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The differences between lead cooks and kitchen 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 a kitchen cook. Additionally, a lead cook has an average salary of $35,964, which is higher than the $31,452 average annual salary of a kitchen cook.
The top three skills for a lead cook include customer service, food handling and culinary. The most important skills for a kitchen cook are dishes, food handling, and cleanliness.
| Lead Cook | Kitchen Cook | |
| Yearly salary | $35,964 | $31,452 |
| Hourly rate | $17.29 | $15.12 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 160,223 | 250,354 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A lead cook, or lead line cook, is an individual restaurant employee who is in charge of supervising the chain of food preparation done by line cooks. Lead cooks work directly under head cooks or chefs who provide instructions in preparing meals. They are well-versed in the restaurant's food health and safety, such as regular hand washing, utensil sanitizing, and proper garbage disposal. To be a successful lead cook, they must obtain knowledge of various cooking techniques and be passionate about food.
A kitchen cook prepares food for customers. Kitchen cooks help devise new menu items and methods of cooking. Their duties are to prepare food before the arrival of guests, manage employees in the kitchen, and season food according to recipe needs. They assist other cooks during the food assembly process, estimate food consumption, and organize preparation. They keep records and accounts of food purchases, prepare any necessary sauce before the meal service begins, and so on. As kitchen cooks, they must excel in organizational skills, verbal communication, culinary arts, and kitchen equipment. They should be equipped with knowledge of international cuisines, butchering, and basic computational skills.
Lead cooks and kitchen cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Cook | Kitchen Cook | |
| Average salary | $35,964 | $31,452 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $46,000 | Between $25,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Freeport-McMoRan | Hilltop Ski Area |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Retail |
There are a few differences between a lead cook and a kitchen cook in terms of educational background:
| Lead Cook | Kitchen Cook | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between lead cooks' and kitchen cooks' demographics:
| Lead Cook | Kitchen Cook | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4% | Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2% |
| 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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 9.1% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |