, cutting or washing meat and vegetables, and performing basic cooking tasks such as boiling and frying. A kitchen assistant is also responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the kitchen, washing used materials, sanitizing utensils, organizing food inventory. Other tasks include unloading deliveries of food supplies and sorting the ingredients accordingly.
Foodservice workers are employees at restaurants, food trucks, or any outlet that provides food to customers. They may be assigned to welcome customers, take food orders, prepare food orders in the kitchen, serve food, handle customer payments, clean up the tables once the guests leave, or maintain the whole store's cleanliness. They may also be assigned to manage inventories, handle stocks and deliveries, and other activities related to the restaurant's successful operations. Foodservice workers must always be hygienic and maintain the sanitation of the area to ensure food safety.
Kitchen assistants and food service workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Kitchen Assistant | Food Service Worker | |
| Average salary | $27,455 | $28,753 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $35,000 | Between $22,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Minneapolis, MN | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | University of Massachusetts Boston | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Retail |
There are a few differences between a kitchen assistant and a food service worker in terms of educational background:
| Kitchen Assistant | Food Service Worker | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between kitchen assistants' and food service workers' demographics:
| Kitchen Assistant | Food Service Worker | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8% | Male, 36.6% Female, 63.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 8.0% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |