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What does a kitchen crew do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
What does a kitchen crew do
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Kitchen crew responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real kitchen crew resumes:

  • 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.
  • Fill out individual patient diet cards according to allergies, current medications, and personal preferences.
  • Operate cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers, griddles, and all cooking utensils available.
  • Wash dishes, clean bathrooms, mop floors, clean work stations, assist in supervise culinary jobs
  • Ensure food are stored and cook at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers and grills.
  • Prepare food, maintain the cleanliness, sanitation, and organization of the kitchen, and meet customer special requests.
  • Serve the lunches for the day while also tending to the needs of students or faculty and their food allergies.
  • Demonstrate good attendance and punctuality.
  • Provide heavy support to the culinary management department.
  • Recognize for superior performance and dedicate service commitment, and group leadership.

Kitchen crew skills and personality traits

We calculated that 28% of Kitchen Crews are proficient in Food Handling, Safety Standards, and Cleanliness. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Physical strength.

We break down the percentage of Kitchen Crews that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Food Handling, 28%

    Maintain food standards all the way through use of standardized food recipes and safe food handling practices.

  • Safety Standards, 19%

    Performed regular cleaning duties, taking out trash and keeping the work area clean, meeting food safety standards.

  • Cleanliness, 18%

    Provided culinary service to campers- Maintained cleanliness

  • Culinary, 8%

    Accepted a seasonal position following graduation from MCTI's Culinary Arts Program.

  • Food Quality, 8%

    Verified proper portion sizes and consistently attained high food quality standards.

  • Food Products, 5%

    Assist Kitchen/Assistant Manager in the preparation, packaging, and serving of food products in a very high production store.

Most kitchen crews use their skills in "food handling," "safety standards," and "cleanliness" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential kitchen crew responsibilities here:

Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a kitchen crew to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what kitchen crews do because "food and beverage serving and related workers must listen carefully to their customers’ orders and relay them correctly to the kitchen staff so that the orders are prepared to the customers’ request." Additionally, a kitchen crew resume shows how kitchen crews use communication skills: "job responsibilities: customer service, communication skills with customers and associates, managing money, and closing the store. "

Customer-service skills. Many kitchen crew duties rely on customer-service skills. "food service establishments rely on good food and customer service to keep customers and succeed in a competitive industry," so a kitchen crew will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways kitchen crew responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "prepared food, maintained the cleanliness, sanitation, and organization of the kitchen, and met customer special requests. "

Physical strength. kitchen crews are also known for physical strength, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to kitchen crew responsibilities, because "food and beverage serving and related workers need to be able to lift and carry stock and equipment that can weigh up to 50 pounds." A kitchen crew resume example shows how physical strength is used in the workplace: "worked in extreme conditions during summer months doing physical labor such as planting trees, mowing lawns and painting. "

See the full list of kitchen crew skills

The three companies that hire the most kitchen crews are:

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Compare different kitchen crews

Kitchen crew vs. Food handler

A cafe associate performs various support tasks to help maintain the smooth flow of operations at a cafe and ensure customer satisfaction. They ensure that the shelves are stocked with fresh and high-quality products by conducting regular evaluations and inspections, disposing of expired goods, and adding new products as necessary. They may also prepare or serve orders, make drinks using machines, and assist customers by answering inquiries or processing their payments. Moreover, a cafe associate must maintain an open communication line with co-workers and report to managers regularly.

We looked at the average kitchen crew salary and compared it with the wages of a food handler. Generally speaking, food handlers are paid $2,707 higher than kitchen crews per year.Even though kitchen crews and food handlers are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require safety standards, food products, and food orders in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a kitchen crew are more likely to require skills like "food handling," "cleanliness," "culinary," and "food quality." On the other hand, a job as a food handler requires skills like "basic math," "math," "customer satisfaction," and "food carts." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Food handlers earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $37,836. On the other hand, kitchen crews are paid more in the retail industry with an average salary of $30,074.On average, food handlers reach similar levels of education than kitchen crews. Food handlers are 0.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Kitchen crew vs. Cafe associate

A food preparer or food preparation worker is the person who executes routine tasks under the supervision of chefs, food service managers, and cooks. Food preparation workers slice meat, cut vegetables, and prepare cold foods. They prepare ingredients of food for recipes as they assist cooks and chefs. Their duties and responsibilities include sifting, marinating, food safety, grating, and knife skills. They are also expected to weigh and measure dry and liquid ingredients.

On average, cafe associates earn a $207 higher salary than kitchen crews a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both kitchen crews and cafe associates have skills such as "food handling," "safety standards," and "cleanliness. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real kitchen crew resumes. While kitchen crew responsibilities can utilize skills like "food quality," "kitchen equipment," "customer orders," and "quality products," cafe associates use skills like "groceries," "sam," "taking care," and "product knowledge."

On average, cafe associates earn a higher salary than kitchen crews. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, cafe associates earn the most pay in the retail industry with an average salary of $29,858. Whereas kitchen crews have higher pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $30,074.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Cafe associates tend to reach similar levels of education than kitchen crews. In fact, they're 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Kitchen crew vs. Food preparer

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.

An average food preparer eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of kitchen crews. The difference in salaries amounts to food preparers earning a $2,157 lower average salary than kitchen crews.By looking over several kitchen crews and food preparers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "food handling," "safety standards," and "cleanliness." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, kitchen crews are more likely to have skills like "culinary," "food quality," "food orders," and "clean kitchen." But a food preparer is more likely to have skills like "work ethic," "strong work ethic," "kitchen utensils," and "basic math."

Food preparers earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $29,828. Kitchen crews earn the highest pay from the retail industry, with an average salary of $30,074.food preparers typically earn similar educational levels compared to kitchen crews. Specifically, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Kitchen crew vs. Cook/server

Cook/servers tend to earn a lower pay than kitchen crews by an average of $158 per year.According to resumes from kitchen crews and cook/servers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "safety standards," "food products," and "fryers. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "food handling," "cleanliness," "culinary," and "food quality" are skills that commonly show up on kitchen crew resumes. On the other hand, cook/servers use skills like allergies, drink orders, mathematics, and quality food on their resumes.In general, cook/servers earn the most working in the retail industry, with an average salary of $29,014. The highest-paying industry for a kitchen crew is the retail industry.cook/servers reach similar levels of education compared to kitchen crews, in general. The difference is that they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of kitchen crew

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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