Lead cook vs assistant cook

The differences between lead cooks and assistant cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a lead cook and an assistant cook. Additionally, a lead cook has an average salary of $35,964, which is higher than the $34,244 average annual salary of an assistant cook.

The top three skills for a lead cook include customer service, food handling and culinary. The most important skills for an assistant cook are food handling, kitchen equipment, and dishes.

Lead cook vs assistant cook overview

	Lead Cook	Assistant Cook
Yearly salary	$35,964	$34,244
Hourly rate	$17.29	$16.46
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	160,223	190,245
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 35%	High School Diploma, 37%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Lead cook vs assistant cook salary

Lead cooks and assistant cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lead Cook	Assistant Cook
Average salary	$35,964	$34,244
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $46,000	Between $26,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Freeport-McMoRan	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Hospitality

Differences between lead cook and assistant cook education

There are a few differences between a lead cook and an assistant cook in terms of educational background:

	Lead Cook	Assistant Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 35%	High School Diploma, 37%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Lead cook vs assistant cook demographics

Here are the differences between lead cooks' and assistant cooks' demographics:

	Lead Cook	Assistant Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4%	Male, 45.5% Female, 54.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 9.4% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 8.6% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between lead cook and assistant cook duties and responsibilities

Lead cook example responsibilities.

Manage food expo; facilitate food temp logs; creation of menu specials; management and supervision of production staff
Manage inventory and purchasing of groceries.
Operate standard cooking equipment including slicers, food choppers, fryers, refrigerators, ovens and stoves.
Operate ovens, stoves, grills, microwaves, turbo chefs, and fryers.
Use and clean commercial ovens, meat slicers, steamers, combination ovens and steam kettles.
Operate ovens, stoves, grills, microwaves, kettles, and tilt skillet.

Assistant cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Operate stoves, food processors, steamers, slices, ovens.
Ensure ovens and stoves are clean and ready for use.
Train new and current cooks on menu conversion, garnishing, and food presentation.
Prepare and deliver food trays to hospital patients for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Supervise and maintain HACCP standards, training processes for cooks and monitor aspects of contract compliance.

Lead cook vs assistant cook skills

Common lead cook skills

Customer Service, 14%
Food Handling, 14%
Culinary, 11%
Food Service, 11%
Kitchen Equipment, 7%
Math, 5%

Common assistant cook skills

Food Handling, 12%
Kitchen Equipment, 11%
Dishes, 9%
Food Service, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Cleanliness, 6%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Lead Cook
Lead Cook vs Assistant Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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