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The differences between kitchen assistants and kitchen leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a kitchen lead has an average salary of $35,678, 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 kitchen lead are customer service, culinary, and food products.
| Kitchen Assistant | Kitchen Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $27,455 | $35,678 |
| Hourly rate | $13.20 | $17.15 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 78,120 | 56,300 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| 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.
A kitchen manager acts as the overseer of food preparation and cooking. They ensure that all staff are working efficiently. They maintain the cleanliness of workstations and monitor all supplies used. To avoid lapses, they monitor the staff during cooking to ensure that the kitchen serves the best quality of food. Also, they create reports on the monthly expenses of supplies.
Kitchen assistants and kitchen leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Kitchen Assistant | Kitchen Lead | |
| Average salary | $27,455 | $35,678 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $35,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Minneapolis, MN | Redmond, WA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | University of Massachusetts Boston | Zoës Kitchen |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a kitchen assistant and a kitchen lead in terms of educational background:
| Kitchen Assistant | Kitchen Lead | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Most common major | Business | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between kitchen assistants' and kitchen leads' demographics:
| Kitchen Assistant | Kitchen Lead | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8% | Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9% |
| 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, 10.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 7.0% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |