Kitchen staff vs food handler

The differences between kitchen staff 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 $29,816 average annual salary of a kitchen staff.

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

Kitchen staff vs food handler overview

	Kitchen Staff	Food Handler
Yearly salary	$29,816	$32,581
Hourly rate	$14.33	$15.66
Growth rate	2%	14%
Number of jobs	154,513	171,731
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 43%	High School Diploma, 47%
Average age	37	23
Years of experience	-	-

Kitchen staff vs food handler salary

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

	Kitchen Staff	Food Handler
Average salary	$29,816	$32,581
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $37,000	Between $26,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Redwood City, CA	Syracuse, NY
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	The Road Home	Syracuse University
Best paying industry	Education	Finance

Differences between kitchen staff and food handler education

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

	Kitchen Staff	Food Handler
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 43%	High School Diploma, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Kitchen staff vs food handler demographics

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

	Kitchen Staff	Food Handler
Average age	37	23
Gender ratio	Male, 56.5% Female, 43.5%	Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 7.0% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	6%	8%

Differences between kitchen staff and food handler duties and responsibilities

Kitchen staff example responsibilities.

Assist the catering manager to manage, prepare, cook and deliver each day s caterings.
Present an enjoyable and positive atmosphere while preparing an outstanding product, manage inventory, and maintain cleanliness
Conduct daily inspections for overall cleanliness of all areas and proper sanitizing of food preparation surfaces.
Increase sales by upselling and signing customers up for discount cards
Prep food for dinner dishes, bar back, work on fryers, and wash dishes.
Cook, wash dishes, serve customers, prepare food for caterings, and stock shelves.

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 staff vs food handler skills

Common kitchen staff skills

Food Handling, 25%
Cleanliness, 21%
Sanitation Standards, 13%
Quality Food, 9%
Food Products, 7%
Meal Preparation, 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 Staff
Kitchen Staff vs Food Handler

Updated January 8, 2025

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