Kitchen crew vs food handler

The differences between kitchen crews and food handlers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food handler has an average salary of $32,581, which is higher than the $29,874 average annual salary of a kitchen crew.

The top three skills for a kitchen crew include food handling, safety standards and cleanliness. The most important skills for a food handler are basic math, customer service, and math.

Kitchen crew vs food handler overview

	Kitchen Crew	Food Handler
Yearly salary	$29,874	$32,581
Hourly rate	$14.36	$15.66
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	166,944	171,731
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 47%
Average age	23	23
Years of experience	-	-

Kitchen crew vs food handler salary

Kitchen crews and food handlers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Kitchen Crew	Food Handler
Average salary	$29,874	$32,581
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $37,000	Between $26,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Syracuse, NY
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Washington
Best paying company	McCalls Catering & Events	Syracuse University
Best paying industry	Retail	Finance

Differences between kitchen crew and food handler education

There are a few differences between a kitchen crew and a food handler in terms of educational background:

	Kitchen Crew	Food Handler
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Kitchen crew vs food handler demographics

Here are the differences between kitchen crews' and food handlers' demographics:

	Kitchen Crew	Food Handler
Average age	23	23
Gender ratio	Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2%	Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between kitchen crew and food handler duties and responsibilities

Kitchen crew example responsibilities.

Manage facility/workers, close drive-thru, enter information into computer, make hamburgers.
Employ to cook product in the kitchen (on the grill and deep fryers) and clean kitchen equipment when necessary.
Wait on customers, run drive-thru, clean bathrooms, clean lobby, and close front line after closing.
Provide total operational oversight, customer service, and business management through proven leadership and management experience.
use chemical substance to clean stoves.
Process orders by punching them into the POS database and handle cash or credit cards transactions.

Food handler example responsibilities.

Set up and operate point of sales (POS) cash registers, receive money and return proper change.
Record patient information to gain knowledge of special allergies and special diets to promote better safety and health management.
Enter orders into POS system, report daily sales to managers, conduct monthly inventory, and perform heavy cash flow.
Monitor and maintain cleanliness, sanitation, and organization of assign station and service areas.
Maintain clean work areas including display cases, walk-in coolers, fryers and other cooking equipment.
Prepare and serve food samples using small appliances such as microwaves, fryers, skillets, coffee makers and knives.

Kitchen crew vs food handler skills

Common kitchen crew skills

Food Handling, 28%
Safety Standards, 19%
Cleanliness, 18%
Culinary, 8%
Food Quality, 8%
Food Products, 5%

Common food handler skills

Basic Math, 23%
Customer Service, 21%
Math, 14%
Food Service, 6%
Kitchen Equipment, 6%
Food Orders, 4%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Kitchen Crew
Kitchen Crew vs Food Handler

Updated January 8, 2025

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