What does a kitchen cook do?
A kitchen cook prepares food for customers. Kitchen cooks help devise new menu items and methods of cooking. Their duties are to prepare food before the arrival of guests, manage employees in the kitchen, and season food according to recipe needs. They assist other cooks during the food assembly process, estimate food consumption, and organize preparation. They keep records and accounts of food purchases, prepare any necessary sauce before the meal service begins, and so on. As kitchen cooks, they must excel in organizational skills, verbal communication, culinary arts, and kitchen equipment. They should be equipped with knowledge of international cuisines, butchering, and basic computational skills.
Kitchen cook responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real kitchen cook resumes:
- Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
- Inspect clean and utilize ovens, grills, fryers, mixers, etc.
- Experience on grills, fryers, knife handling and slicers.
- Experience with fryers, weigh machines, slicers and other similarities.
- Used electric ovens and electric stoves.
- Regulate temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
- Lead culinary classes for clients, and help mentor clients through one-on-one teaching.
- Operate equipment such as a grill, fryers, fryer filterers and dish-washing machine.
- Prepare food by cutting and chopping food items and cooking on grill or in fryers.
- Experience in high-pressure culinary environments and skil in preparing large volumes of food quickly and efficiently.
- Ensure food are stored and cook at correct temperatures by regulating grills, rosters and broilers.
- Ensure organizational and cleanliness standard in order to pass health and sanitary procedures.
- Leverage teamwork to fully utilize kitchen staff to generate remarkable food and service to ensure customer satisfaction.
- Provide friendly, quality, customer service to each Chipotle customer.
Kitchen cook skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Kitchen Cooks are proficient in Dishes, Food Handling, and Cleanliness. They’re also known for soft skills such as Sense of taste and smell, Dexterity, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Kitchen Cooks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Dishes, 13%
Cook; set up work stations, cleaned food prep area, prepared ingredients, cooked food, and garnished dishes.
- Food Handling, 11%
Maintained a clean and safe environment inside of the kitchen by following restaurant safety protocols and food handling procedures.
- Cleanliness, 8%
Prepare food and maintain high standards of cleanliness and efficiency throughout the work place.
- Math, 8%
Possess basic math skill and working knowledge of cooking measurements.
- Basic Math, 8%
Performed basic mathematical computations to multiply ingredients in the preparation of a meal.
- Culinary, 7%
Experience in high-pressure culinary environments and skilled in preparing large volumes of food quickly and efficiently.
Most kitchen cooks use their skills in "dishes," "food handling," and "cleanliness" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential kitchen cook responsibilities here:
Sense of taste and smell. One of the key soft skills for a kitchen cook to have is sense of taste and smell. You can see how this relates to what kitchen cooks do because "cooks must have a keen sense of taste and smell to prepare meals that customers enjoy." Additionally, a kitchen cook resume shows how kitchen cooks use sense of taste and smell: "cook, kitchen prep: cooked meals, repair-meals, restock and prepared kitchen menu, cleaned, replenish. "
Dexterity. Another essential skill to perform kitchen cook duties is dexterity. Kitchen cooks responsibilities require that "cooks should have excellent hand–eye coordination." Kitchen cooks also use dexterity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "sorted through donations, stocked shelves, heavy lifting of furniture/exercise items, sorted through back room and maintained its cleanliness. "
Physical stamina. kitchen cooks are also known for physical stamina, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to kitchen cook responsibilities, because "cooks spend a lot of time standing in one place, cooking food over hot stoves, and cleaning work areas." A kitchen cook resume example shows how physical stamina is used in the workplace: "maintained the physical appearance inside and outside of buildings and maintained equipment, worked fryers and provided customer service as needed"
The three companies that hire the most kitchen cooks are:
- Buffalo Wild Wings917 kitchen cooks jobs
- Bertucci's240 kitchen cooks jobs
- Hooters177 kitchen cooks jobs
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Compare different kitchen cooks
Kitchen cook vs. Cook/dishwasher
Cooks/dishwashers must develop kitchen skills to excel in this line of job. Each cook or dishwasher must learn to develop skills in food preparation, sanitation, and customer service. Cooks or dishwashers can be assigned to different areas, either in the kitchen area, food preparation, or in washing dishes. The scope of their responsibilities may include the cooking surface area, specific food items, or menu items. Also, they are expected to maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen, assist in preparing food, and may do any other duties demanded by the chef.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between kitchen cooks and cook/dishwasher. For instance, kitchen cook responsibilities require skills such as "dishes," "food handling," "cleanliness," and "math." Whereas a cook/dishwasher is skilled in "wash dishes," "prep food," "mop floors," and "bus tables." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Cook/dishwashers really shine in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $27,723. Comparatively, kitchen cooks tend to make the most money in the retail industry with an average salary of $32,362.On average, cook/dishwashers reach similar levels of education than kitchen cooks. Cook/dishwashers are 1.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen cook vs. Cook/server
Cooks/servers are employees who take on the dual role of being a cook and a server in the restaurant. They are usually trained cooks who are in charge of preparing meals for the guests. They prepare ingredients, cook them according to the recipe, and serve them to guests. They are responsible for ensuring that the food is prepared and served to guests within the promised time. They are in charge of managing the pantry, ensuring that the stock is fresh, and checking whether the stock is low. They are expected to have culinary skills, precision, and time management skills.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, kitchen cook responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "dishes," "food handling," "cleanliness," and "math." Meanwhile, a cook/server has duties that require skills in areas such as "pos," "drink orders," "mathematics," and "customer complaints." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Cook/servers may earn a lower salary than kitchen cooks, but cook/servers earn the most pay in the retail industry with an average salary of $29,014. On the other hand, kitchen cooks receive higher pay in the retail industry, where they earn an average salary of $32,362.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Cook/servers tend to reach similar levels of education than kitchen cooks. In fact, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen cook vs. Cook/baker
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, kitchen cooks are more likely to have skills like "dishes," "basic math," "customer service," and "quality standards." But a cook/baker is more likely to have skills like "food service," "patients," "safety regulations," and "haccp."
Cook/bakers make a very good living in the hospitality industry with an average annual salary of $32,857. On the other hand, kitchen cooks are paid the highest salary in the retail industry, with average annual pay of $32,362.Most cook/bakers achieve a similar degree level compared to kitchen cooks. For example, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen cook vs. Grill cook/prep
Types of kitchen cook
Updated January 8, 2025
