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What does a kitchen helper do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
What does a kitchen helper do

Kitchen helpers perform various kitchen tasks in restaurants, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals. Their duties and responsibilities include assisting cooks in the preparation of meal ingredients, helping other staff with unloading food items from delivery trucks, and washing and drying the utensils, dishes, and cookware. Kitchen helpers are also responsible for removing and replacing garbage bags and storing ingredients and food supplies in compliance with food safety standards. The requirements for this position may include a high school diploma, a license in food handling, and knowledge of food safety standards.

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Kitchen helper responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real kitchen helper resumes:

  • Experience on grill, broiler, slicers, fryers etc.
  • Cook food using servsafe guidelines.
  • Use of POS system and cash register.
  • Maintain multiple kitchens while following ServSafe and HACCP.
  • Be aware of certain allergies and avoid cross contamination.
  • Inquire about any allergies to the ingredients of the dishes.
  • Work with stainless steel equipment, such as ducts, industrial stoves.
  • Stock supplies, roll silverware, clean ice cream machine and slicers.
  • Assist and coordinate with chefs in carrying out culinary tasks to produce quality food
  • Assist culinary workers with preparing food tray's and make deliveries to inmate doors.
  • Start washing dishes, begin prepping and running foods in the kitchen, boil seafood and vegetables.
  • Retrieve ingredients from supply areas, operate and retrieve food from the food steamers, ovens and stoves.
  • Maintain restaurant cleanliness according to state health standards
  • Provide dietary relate information to patients as needed.
  • Work as a dishwasher, clean the back of the house, janitorial work, prep cook and busboy.

Kitchen helper skills and personality traits

We calculated that 29% of Kitchen Helpers are proficient in Food Handling, Food Service, and Wash Dishes. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Physical strength, and Dexterity.

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

  • Food Handling, 29%

    Dedicated in food service while being proficient in customer service, food handling, preparation and Point of Sale transactions.

  • Food Service, 22%

    Perform routine food service activities according to established operational policies and procedures.

  • Wash Dishes, 10%

    Prepare food, serve students and teachers, run cash register, wash dishes, clean all areas, stock shelves.

  • Cleanliness, 10%

    Maintained restaurant cleanliness according to state health standards

  • Culinary, 8%

    Assisted culinary workers with preparing food tray's and made deliveries to inmate doors.

  • Kitchen Equipment, 3%

    Cleaned and sanitized kitchen equipment.

"food handling," "food service," and "wash dishes" are among the most common skills that kitchen helpers use at work. You can find even more kitchen helper responsibilities below, including:

See the full list of kitchen helper skills

The three companies that hire the most kitchen helpers are:

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Compare different kitchen helpers

Kitchen helper vs. Bakery associate

A bakery associate is responsible for assisting bakery chefs in producing baked goods and pastries, organizing the stock, maintaining the cleanliness of the storage area, and processing customers' orders and payments. Bakery associates monitor the inventory and request bakery ingredients and supplies from trusted suppliers and third-party vendors. They also pitch on recommending promotional campaigns and research on current bakery trends to update the menu, meeting public demands to increase sales and revenues. A bakery associate should have excellent communication and analytical skills to respond to customers' inquiries and operate the cash register.

We looked at the average kitchen helper salary and compared it with the wages of a bakery associate. Generally speaking, bakery associates are paid $3,167 higher than kitchen helpers per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both kitchen helper and bakery associate positions are skilled in customer service, food preparation, and food products.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a kitchen helper are more likely to require skills like "food handling," "food service," "wash dishes," and "cleanliness." On the other hand, a job as a bakery associate requires skills like "donuts," "bakery products," "safety regulations," and "pos." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Bakery associates tend to make the most money working in the retail industry, where they earn an average salary of $30,578. In contrast, kitchen helpers make the biggest average salary, $27,239, in the retail industry.The education levels that bakery associates earn slightly differ from kitchen helpers. In particular, bakery associates are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a kitchen helper. Additionally, they're 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Kitchen helper vs. Bakery clerk

A bakery clerk is an employee who is responsible for running the bakery department of supermarkets, boutique bakeries, or baking facilities. Bakery clerks are usually tasked to manage the bakery's cash register, bagging baked goods and then taking customers' payments. They ensure that the display cases inside the bakery are fully stocked with fresh bread and other baked goods. They also assist bakers with baking tasks such as measuring ingredients, mixing dough, or pouring batter.

On average, bakery clerks earn a $2,855 higher salary than kitchen helpers a year.A few skills overlap for kitchen helpers and bakery clerks. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "food handling," "cleanliness," and "kitchen equipment. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that kitchen helper responsibilities requires skills like "food service," "wash dishes," "culinary," and "english communication." But a bakery clerk might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "basic math," "bakery products," "math," and "food safety."

On average, bakery clerks earn a higher salary than kitchen helpers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, bakery clerks earn the most pay in the retail industry with an average salary of $30,395. Whereas kitchen helpers have higher pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $27,239.In general, bakery clerks achieve similar levels of education than kitchen helpers. They're 0.3% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Kitchen helper vs. Food service assistant

A food service assistant helps in food and beverage preparation and serving customers. Foodservice assistants make sure that great customer service is provided to clients. Their duties include answering phone calls for inquiries, providing information, selling products, and solving problems. They may function as cashiers in restaurants or any other food service institution. Upon receiving customer complaints, they escalate them to top management. This job requires people skills, communication skills, and food service knowledge.

On average scale, food service assistants bring in higher salaries than kitchen helpers. In fact, they earn a $3,558 higher salary per year.By looking over several kitchen helpers and food service assistants resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "food handling," "food service," and "cleanliness." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a kitchen helper is likely to be skilled in "wash dishes," "english communication," "industrial cleaning," and "kitchen appliances," while a typical food service assistant is skilled in "patients," "basic math," "food safety," and "math."

Food service assistants earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $35,561. Kitchen helpers earn the highest pay from the retail industry, with an average salary of $27,239.When it comes to education, food service assistants tend to earn similar degree levels compared to kitchen helpers. In fact, they're 1.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Kitchen helper vs. Food service worker

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.

Food service workers tend to earn a higher pay than kitchen helpers by an average of $2,957 per year.According to resumes from kitchen helpers and food service workers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "food handling," "food service," and "cleanliness. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "wash dishes," "english communication," "meal preparation," and "industrial cleaning" are skills that commonly show up on kitchen helper resumes. On the other hand, food service workers use skills like patients, pet, cash control, and rehabilitation on their resumes.In general, food service workers earn the most working in the retail industry, with an average salary of $30,177. The highest-paying industry for a kitchen helper is the retail industry.food service workers reach similar levels of education compared to kitchen helpers, in general. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of kitchen helper

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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