Kitchen worker vs catering assistant

The differences between kitchen workers and catering assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a catering assistant has an average salary of $32,101, which is higher than the $28,720 average annual salary of a kitchen worker.

The top three skills for a kitchen worker include cleanliness, food handling and kitchen equipment. The most important skills for a catering assistant are patients, food service, and customer service.

Kitchen worker vs catering assistant overview

	Kitchen Worker	Catering Assistant
Yearly salary	$28,720	$32,101
Hourly rate	$13.81	$15.43
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	86,773	10,042
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

Kitchen worker vs catering assistant salary

Kitchen workers and catering assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Kitchen Worker	Catering Assistant
Average salary	$28,720	$32,101
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $36,000	Between $26,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Washington	Hawaii
Best paying company	Kemps	Massachusetts General Hospital
Best paying industry	Education	Manufacturing

Differences between kitchen worker and catering assistant education

There are a few differences between a kitchen worker and a catering assistant in terms of educational background:

	Kitchen Worker	Catering Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Kitchen worker vs catering assistant demographics

Here are the differences between kitchen workers' and catering assistants' demographics:

	Kitchen Worker	Catering Assistant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 61.0% Female, 39.0%	Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between kitchen worker and catering assistant duties and responsibilities

Kitchen worker example responsibilities.

Ensure cleanliness of surroundings and sterilization/sanitation of kitchen prep area and food trays.
Clean floors, dishes, stoves and pots.
Prepare for opening the next morning by cleaning and shutting down fryers and broiler.
Work well with other employees-Maintain cleanliness of areas assigned-perform a variety of services-follow property policies and procedures-oversee own responsibilities
Remove wash dishware, flatware, and glassware from dishwasher and stack them according to size and likeness for future use.
Sanitize heavy equipment including dishwasher, mixer and slicer.

Catering assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and prioritize restaurant reservations.
Monitor patients who cannot receive anything by mouth (NPO) or on liquid diets.
Assist dieticians with monitoring of patients who are NPO, on liquid diets or need to have intake record.
Run POS for student payments, including meal cards and cash.
Comply with regulator agency standards, including federal, state and JCAHO.
Adhere to HIPAA guidelines while processing menu orders with the patient information.

Kitchen worker vs catering assistant skills

Common kitchen worker skills

Cleanliness, 17%
Food Handling, 13%
Kitchen Equipment, 12%
Food Service, 10%
Customer Service, 8%
Patients, 8%

Common catering assistant skills

Patients, 25%
Food Service, 21%
Customer Service, 12%
Food Safety, 7%
Food Delivery, 6%
Beverage Service, 4%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Kitchen Worker
Kitchen Worker vs Catering Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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